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Taking 'Flamewar' A Bit Too Seriously: Man Drives 1,300 Miles To Burn Down Home Of Online Critic
from the yeah,-maybe-let-that-one-go dept
Online flamewars certainly can get nasty at times, often boiling over into quite a bit of rage -- but it's still pretty rare (and amazing) to see that anger then boil over into the real world. Last year, we wrote about a case in the UK where someone drove 70 miles to attack the guy he was sparring with online. The press referred to it as "web rage," though, rage doesn't tend to last that long. Or, perhaps it does. Here in the US we do things in bigger ways, apparently. A guy in Virginia who got into a flamewar online decided to make it a bit more literal, and drove 1,300 miles to Waco, Texas to burn down the home of one of this online enemies from a (no, this isn't a joke) picture sharing community. Not only that, but the attacker took photos of each "Welcome to State X" signs and shared them online as he made his way across the country -- to let others in the community know he was serious about going after the other guy. What did the one guy do to piss the other guy off? Apparently he had different political views and posted a silly photo claiming the other guy was a nerd. Nerd or not, he's now a convicted arsonist. He's been sentenced to 7 years in prison for burning down the other guy's home -- but it doesn't sound like the intervening time or pending jail time cooled this guy down. As the sentencing was happening, the arsonist used his cameraphone to take snapshots of the guy whose home he tried to burn down, apparently to post online as well (though, the court ordered the photos destroyed). So, while the typical admonition to those engaging in flame wars is to remember that it's a real person on the other side, we'd also like to add "who may be so crazy that they'll come burn down your house."
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I have nothing bad to say.
-Give me a clap, Vasili. One clap only, please.
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=|
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People have a lot of free time
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-_-
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Why?
What is it about going to that town that makes people want to set fires?
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This is concerning..
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Startin'
Now that I got that out of the way, I've recently moved, I now live at 358 Ocean View drive, Hemshaw Indiana. You should see the place, it's beautiful! Made of dried logs and old gas tanks.
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eh...
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Re: Startin'
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It's only a trailer.
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Most importantly...
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which grp?
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Burning down the house
I been an IT professionly for 14 yrs and I can tell you don't know these people, you may think you do, but you don't.
One more piece of advise - Be careful who you F with, they may be smarter than you think. Example: A young boy decided exploit an hole in an application I was running on my Linux box web server. Not very smart. Had issue resolved in 15 to 20 min. Than I begin my trace on him. I found a lot if info within 3 hour. I knew where he lived, his home phone number and his email address and I even found the name of his girlfriend (haha). I had a converation with him on MSN Messager. For 15 min the boy had no idea who I was and then I let the bomb on him and informed him of the information I had on him and I was very aware of his action against me and I have a mass amount of data prove it.
Remember, any body can be who ever you want to be, behide a keybrd.
Peace all
And Brett is correct: they only have a few items when going into court: jump suit (no pockets), shoes, underwear and handcuffs. Makes one wonder where he hide the cellphone?
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"flame war"
I just got it after reading this a couple of times...
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Well
On the other hand, his perseverances is awesome.
On the third hand, thank you Mike for not posting something entirely sensationalist or patent related.
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Re: Burning down the house
now that's a little sensationalist, wouldn't you say?
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Re: Wacko Waco Nerd?
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Re: Burning down the house
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Re: Committed
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WHAT
>:o
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So don't give out your real name and address unless you really are willing to have some psycho come to your house and murder you in the night.
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Very well said!! LOL
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Re:
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Re: Well
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Re: Why?
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You all need to quit.
It will be good for you.
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LOL
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Fire water burn
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I'm on my way!!
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Re: You all need to quit.
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Da Roof
Da roof, da roof, da roof is on fire!
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jay and silent bob meme
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Fighting online.
Even if you win your still retarded...
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1300 miles....
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I'd do it
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Site
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Flamers and Trolls
This event, however illegal and to be condemned, should let the flamers and trolls know that they aren't as safe as they think they are, and that a "firewall" (whether real or social) isn't always fireproof (pun intended). This extends to anonymity--there are lots of ways of breaking through it by a skilled, determined, and offended netizen.
This observation also extends to the arrogant geniuses who consider those of lesser intelligence "lusers". They, too, aren't immune from the consequences of ticking off the wrong person.
Mutual respect is the hallmark of productive internet exchange.
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Re: Flamers and Trolls
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Rule #14 of the Internet
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14
As they say in "la familia" don't carry a gun, if you aren't prepared to use it.
Dude got what he deserved. And I mean both of em.
So be it.
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How much can you believe
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Re: How much can you believe
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Re: Why?
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Bail and the like
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o.O
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How many gallons to Waco at $3.25 a gallon?
And if you disagree with me, well, not a good idea. I am an insane psycho, like you, and I have a full gas tank. I am not saying I am inclined to drive to Waco, though: I am only so insane.
Oh, please, people, there is plenty of real opportunity to be "committed" or "hardcore", if one gets out into the world at large and has a look around. If you want to test your mettle, get out of the sandbox. Get out of your comfort zone.
And if that is not your choice, remember you chose to be in the sandbox and its company by choice.
But I assume this guy is a statistical outlier in human terms, an exception, an error. cheers
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Flaming on the Net
My address is 1060 West Addison, Chicago IL
Come and get me...LOL
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But, so did the arsonist.
Seriously thought, it should be a lesson: STOP BEING A DICK ON THE INTERNET
(I'm looking at you, leetnetworks.com)
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Re:
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Re: 14
It's like the end of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Or like Uwe Boll beating the snot out of his critics in the boxing ring.
Everyone thinks they're faceless on the internet. But everyone wants to go out and kick someone's faceless ass sometimes.
May this be a lesson for everyone. Flaming can get you messed up. There's no doubt that if people automatically had their personal info displayed, they'd either stop talking shit, or a lot more asskicking would go down. You know you've wanted to.
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That's scary
Nerd Forum
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Re: Re: 14
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"Flaming"
Then you can have your neighours house burned down by some online psycho and you wouldn't even be at fault.
Scary...
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My philosophy
Even if you win,
You're still retarded.
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Strangers on a Train
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Re: My philosophy
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