ANONYMOUS wrote:
Dear Aunty Abs,
I hope you will respect my desire to remain anonymous and not reveal my ID to the wider forum.
My tale of woe started a month or two ago now when I joined a forum on the tinterweb.
Ever since, one particular member has been doing their best to make me feel small and appear foolish in public. I really have tried everything I can think of to placate this bully. I can't think of any reason why *** (oops please edit that bit) would be so unkind to me. I've certainly never given *** (see last parenthesis) any reason whatsoever to treat me with such disdain. *** (as above) is making my online life a living nightmare. If I were a younger, less battle hardened member of the resistance, I may be pushed into doing something um, unwise.
Thank you in advance for any advice you may have.
Dearest ANONYMOUS,
I have a feeling I know to whom you are referring and I'll be perfectly frank, he/she has a bit of a rep for it.
I believe a lot of it is about sexual attraction. I'm sure you'd be the first to acknowledge that you're a bit of a handsome young buck, and this is exactly the sort he/she tends to go for.
You'll notice that members of the same sex and old people don't tend to get so much stick from this person. Now, you know why.
The only advice I can really offer is to watch your back with this one. They are particularly snidey and two-faced and will do just about anything to get to you, one way or the other. They will probably push you to the very edge, only to snap back all 'nicey, nicey' at you and come over all friendly-like.
I've witnessed this for myself. Just watch yourself and don't let your guard down for a second. By all means be civil, but never agree to meet this person on a one to one and certainly don't divulge any personal info such as address or bank accounts to them.
In summary, don't do anything 'unwise', as that's probably exactly what they want you to do, if only so as they can turn the whole thing around and make like they're your bestest friend. If you have any further trouble from this bully, you just let me know and I'll see what I can do for you.
And just try and remember, to this person, pain is love. If you feel anything at all for them, try pity. And continue to be the shining beacon of resistance that you quite clearly are.
Much love,
Aunty Ab xx