I would take threatening language very, very seriously.
Not because all internet threats are serious, but because you never know which are and which aren't.
So the serious ones will wind up in jail, or scared out of their wits when the cops show up at their door.
And the not-so-serious ones will wind up in jail next to them, and have learned their lesson not to make threats over the internet.
The internet is a very, very strange place. It's a place where a lot of things get made up. Doctoral studies are being done on how the misinformation on the internet affects people's lives. It is actually a very serious problem.
If it's not on the internet, people assume it didn't happen. That's how a famous horse trainer continues to get teenage female working students with the blessings of their parents.
If it's on the internet, people assume it's true. It has an authority because it's up there in print. Much like it has been with books for a long time - 'publish and become true'. The printed or displayed word has an 'assumed authority'. People make up stories to get even with people, to make a point, as a prank. Often without realizing exactly what he results will be.
Remember that story in 'Doubt'? The lady confesses to the priest that she has been gossiping. He instructs her to go up on the top floor of her building, and cut open a feather pillow. She does so and returns to him. The priest instructs her to gather all the feathers back up. She says, 'I can't, they drifted everywhere'. The priest says, 'And that, is GOSSIP'.
Gossip is not just bad when I am the victim, or when you are. It is always bad.
So, the internet is a place where some cowards are emboldened to attack and insult people, twist their every word and try to assasinate the person's reputation. It is a place where clever people are able to twist a person's words around, convince others the person is some sort of evil trash, ridicule anything they say, and where clever people can hound someone perpetually.
It's a place with a gang, or clique mentality. It's a place with a lot of very, very angry people. And it's a place where people have favorites, and they can do no wrong, too.
There was a horse person down in Texas, and a woman who didn't like her, started an entire website dedicated to trashing this woman.
It was not exactly clear why this gal hated this other gal so much. Other than act like a big fish in a little pond, which is just exactly what the person who started the hate website was doing, nothing much had occurred.
But this is how things get started, very often. It can be as simple as simply expressing a different point of view. On many websites, there is a 'Party Line' and you better not have a different point of view.
Or in the horse world, try leaving a trainer who has a big mouth and spends a lot of time brooding over who has done him wrong. You'll be surprised at how it affects your life. It's more evil than divorce or murder.
It is not a good place to get overly involved in a person's problems, or to give them much advice. If you do, you have to do it knowing what the consequences are. They can be very serious. If someone turns against you on the internet, they can affect your job, your social life, anything.
Further, anyone can find you, find your home, and harm you, your family, your animals, your property. it is not at all difficult to do. It doesn't even take any brains. When you are on the internet, be careful. Have fun, but try to be safe.
I don't think it's wise to publish so much information about where you live, when you are home, details of where you work and what your hours are, how your property is laid out, about how you live alone or that your husband travels for work, what things you own, what illustrious parentage your horses have and how many show wins they have, or what your children look like, what their after school activities are, etc. Yes in private conversations perhaps with people you're a little more sure about(beware that many people send pm's and act friendly and have a diffrent agenda), not on a public bb where anyone can read it. It's fun, may people do it, but you do so at your own risk.
And if you suspect a threat, don't brood over it alone. Make out a police report.
Legal cases abound today about internet harrassment. The legal lines are stil being drawn, but they are likely to be reasonable. The internet gives people a wider and far, far less critical audience, but it's likely they'll be just as culpable as if they did their dirty work in a book, magazine article, or at the village water pump.
