Advice about what may connote a coded threat.

[SirBillybob]

Hey guys.

A fellow member wrote a post with exclusively a cryptic symbol that is interpretable as an ominous kind of threat and was grafted onto my name so that it should have seemed obvious to him I would receive a notification alert, which I received and recorded.

Could be passing anger, impulsive what have you. He must have subsequently deleted the post but I’m, well, not completely unshaken. I took screenshots. As a clinician not immune to hostility these days like most colleagues, I have a fairly thick skin but expect accountability. 

The thing is, I reached out and he hasn’t engaged though evidence he read my request for explanation. I’m not a take-no-prisoners guy and reached out a second time. Crickets. I would prefer to keep it between him and me. I actually am not very familiar with him. 

If an error or intended to be innocuous etc, it seems to me that could have been written back to me by the guy. If it was nothing then he could communicate that, no?

He may see this here post as well.

I am wondering how long I should wait before submitting it to Mike C or another moderator to get their take. 

I’m busy today and not reading here other than DMs and trying  to keep abreast of the topic I just wrote (this here).

Hugs.

Edited May 31, 2023 by SirBillybob

[MikeBiDude]

1 hour ago, SirBillybob said:

Hey guys.

A fellow member wrote a post with exclusively a cryptic symbol that is interpretable as an ominous kind of threat and was grafted onto my name so that it should have seemed obvious to him I would receive a notification alert, which I received and recorded.

Could be passing anger, impulsive what have you. He must have subsequently deleted the post but I’m, well, not completely unshaken. I took screenshots. As a clinician not immune to hostility these days like most colleagues, I have a fairly thick skin but expect accountability. 

The thing is, I reached out and he hasn’t engaged though evidence he read my request for explanation. I’m not a take-no-prisoners guy and reached out a second time. Crickets. I would prefer to keep it between him and me. I actually am not very familiar with him. 

If an error or intended to be innocuous etc, it seems to me that could have been written back to me by the guy. If it was nothing then he could communicate that, no?

He may see this here post as well.

I am wondering how long I should wait before submitting it to Mike C or another moderator to get their take. 

I’m busy today and not reading here other than DMs and trying  to keep abreast of the topic I just wrote (this here).

Hugs.

Post your concerns in the “Ask a Moderator” forum where only the moderators will see your posts.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

You're anonymous, right? 

This person hasn't sent anything to your home address or made mention of knowing you personally?

I wouldn't worry until you need to.  The sky is not yet falling.

[SirBillybob]

57 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

You're anonymous, right? 

This person hasn't sent anything to your home address or made mention of knowing you personally?

I wouldn't worry until you need to.  The sky is not yet falling.

Of course. It’s about etiquette and likely geared to making another member uncomfortable. I’m not worried about my safety. It’s just unusual for a troll to do this in this manner and my sense is that a reckoning is in order. Just wondering how others might handle it. 

Or should another emoji be added to the inane list of negative ones that denotes “cancelling” a member, if that was the intended implicit message by the guy?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

52 minutes ago, SirBillybob said:

Of course. It’s about etiquette and likely geared to making another member uncomfortable. I’m not worried about my safety. It’s just unusual for a troll to do this in this manner and my sense is that a reckoning is in order. Just wondering how others might handle it. 

Or should another emoji be added to the inane list of negative ones that denotes “cancelling” a member, if that was the intended implicit message by the guy?

Like I do, you ignore the message and then block them from contacting you further.

Problem solved 👍

A real troll starves to death when they don't get the attention that they crave. 

[SirBillybob]

21 minutes ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

Like I do, you ignore the message and then block them from contacting you further.

Problem solved 👍

A real troll starves to death when they don't get the attention that they crave. 

