It is with great relief and extreme sadness that I leave the mutiny today ending the sequel to my Mutiny-Wallah gig. I think there may have been a way to bribe the head macacas to hang around the bunker blogging some more, but my lawyer and I have decided against it. I came back on board to Sepia Mutiny months ago with the expectation of blogging on the 2006 elections and am leaving today having spent more time researching cyber law than should be legal (bad pun, I know). You didn’t think I was going to leave without sharing some of the research I dug up, now would you?
1) It is a misdemeanor in the state of California to be sent multiple e-mails after you sent one that said stop contacting me, even if the perpetrator is in another state (check to see what your state’s laws are). My advice: never block or delete e-mails until you’ve accumulated enough evidence, never respond to the e-mails except for a one liner that says ‘stop contacting me’ and file a report with the police immediately.2) Those IP addresses are a tricky thing — they are often anonymous to protect the bloggers and commenters. But IP addresses can be tracked with a court order, and sites like MySpace, Friendster, or Blogspot have a wealth of IP information that they have to give to the police if given a court order, especially if the perpetrator used those sites to contact you. Also, if you do blog, get a sitemeter, and monitor those IP addresses religiously.
3) If you Flickr, photolog, whatever — copyright your pictures. According to blog laws, sites such as Brown People can post your pictures up legally as long as they link to the source. If you copyright your pictures, they are not allowed to take your image. The laws around image copyright infringement are pretty harsh (known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act), and the Google law team is standing by to make sure Blogspot users don’t infringe this aspect of the law. You should copyright your blog too.
4) Save everything, take screenshots (go to File, Save page as…) of everything. In a world where the Internet can be so easily manipulated and deleted, it is important that you save things immediately. Not just saving e-mails in your inbox, but take screen shots of profiles, blogs, websites and accumulating your data. Both your lawyers and law enforcement will be pleased to see that you have evidence to back your claim.
The rest of the list continued after the jump…
5) Blog laws are just getting developed and they suck. There are more rules out there to protect the right to blog than to support cyber victims. As a future policymaker, I find it shocking that the definitions of some of the legal terminologies don’t cover the realm of blogosphere. I also find cyber laws deep with misogyny considering the fierce protections against hate-crimes, liability/defamation, and violent threats, but minimal attention to sexual harrassment. This MUST change. Also, most states have cyber laws to protect only the under-18 crowd, not for adults. Luckily here in California, home to the Silicon Valley technology capital, the laws are more advanced, and the LAPD has a whole division dedicated to cyber issues.6) Find a lawyer asap. The Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society has a legal clinic that specializes in cyber issues, and there’s also the chance you can contact your local South Asian Bar Association to see if they have someone that can help you. Lawyers can write in the legalese that make service providers like Blogspot and MySpace, take down the perpetrator’s sites.
7) Research. There are plenty of sites out there to help you along. To name a few, check out Working to Halt Online Abuse, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Chilling Effect, and Metrac.
8) Be anonymous in the blogosphere, when possible. Due to the civic purpose of blogging on Sepia Mutiny in conjunction with my chosen career, anonymity wasn’t a choice that I had. If I could, I would have pulled an Ennis. Use search engines to monitor your name, make technocrati your best friend. Or if you have the money, use Reputation Defender.
9) Protect yourself and if possible, get a restraining order.
I hypothesize that due to the cover of anonymity provided by the internet, males are given a false sense of empowerment, much like the feeling street harassers get when whistling at girls. There is a DRASTIC difference in how males will react when I tell my tale, compared to women. I have had these types of conversations with way too many of my female blogger friends, who have had similar experiences. I wanted to share my data with you, because I know that there’s always the chance that someone is seeking resources in very similar situations. I’ve said it often, and I’ll say it again — the Internet is an amazing organizing tool especially for the desi diaspora and SM has been amazing in being at the forefront of this. But the tight knit community provided on internet space can also be entirely risky when in the wrong hands.
I’ve been struggling for the past week on exactly how I wanted to close my time here in the North Dakota bunker. Unlike the last stint in April, these 4 months in this Mutiny Wallah gig confronted me with some scary shit. The other mutineers as well as myself, could never had dreamed that blogging on Sepia Mutiny could have led to what it did. I love the blogosphere, have made deep friendships through blogging, and heck, seems like we even have a ‘SM gang’ here in LA that I roll with. But really, how could anyone have predicted it would escalate to this?
