Death threats and the Internet
Beware who you threaten...
Thursday, December 30, 2004 by Draginol | Discussion: Home & Family
I get threats of various kinds pretty frequently. Sometimes it's because they really dislike my political points of view. Others because they are mad because I moderated one of their posts. And other times they just plain hate me for reasons that I cannot even begin to fathom.
But I get enough of these that I have to take them seriously. When I was younger and had more free time (and a lot dumber) I'd call their bluff. I'd tell them "Go ahead, make my day, coward." I've met enough on-line people that I've found a very distinct corolation between how nasty and aggressive someone is on-line and how cowardly they are physically.
Now that I'm older, have a family, and know that indeed, while most of these people are just cowards, some of them may be truly violent sociopaths, I use more discretion. So I tend not to try to "egg them on". But make no mistake, someone comes to my house after making such a threat I can't reasonably make the distinction of whether they are coming to "confront me" in person, merely to try to "beat the shit out of me" or to "kill me and my whole fucking family" (as various threats go).
And so if anyone reading this is ever tempted to "confront me", make no mistake, I cannot afford to wait and see which type of assault you're planning to make. I'll do whatever I have to do to defend my home, family and myself and ask questions later. Anyone who threatens me or my family and follows it up with an unwelcome visit can be assured it would be the last action they'll ever take.
And anyone who knows me personally knows I mean that. I am not easily intimidated, certainly not physically. So to anyone thinking of sending me some threatening email or private message or on IRC or via instantt messener realize this - I get threats regularly and you may think making such threats is a form of intimidation that you don't mean very seriously. But you can be assured that they won't instill fear but that I will still take it very seriously. I get some threats that sound pretty serious (and specific).
And so I have to assume that every threat is a serious one and be prepared for. I'm not going to shut down my website or quit going on-line because some sociopath doesn't like me.
So my advice to the rash - don't threaten me. And certainly don't threaten me and try to come over to my house to try "give me a scare". I can't afford to wait and see if you're just bluffing or serious.
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Reply #22 Friday, December 31, 2004 1:29 PM
| Whatever you do, do not lower your public profile or give into these freaks in any way. |
Its not giving in, its called being prudent and diligent. So somehow, you think its Brad's job to tackle the retards of the world, and fight back the scum and lifeless idiots of the internet? Then worse, that somehow, this is supposed to make him and his family stronger? You've been watching too many movies, Brad isn't Charles Bronson or something, hes the CEO of a substantial internet firm and a busy guy, and doesn't have time to waste thought on low lifes...
As Stardock grows, Brad will become an increasingly bigger target for the idiots of the world, its a fact of life, and it will happen. As such, I think its only wise to start evaluating how open he is to the public and the internet as a whole. If I told you today that I will give you money to contact the CEO of Radioshack, and you have 7 days to accomplish this task regardless of the means, how successful do you think you would be? Having met the man, I can assure you, that you would fail in this task - miserably. Radioshack too big of an example? Then try the same thing with the CEO of Fileplanet (Do you even know his name?) and see how far you get there.. I've had companies i've done business with in the past for years, and if I had to contact the CEO, I couldn't even begin to tell you how. Think about that....
Now nobody is saying Brad should go into hiding.. Quite the opposite.. All i'm saying is, as the company grows, I personally feel its prudent for the CEO to have a reduced profile and be much harder to contact directly - I call these "BS Filters". In sales, I have to pass through dozens of "BS filters" in companies to get to the bosses, and sometimes, its almost impossible. I appreciate companies that have openness, but most of the openness is just perception and not reality. I can tell you with some authority, that its percieved. CEO's can appear open, and appear to have high profiles, but not actually have them. Ben and Jerrys icecream is a fine example of this - its like you almost know the CEO's personally - but you don't and if you try to contact them, you will fail.. Its all about "Perception" here.
Once again, this is just my opinion on the matter, useless or otherwise, its my opinion.
Reply #23 Friday, December 31, 2004 2:52 PM
I'm not going to lower my public profile.
There are a lot more negatives in doing so than not doing so. For instance if I used some anonymous handle or whatever, eventually someone would find out it was me and then I would get accused of "hiding behind aliases". Heck, I just wrote an article a couple weeks ago where I got accused of "hiding" behind an anonymous user - when in fact I wasn't, it was someone else.