I hear you. That might apply on FB. In contrast, a formal archive of impropriety may be warranted on our board. The story may be a bit more involved than I wrote. I am taking it upstairs. Sorry it’s rather ambiguous due to the necessity of discretion. I just wanted some input on the theme underlying the events. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by SirBillybob

[+ Coolwave35]

🙄 

[+ FrankR]

On 5/31/2023 at 12:31 PM, SirBillybob said:

Just wondering how others might handle it. 

I often remind myself that people will say and do things online while anonymous that they would never do in real life. And, of course, some people aim to misbehave. 🤷‍♂️

[+ Tygerscent]

44 minutes ago, FrankR said:

I often remind myself that people will say and do things online while anonymous that they would never do in real life. And, of course, some people aim to misbehave. 🤷‍♂️

 

[+ Tygerscent]

On 5/31/2023 at 7:09 AM, SirBillybob said:

Hey guys.

A fellow member wrote a post with exclusively a cryptic symbol that is interpretable as an ominous kind of threat and was grafted onto my name so that it should have seemed obvious to him I would receive a notification alert, which I received and recorded.

Could be passing anger, impulsive what have you. He must have subsequently deleted the post but I’m, well, not completely unshaken. I took screenshots. As a clinician not immune to hostility these days like most colleagues, I have a fairly thick skin but expect accountability. 

The thing is, I reached out and he hasn’t engaged though evidence he read my request for explanation. I’m not a take-no-prisoners guy and reached out a second time. Crickets. I would prefer to keep it between him and me. I actually am not very familiar with him. 

If an error or intended to be innocuous etc, it seems to me that could have been written back to me by the guy. If it was nothing then he could communicate that, no?

He may see this here post as well.

I am wondering how long I should wait before submitting it to Mike C or another moderator to get their take. 

I’m busy today and not reading here other than DMs and trying  to keep abreast of the topic I just wrote (this here).

Hugs.

What was the cryptic symbol~? Did he say something mean to you~?
 

[SirBillybob]

2 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

What was the cryptic symbol~? Did he say something mean to you~?
 

Playing it close to my chest.

There was not a full word or phrase. An apparently snarky heading, a notification that I was referenced, and a symbol that in many contexts would be innocuous but in a malicious context would be construed as inappropriate, hostile.

Let’s say analogous to somebody throwing an egg at your window and abruptly changing tack, attempting whitewash, hoping the misguided yolk had not been perceived.

Edited June 2, 2023 by SirBillybob

[pubic_assistance]

Hit the ignore button.

Problem solved.

[+ Tygerscent]

19 hours ago, SirBillybob said:

Playing it close to my chest.

There was not a full word or phrase. An apparently snarky heading, a notification that I was referenced, and a symbol that in many contexts would be innocuous but in a malicious context would be construed as inappropriate, hostile.

Let’s say analogous to somebody throwing an egg at your window and abruptly changing tack, attempting whitewash, hoping the misguided yolk had not been perceived.

IDK… I guess I’m not fully understanding what the situation is but, you sound distressed and I’m sorry you’re going through whatever that is~ Stay strong, brother~ 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Tygerscent

[SirBillybob]

36 minutes ago, Tygerscent said:

IDK… I guess I’m not fully understanding what the situation is but, you sound distressed and I’m sorry you’re going through whatever that is~ Stay strong, brother~ 

No certainly not distressed. It’s actually amusing what happened after I communicated with the involved poster in terms of how the poster attempted to get out of the corner he painted himself into. And who his cronies may be. He reads here.

This is a large community and, like, we are so fortunate to have but a teeny tiny number of acting out types. But I don’t grasp this particularly odd emoticon that seems to suggest casting eyes upward to track for birds’ toileting habits. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by SirBillybob

[SirBillybob]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:35 AM, Coolwave35 said:

🙄

Wear a washable cap. Don’t walk in tree canopy areas or directly under nesting prone building ledges. You’ll be fine. Use this time to assess and share your weather report. An egg dropping on your noggin would also be very rare indeed. When tossed at your window by an over easy coward an egg is just an egg. Steep yourself a soothing cuppa and chill. Lastly, don’t be hard on yourself. Nothing is that set in stone. Try to use your words. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by SirBillybob

[+ Coolwave35]

1 hour ago, SirBillybob said:

have but a teeny tiny number of acting out types.