I’ve always pictured myself as an accessible leader for the South Asian American community. I’m not quite sure how much of a ‘leader’ I am yet, but I definitely saw myself as being accessible, and have been spending many years making myself a better resource to serve the South Asian American movement. To organize my people for a voice has always been my personal mission. This Sepia Mutiny forum, as well as the act of writing for it, I’ve approached as an activist tool — a way to make lofty research accessible, to make my organizing experience accessible, to contribute to the amazing desi database of the SM archives and to easily connect to an amazing virtual community. I always saw the accessibility as a benefit — a good leader is always accessible to the people they serve — but I never pictured the accessibility as the risk it has become. Which leads me to the questions that have been haunting me since all this began: How do I make myself an accessible resource/leader for the community, while remaining anonymous enough for safety’s sake? Could I have been completely anonymous like former guest blogger TheBarmaid? Or would my research posts have lost SAA activist credibility? What do you do when the thing that keeps you sane (for me it was blogging & writing) is being used against you in the most vulnerable way? Where do I go from here and gain my sanity back?
Am I leaving? Yes. Am I disappearing? From the blogosphere, potentially yes. At least for a little bit. Will I still be writing? Yes, that is certain. I can’t stop writing, it’s an addiction. If it will be accessible on the internet may be another story, and likely under a pseudonym. Do I have a blog? Yes, but it will likely be shut down relatively soon. Is there some place you can read my writing in the near future? You know, I wish I had an answer, but at this point, I’m not so sure. Do I still organize? Yes, and I will continue to work for the SAA movement even if I’m not Internet-vocal about it. In what fashion yet, I’m not sure. But desi political organizing is one thing that I will always be a part of. And of course, if there’s anything that I’ve written, you want to be on a list should I potentially write publicly again, or you simply want to keep in touch after my disappearance – you can always contact me. Just, you know, if I ask you to stop e-mailing me, I’d suggest you do.
So long Mutineers, bloggers, readers, and lurkers. I hope that you have gained something from my time blogging in the North Dakota bunkers. It’s been an interesting journey. Peace, love and be safe.
taz, can’t the police in US track IPs even without a court order under anti-terrorism laws like the Patriot act?
Taz, thanks again for your dedication and interesting posts! Even though you are leaving for now you ae co-hosting the LA SM meet-up in December (just so everyone knows and isn’t afraid to come to a meet-up hosted by me).
You be safe too, kid. Thank you for keeping this a lively, conscious space. You have done so much good and I know you will be missed.
taz, i’m ending my lurking days for you…you will be missed and remember you have serious ucla desis that gotch ya back hon…the blogging world won’t be the same without ya!
I am going to miss you Taz – I really enjoyed your posts
taz, you will be MISSED.
i had read about your troubles with said individual on your blog. you would not have been subject to this, nor would i imagine, it have been as troublesome, if you were not a woman. it is horrible that just as woman are more susceptible to preying on the streets, even the internet can become an un-safe territory. and to that, i feel like SCREAMING because the internet should be more safe to tread than the streets. in my perfect world, it should not be another venue where women feel the need to slip into the shadows to avoid too much attention from the wrong people. i can understand why you are making your choice though.
i hope to continue to read your writings, pseudonomynously(?) or however. fight on, sista.
Taz, sorry to see you go, your posts have been interesting. Hope everything works out.
Taz, you are a wealth of information. Congrats on a great stint despite the many setbacks you faced. Thanks for sharing, and best of luck to you. Let’s chat offline for sure. xoxox
Go bravely and be safe, Taz-ster.
