I blocked out part of her IP address because I actually do want to protect people's privacy (which is why mine is also blocked)

One of the scariest things as a private person is when you uncover that someone is watching your every move online, particularly if you and that person have a history. I’ve deliberately shied away from Myspace and Facebook because I don’t like to put my personal and professional life out there (I tried Myspace and Twitter for a bit, but quickly lost interest). Yes, I have this magazine, but it’s an outlet for my writing; a way for me to circumvent the editorial process. For someone to contact my friends, family and colleagues under false names and then visit this site 200 + times a day makes me think there is a serious problem– it’s called cyberstalking. Read a bit about it (watch for my sarcastic reflections in italics) to make sure you’re not guilty of it:

Stalking is a continuous process, consisting of a series of actions, each of which may be entirely legal in itself (that’s just not right). Lambèr Royakkers writes that:

“Stalking is a form of mental assault, in which the perpetrator repeatedly, unwantedly, and disruptively breaks into the life-world of the victim, with whom he has no relationship (or no longer has), with motives that are directly or indirectly traceable to the affective sphere. Moreover, the separated acts that make up the intrusion cannot by themselves cause the mental abuse, but do taken together (cumulative effect).”

A number of key factors have been identified:

False accusations. Many cyberstalkers try to damage the reputation of their victim and turn other people against them. They post false information about them on websites. They may set up their own websites, blogs or user pages for this purpose. They post allegations about the victim to newsgroups, chat rooms or other sites that allow public contributions. (Do they do this under a false name and identity too? Mine certainly does, so I never know where it’s coming from. But now I’ve traced her IP address!)

Attempts to gather information about the victim. Cyberstalkers may approach their victim’s friends, family and work colleagues to obtain personal information. They may advertise for information on the Internet, or hire a private detective. They often will monitor the victim’s online activities in an effort to gather more information about their victims. (Emails and phones calls to my friends/colleagues, with an absurd amount of hits per day to this website.)

Encouraging others to harass the victim. Many cyberstalkers try to involve third parties in the harassment. They may claim the victim has harmed the stalker or his/her family in some way. (Absolutely she has. There’s a trio of them.)

False victimization. The cyberstalker will claim that the victim is harassing him/her. Bocij writes that this phenomenon has been noted in a number of well-known cases. (Yes, after I confronted her [with proof of her activity] she, of course, denied it and then told ME not to contact her again. Laughable.)

Attacks on data and equipment. They may try to damage the victim’s computer by sending viruses. (Not yet, she better not…)

This woman has been blocked from this site and my friends and colleagues are now onto her. It’s the least I can do to protect myself.