Ya don’t say…..   

[SirBillybob]

23 hours ago, Tygerscent said:

 

I must be losing memory storage. The movie character is familiar but for the life of me cannot name it.

[maninsoma]

It's difficult to assess whether your continued interest in addressing what you perceived is a threat is warranted or an overreaction since we don't know what happened.  Your post reminds me of this unfortunate experience I had in Yelp reviews:

My first name and location are associated with my Yelp profile.  I don't post a ton of reviews, but I do frequently review restaurants, particularly when traveling.  A few months after visiting Las Vegas and reviewing a few restaurants and bars there, I got a message from someone that contained a bunch of insults which made no sense since the person doesn't know me and some of their snipes were way off base.  I should have just ignored their message but instead I replied to correct them, particularly their claim that I'm just some unhappy person that reviews every business negatively.  Well, of course that person had to reply to my reply, and I don't remember exactly what they wrote but it was a vaguely worded physical threat.  I chose to respond to that message by reporting them to Yelp, who in turn must have removed them from the platform since the messages disappeared and I could no longer see their profile. 

If you think this person went too far here in terms of threatening you, then report it to a moderator and let them decide whether they want to take action.  Otherwise let it go. 

[SirBillybob]

59 minutes ago, maninsoma said:

It's difficult to assess whether your continued interest in addressing what you perceived is a threat is warranted or an overreaction since we don't know what happened.  Your post reminds me of this unfortunate experience I had in Yelp reviews:

My first name and location are associated with my Yelp profile.  I don't post a ton of reviews, but I do frequently review restaurants, particularly when traveling.  A few months after visiting Las Vegas and reviewing a few restaurants and bars there, I got a message from someone that contained a bunch of insults which made no sense since the person doesn't know me and some of their snipes were way off base.  I should have just ignored their message but instead I replied to correct them, particularly their claim that I'm just some unhappy person that reviews every business negatively.  Well, of course that person had to reply to my reply, and I don't remember exactly what they wrote but it was a vaguely worded physical threat.  I chose to respond to that message by reporting them to Yelp, who in turn must have removed them from the platform since the messages disappeared and I could no longer see their profile. 

If you think this person went too far here in terms of threatening you, then report it to a moderator and let them decide whether they want to take action.  Otherwise let it go. 

I’m with you. No flies on you. And your material should have stayed in Vegas. Interlopers should not be taking your shrimp bar reviews outside of Clark County and bitching at you. The culprit broke more than one cardinal rule. 😉

My topic, beyond the prerogative to invoke moderator action, was to indicate my eyes wide open. DM was one option. The other was to post openly about it. To have satisfied everyone with details would have possibly subverted my purpose, which was predominantly to serve notice and substantiate my initial assumptions about the poster’s MO.

The event was probably associated with a larger pattern and the moderators have lives to live and energy to conserve, extremely generous in volunteerism that they are, without needing to deal with every cray-cray hungry troll of poster vying to supplement a limited existence with insatiable, regular, perpetual feeding cycles.

Edited June 3, 2023 by SirBillybob

[SirBillybob]

1 hour ago, Coolwave35 said:

Ya don’t say…..   

Little tiny word steps, that’s it now, good job, keep it up. Hooray hooray hooray you’ll get there. Let’s not rule out a new emoji for “what you wrote resonates with me”, but elaboration is often a better step.

Can my smartphone make the space and emoticons do all the heavy living? Bandwidth advice anybody? Cave ideograph level once had its place. What’s with the comeback, why is is trumping out effort? Never mind; it tracks.

Look up now. Look waaaaay up. Thread hijack recess. Watch for the birdies. Don’t trip on a crack, petal.