Gene Nash writes regarding this article itself:
| Isn't that a death threat? Made over the Internet? From my humble perspective this article itself looks like an attempt to intimidate. |
A warning is not a threat. Moreover, my first concern is the protection of my home and family. It is, btw, perfectly legal to defend yourself with lethal force if you believe your life or the life of your family is in danger. What I am trying to do with this article is make the potential unwelcome violent visitor aware of the end result of their actions. Because I do get death threats, I cannot afford to wait and find out whether someone trying to force themselves into my home is just "trying to put the fear of god into me" (as one guy once wrote in email) or literally out to murder me and my family.
Reply #24 Friday, December 31, 2004 3:34 PM
In otherwords, i'm saying that if *I* were you, i'd simply put myself far far above all of this. Lets face it, you run a substantial, and rapidly growing company, you are a busy guy dealing with all of the aspects entailed in running a corporation. Every second a whiney brat distracts you, thats another second not spent on business or family - and it can't be recovered. Brat thrive off of the attention, and knowing that he got under someones skin - the internet is a great vehicle for these idiots unfortunately.
Just my opinion... Have a good new year!
Reply #25 Friday, December 31, 2004 5:25 PM
Kobrano - I can't exaclty prevent people from sending me email.
I think it dangerous to try to assume that all of them are using "gradeschool antics". Like I said, I get threats regularly, and have for YEARS. I got threats when we were a tiny OS/2 ISV.
I get threats because of my POLITICAL VIEWS all the time for instance. What does that have to do with me being a CEO? Nothing. The more you write about anything, the more people you are exposed to. I'm not going to quit doing what I enjoy doing because some nutcase doesn't like what I write.
In fact, nearly all the threats I get have nothing to do with my day job. They just find out who I am in real life. Moderating an unrelated tech site or some blog site has nothing to do with my day job. These are my hobbies.
Public figures have these kinds of problems. It's a fact of life. As for distractions, I'm on vacation. If I want to write an article warning potential lunatics the end point for their actions if they were to carry out their promise to "come visit me some time" is not a distraction from work. I'm not some robot. I have a lot of other interests besides my job. And I spend plenty of time with my family.
People have to have hobbies and interests. In other words, people need to have a life. My hobbies are writing political articles, tech articles, helping moderate tech websites, etc. My hobbies involve a lot of on-line communities that expose me to all kinds of people. Some % of them will be nut jobs. There's no way around that.
Reply #26 Friday, December 31, 2004 10:34 PM
But anyway, they seem to think the internet is this great anonymous void where they can make threats and not face any retribution, thats simply not true. I've read many stories of people being arrested for making threats over the internet.. Its serious business nowadays. You've probably noticed this too, but when you actually meet some of these people at conventions or something, and they associate your name with a face, they tend to act differently - at least thats what i've noticed in years of BBS'ing, and going to BBS conventions.
Reply #27 Saturday, January 1, 2005 3:08 AM
Reply #28 Saturday, January 1, 2005 3:39 AM
| A warning is not a threat. Moreover, my first concern is the protection of my home and family. It is, btw, perfectly legal to defend yourself with lethal force if you believe your life or the life of your family is in danger. What I am trying to do with this article is make the potential unwelcome violent visitor aware of the end result of their actions. Because I do get death threats, I cannot afford to wait and find out whether someone trying to force themselves into my home is just "trying to put the fear of god into me" (as one guy once wrote in email) or literally out to murder me and my family. |
No doubt about that at all. Family is the most important thing a man or woman has and I, like yourself and most others, would do ANYTHING to protect them.
Great, great article.
Reply #29 Saturday, January 1, 2005 12:10 PM
Keep punching...
Reply #30 Monday, January 3, 2005 3:37 AM
| Reply #20 By: Gene Nash - 12/31/2004 7:28:27 AM it would be the last action they'll ever take. And anyone who knows me personally knows I mean that. Isn't that a death threat? Made over the Internet? From my humble perspective this article itself looks like an attempt to intimidate. And in the event of "the last action they'll ever take," a good D.A. could use this article as evidence of premeditation. |
Wrong answer! If it occurs on Draginols property, then it's self defense and premeditation can not be considered.
Reply #31 Monday, January 3, 2005 3:39 AM
| Reply #30 By: hitparade - 1/1/2005 12:10:10 PM If your looking for family protection, nothing says "I love you honey" like a Mosberg pump shotgun! Keep punching... |
Keep it in stage 3 (rounds in mag but not in chamber) Any idiot that keeps on coming after hearing the rack of a 12ga shotgun deserves what they get. Personally I have a 500A sitting in the cornerwith low velocity loads in the mag.