The sense of engagement and honesty in your posts were wonderful, and i hope there’ll be more when you’re ready again.
dear taz – appreciate your candor and the effort in your postings.
since you’ve offered the opportunity via that line above, i will add my 2p. yore advice could have been well positioned a few days back when this person posted her email and phone number in the public blog. there was also an initiative to hitch rides across the state – and that’s a leetle dicey in my roolbook.
the onus isnt on the bloggers to be net nannies – but i just get the sense that you are attracting a very sheltered demographic that hasnt been streetproofed yet. taz – just to illustrait maybe you should actually explain the motivations for your research. then i also think the SM faq should be updated to put out some cautionary note on posting personal details in the posts. i know and understand that to you this is a bit of fun outside your real lives – but a lot of the posters seem to hang their hats on to the community rack.
btw taz – leave tho’ thou shalt – we shall remember your uneek style and just to honor you i took grate pains to randomly intersperse spelling errors throughout the post ;-). you will be missed. ducks
Taz,
Thank you for your many informative posts! Ismat stated it well: Congrats on a great stint despite the many setbacks you faced — especially the cyber-stalking. Hopefully, he’ll get caught and be convicted!
All the best.
Taz, thanks so much for all the work you put into trying to create, as you put it, a South Asian moment. I’m so sorry that your passion has put you in a position of vulnerability. Regardless, in my humble opinion people like yourself and the rest of the SM crew have earned your places in heaven. Peace.
I know election day was to be the end but this departure still reeks of bad triumphing over good. Stay strong and safe Taz, you are good people.
Rb. I meant South Asian “movement.”
Thank you for your time and dedication, Taz. Be good, stay well and good luck with everything. I hope to see you again one of these days 🙂
Wait! What! NO!!!!
Taz,
Thanks for all the wonderful posts. You will be missed. I hope you visit SM often anonymously.
Abhi, we can’t wait ’til the Dec LA meetup. Hope you’ve started planning already!
Sriram, I have to say, I like “moment” better. It sounds so…sweet. 😉 Let us all be lucky enough to have someone like Taz creating South Asian moments everywhere.
Sorry to see you go Taz, but I definitely understand where you’re coming from. I also had a similar incident to yours where the cyber stalker tried to ruin my ‘real’ life. I realised then how amazingly easy it is to get information about people and their friends, relatives, work, home addresses and phone numbers etc and use these to scare/harass/ruin people. By leaving or becoming anonymous it may seem that ‘they’ have won, but sometimes the fight is just not worth the losses.
Anyhow, take care and enjoy the time out!
Dear Taz, Thank you for writing so much these past few months. I hope that you lurk more than I do as a commenter in the future. Hooray for the meetup, Ravi the Lurker
I’m more of a politics blog person, and have always been fascinated with overlapping desi identites. Your posts provided the perfect mix. You will be missed.
Ha, moment works too. In engineer lingo, moment refers to the force acting on a rotational access, so a moment can cause a revolution.
Viva la South Asian moment! 😉
Eek, spelling, I’ll repost:
Ha, moment works too. In engineer lingo, moment refers to the force acting on a rotational axis, sort of like torque, so a moment can cause a revolution.
Viva la South Asian moment! 😉
A moment can cause a revolution. Creating South Asian Moments everywhere. beautiful.
Darn it. I thought the return of Taz was going to be a sneaky segue to a permanent Taz…
(not that I don’t love the other bloggers) (because I do)
I only read Sepia Mutiny because of you! I’m not even “sepia”! DAMNIT!
you will be missed.
Take care Taz.
I had no clue what was going on when i read this post. Then I read Taz’s other blog, the comments on it pointed to one of the “working” blogs (as opposed to blocked/404) and from there I found alternet and was able to figure out the name of the victim and find google images of her. (P.S. Im not a stalker, but Im very net aware, and gay.)
Whats wrong with you people?! Unless you want to be in the spotlight, guard your privacy online with the utmost care. Regularly google yourself, use dogpile, make up an alter-ego or two, use those for your web logins, signatures etc. Go change your stuff on batchmates etc. Put fake birth dates, fake locations etc.
And if you ever have a stalker, just ignore him and his compliments. You dont need it.
Taz, thanks for your always interesting posts and for inspiring us with your ceaseless drive to empower and motivate us macacas to become involved in the political process. You’re a welcome relief from the overwhelming apathy I’ve encountered in our community and I hope you never stop fighting the good fight. My (unsolicited) advice? Carry your head high knowing you’re undertaking noble endeavors and pay no mind to the dregs of teh internets bent only on distracting you from your goals; like I’m found of saying, all those haters can go suck on a syrupy pair of gulab jaman.