Edited June 3, 2023 by SirBillybob

[+ Tygerscent]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:07 AM, SirBillybob said:

I must be losing memory storage. The movie character is familiar but for the life of me cannot name it.

It’s Austin Powers: International man of mystery~ Mike Myers is currently my comedic Hero and role model~ I’ve been watching every film he’s either made or been a part of~ His humor and Intellect fascinate me~ Also, it turns out he’s Canadian and I’m very fond of the Canadian vibe~ 
 I quote things from his, (mile myers), movies frequently when texting Clients/Friends~ so, a lot of times I wrote things and there’s random Austin Powers references in there. They’re just meant to be lighthearted and fun. 
 Frank posted something about behaving and it was my opportunity to insert an Austin Powers movie gif~ It’s purpose was just to be playful~   
 I usually pair that with Austin powers “groovy baby” gif but, it didn’t really fit~ 🤷‍♂️ 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Tygerscent

[SirBillybob]

51 minutes ago, Tygerscent said:

It’s Austin Powers: International man of mystery~ Mike Myers is currently my comedic Hero and role model~ I’ve been watching every film he’s either made or been a part of~ His humor and Intellect fascinate me~ Also, it turns out he’s Canadian and I’m very fond of the Canadian vibe~ 
 I quote things from his, (mile myers), movies frequently when texting Clients/Friends~ so, a lot of times I wrote things and there’s random Austin Powers references in there. They’re just meant to be lighthearted and fun. 
 Frank posted something about behaving and it was my opportunity to insert an Austin Powers movie gif~ It’s purpose was just to be playful~   
 I usually pair that with Austin powers “groovy baby” gif but, it didn’t really fit~ 🤷‍♂️ 

I’m a bit embarrassed about unawareness of a fellow Canadian. For some reason I had Peter Sellers lodged in my head. Isn’t Mike Myers a fictional serial killer as well? Whereas Powers’ biggest crime is his wardrobe on Hallowe’en and any other given day? 

[+ Tygerscent]

7 minutes ago, SirBillybob said:

I’m a bit embarrassed about unawareness of a fellow Canadian. For some reason I had Peter Sellers lodged in my head. Isn’t Mike Myers a fictional serial killer as well? Whereas Powers’ biggest crime is his wardrobe on Hallowe’en and any other given day? 

Ah yes… the Pink Panther and kato~ So much fun: Inspector Clouseau~   
 Peter Sellers was a master of British comedy~ Brilliant in his characters. 
 Mike Myers is the Canadian comedian genius~  He was born in the Scarborough  district of Toronto in 1963~ His mother was a data processor named Alice (aka "Bunny" E… née Hind)~    
 His father was an insurance agent named Eric Myers.
 Both parents were English immigrants from the Old Swan area of Liverpool~ So, he does have that “across the pond” foundation and perhaps that was what you were feeling there~
 Michael Myers is the Halloween creepster movie character, (a fictional Guy).

[SirBillybob]

Right it’s coming to me … SNL ‘Wayne’ (and Garth). I myself have resided in “Scarberia” for a time and a sibling lived there for decades.

I believe I technically gave away my maidenhood within the district boundaries, a bar pickup downtown TO and quick drive up the Don Valley. How green was my valley seeking irrigation? Very. 

Edited June 6, 2023 by SirBillybob

[SirBillybob]

4 weeks out, developments, probably not very interesting to the broader membership. But the public forum is not the place. DM with questions if you like. The vibe I am picking up from our illustrious mods, understandably, is to not openly stimulate antipathy on the public side.

Additionally, the fellow (my assumption) or person that out of the blue initially served harassment, through direct notification to me, has the option to deal civilly, ‘Mano a Mano’, as I had originally explicitly suggested to him directly thru backchannel mode with plenty of lead time and repeat invitation from me, before he scurried off with flimsy attempt to cover tracks. 

Edited July 5, 2023 by SirBillybob