Reply #32 Monday, January 3, 2005 3:43 AM
| Reply #28 By: zergimmi - 1/1/2005 3:08:31 AM I find it sad that people who use this or any site would then take the step to threaten any person who expresses a point of view different to their own. While I almost never agree with Brad, I do understand where he is coming from as I do with many others who may not express my ideas, and I believe if we are to act as civilised people we accept these differences, argu with them but above all respect the persons right to express them unless they are so incitefull that they should be censored. I have always believed that a true sign of a civilised community is judged by their ability to get on with and care for their fellow humans and the planet in general, not by their level of wealth or development, civilised people do not hurt, maim or kill others they do not agree with or understand, maybe when we all understand this, including individules, businesses, and governments and religions, the earth can really become "CIVILISED". |
So by your logic, *anyone who fights a war is uncivilized?
Reply #33 Monday, January 3, 2005 5:54 AM
| Keep it in stage 3 (rounds in mag but not in chamber) Any idiot that keeps on coming after hearing the rack of a 12ga shotgun deserves what they get. Personally I have a 500A sitting in the cornerwith low velocity loads in the mag. |
If you hear it & don't heed it, then you deserve to eat it.
Reply #34 Monday, January 3, 2005 1:43 PM
| Now that I'm older, have a family, and know that indeed, while most of these people are just cowards, some of them may be truly violent sociopaths, I use more discretion. So I tend not to try to "egg them on". But make no mistake, someone comes to my house after making such a threat I can't reasonably make the distinction of whether they are coming to "confront me" in person, merely to try to "beat the shit out of me" or to "kill me and my whole fucking family" (as various threats go). |
Perhaps you should get the law involved here Brad? Even if it's to make a report. There are some sick people out there, they lurk and lash out at anyone who disagrees with them. But as soon as you stand up to them and show them who is boss, they wimper and runaway, w/their tail between their legs. Sounds like a coward to me - threatening you and now your family - coward.
Reply #35 Monday, January 3, 2005 4:14 PM
It is EVERYONE'S JOB TO TAKLE THE RETARDS OF THE WORLD. I don't care if you're CEO of Microsoft or joe blow on the subway. If you fight back, they won't try it in the first place, and this world will be a much safer place for everyone's children.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. (Winston Churchill begging the British Parliment to act when Hitler look Austria... and the British Parliment did the same thing that most people do now-a-days.)
Reply #36 Monday, January 3, 2005 11:27 PM
I won't lower my profile. It's not me that's going to get hurt if someone is foolish enough to come to my home with the intent to do violence to me or my family.
And as a practical matter, I can't lower my profile. Much of the reason what I wrote gets so much exposure is precisely because of who I am and what I've built with my reptuation over the past 10 years on the Internet.
Reply #37 Thursday, January 20, 2005 5:31 PM
To be honest Brad, this is one of the reasons I never give out enough information on this site for people to figure out who I really am, I admite I've given enough clues that people could, if they really tried, and wanted to violate a few laws, could figure out who I really was.
I had never realized that people could be so opposed to your political position that they would rise to that level of ire. I personally disagree with a large number of things you espouse, but I respect your opinions, and indeed like the way you clearly lay out your thoughts.
Stardock is a wonderful company and you should continue your efforts, I was truely shocked by how well known your company was (being completely ignorant of tech issues beyond how to turn the computer on and access the internet), I mentioned your blogsite and company name to one of the guys in technical support here at the university and he talked for some time over how great your products were.
So, Kudos to you and three cheers from Jeblackstar.
Cheerscheerscheers
Reply #38 Thursday, January 20, 2005 5:34 PM
| My last law teacher gave me a great bit of advise: If some loon comes to your house and tries to harm you or your family, make sure you shoot to kill. A dead person can't dispute when you say "he said he had a gun and was going to kill me and I thought I saw a gun in his hand" |
::laughs:: One of my law professors said, "make sure you shoot the guy on his way into your house, because that way it's self defense."
Cheers
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Reply #21 Friday, December 31, 2004 12:28 PM
Not exactly. If you are making a statement of how you protect yourself in self defense, it is not a threat. If you said, "John Doe, this is the last action you will ever take" it is a threat, but is useless (especially if it is on a public forum, not in private email) unless there is an action taken. It would also be really hard to prove premeditation if a person that you never met, nor knew their real name came to your door and started threatening or abusing you.
My last law teacher gave me a great bit of advise: If some loon comes to your house and tries to harm you or your family, make sure you shoot to kill. A dead person can't dispute when you say "he said he had a gun and was going to kill me and I thought I saw a gun in his hand"
The NRA has taught me other things, but that's a different topic......