You will be missed and I hope everything works out in the end. Viva la Mutiny!!
Taz,
I’m in the dark about what has been happening to you off-SM (although I’m beginning to get the general idea), but it sounds as though you’ve been through a rough time. It’s a real shame that this has caused you to reduce your public profile and even take yourself offline completely; I know other desis here in the UK who are also very actively involved in various South Asian-focused political issues in the media and I’ve always thought it’s very brave of such people to do so, especially considering the number of nutters out there and the potential risk to themselves and their families. I get the impression that you’ve had a nasty experience in this regard too — it’s terrible for that to have happened, but you seem to be taking the appropriate measures to actively counteract it and comprehensively deal with the person concerned. I hope you’re getting plenty of support from your friends & family too.
Don’t be too disheartened; if you’re serious about your mission and have the courage of your convictions, then I do hope you have the strength to fight another day.
Thank you for your interesting & thought-provoking articles on SM, and for giving everyone the opportunity to engage in the fascinating discussions which ensued.
Very best of luck.
Taz, you’ll be much missed. I must say that you’ve inspired me to think “brown” in my voting and to pay attention to political issues again. Thank you for your contributions, and good luck.
Taz:Oh No! Just last night I told Abhi to make you (if possible) a permanent member of Sepia Gang – rather than a guest blogger. It was our (Yo Mom and me) pleasure to meet you just last month in Los Angeles. You are one of the nicest, brightest and cutest “Bangladeshi” I have ever met in my life. Take care …we will miss you.
Holy moly, I just caught up on this whole thing as well. Taz, that’s beyond horrible!!! I’m so sorry. 🙁
I have a male DJ friend (UK) who’s been harassed online for the past year by a girl in Italy. She contacted all his girlfriend’s friends on myspace to say she was having an affair with him, she contacted me asking if I was sleeping with him (because he’s in my top friends) and then stepped it up asking why I was “covering” for him by not writing her back, etc etc. Her website has poems about him and her myspace page talks about him sexually and uses his full real name, and she pretends she’s someone else. He’s blocked her as much as possible from his personal e-mail and myspace but his girlfriend is really upset and no one seems to know European law on the matter. I was really intruigued to know it was a misdemeanor in CA. Your advice is really good, but obviously hard for people who are at all in the public eye. Yuck. 🙁
Taz, thanks for such
savvysaavy posts… yet again. I’ve enjoyed your writing and very much appreciated your great community organizing and educational work. Take care of yourself — look forward to hearing more from you when the dust settles.Taz, we’ll miss you and hope to see you online again soon.
Good calls, Ismat and SA. Quite poetic, isn’t it? I’m glad my bad typing skills could be of service to the mutiny. Thanks again, Taz.
Tazzy Star: the ugly things people do have more to do with them than with you.
You’ve been a strong, fresh voice and you’ll be missed around these parts. Thanks, bigups and peace.
We’ll miss you in the SepiaSpace, Taz! You’ve done a great job!
Good luck Taz. Continue the good work and keep your head up.
B T W, Nov. 06 issue of Details has more info on e-menace. Page 176/ Does privacy exist?
Taz, I really like your posts. I guess only someone who has done any sort of activism can understand the full import of what you write. It just is so different from pure analysis, which doesn’t have to translate into action. Good luck with whatever you want to do next. And never for a moment doubt if there are people who understand what you are saying. They are far more than you might estimate 🙂
“So long, and Thanks for all the Fish”
Taz, Sorry you had to go through all that crap. Your posts have always been well researched and passionate. Please don’t lose your spirit. Take care and good luck with whatever you choose to do.
bigups, gurl. i never used to pay attention to politics, but your blogging has done its bit. sorry you had to deal with the creep.
I hate this dude that is making you deal with sh*t you should never have to deal with. Well I’ll hopefully see you soon — you only live a stone’s throw away from me:)
Thanks for a great job, Taz.
When the guilty is/are caught, this aunty will be there with a rolling pin.
How about we properly wish Taz farewell, thank her for her contributions to the community AND offer her our wishes for her safety before we discuss replacing her? Less tacky that way.
Be safe Taz, and good luck.
I love it when the intern gets cranky.