i don't feel safe anymore with gaming culture

[maricon]

Then I wonder why she didn't do anything about the troll situation yet? Oh, wait she did report it to the police. Nothing came out of it. Like I said: did you ever heard of anyone persecuted for sending threats on the internet? She can report it to the police, but what do you think they're going to do about it? Trace it and jail the troll? Fine them?

Yes.

See: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29274238

Cyber-harassment is a crime. You can, indeed, be punished for it. You can go to jail.

Will every single person who does it get caught and be penalised? No, of course not, it's difficult to trace every individual 'anonymous' message and the police have other things to do.

But it's important to recognise that this behavior is illegal (jurisdiction may vary) and can have consequences. Look up cyber-stalking laws for more information.

I never said it isn't a crime. Besides, we're talking about two different things - I'm talking about troll attacks, and threats made by bunch of unorganized anons - you're talking about cyber-stalking.
The only examples anyone was able to provide were either of public institutions or in this case - a famous person. And in the case of Spacey, he was persistently stalked by the same person - he's not persecuting a bunch of nobodies who one time told him to kill himself on twitter.
A troll attack even if it results in doxxing is not going to warrant the same response - especially if a person in question is just an everyday person.

[Mad Harlequin]

We're on your side. Always.

You could have fooled me. But I'm just glad to know you're serious enough about harassment here.

A troll attack even if it results in doxxing is not going to warrant the same response - especially if a person in question is just an everyday person.

Yes, "trolling" can be limited to one comment from one person. But at some point you have to draw a connecting line between "trolling" and cyberstalking/abuse. It affects more than just the rich and famous, and the law is catching up. Kevin Spacey's case may get more media attention, but if the average person can't be assured of the same protection under the law in a similar event, then there is something seriously wrong with enforcement. (For the sake of the thread, I won't get started on the flaws of the justice system.)

[Caveat Lector]

I'm just going to jump in and make a comparison here: Let's say you have two different pranksters. One of them likes to put fly ice cubes in someone's drinks. The other likes to ice the sidewalk. What's the worst that could happen in either scenario? In the first one, the worst that could happen is that someone could just get a minor shock and be embarrassed for a minute or two but then get over it; in the second one, the worst that could happen is that someone could slip and break their neck. Those two are not equal and should not be treated as such. The first prankster can probably just be ignored and will probably stop once they see they're not getting any attention; with the second prankster, they could seriously hurt and/or kill someone.

Same thing here. If someone calls another user a "poopy face", the worst that could happen is that someone could just get their feelings hurt or possibly get annoyed; if someone cyberstalks and cyberbullies another person, the worst that could happen is either a) the victim could kill themselves, or b) someone on the hacking team might go so far as to attempt to confront the victim in their own house. THAT is the kind of "troll" that should be dealt with.

[Green Glasses Girl]

Those people were not harassed for making a game, only for public opinions. The moment you have an opinion on something controversial or against the norm, there are always people who overreact. Badly.

I agree with this. But shifting the topic more to what can be done about it, I'll post my thoughts:

1) Preemptive measures to protect yourself. A few people have already posted the general idea. Be very wary of what information you hold in your personal account information/settings, whether it is your Facebook, Youtube, twitter, tumblr, Amazon, eBay, etc. As we've recently seen with the hack of online cloud accounts, nothing is safe. There will always be a person who can sneak their way behind the gates, so the best thing we can do is give them nothing significant to use if they manage to reach the other side. I know what the idea is: "We shouldn't have to do these things!" Unfortunately, we can't always change the minds of people who are out there to harm others for entertainment and personal gain. However, we can take steps to stop them from always getting what they want.

2) "Rule 14: Do not argue with trolls - it means that they win." I know this sounds silly (and ironic), but there is some truth there. Trolls breed off their target's exasperation. The more they see a person struggling, the more they benefit. This doesn't mean to let the subject go- it means not regularly engaging in a social media source that alerts the the harassers that their trolling is working. Don't get me wrong-it is perfectly fine to give succinct statements to followers/watchers/fans if you are dealing with harassment. However, I don't think constant tweets or blog posts with up-to-date screenshots of the harassment is the way to handle it. If anything, that gives the trolls more fuel. Dealing with the situation without showing the trolls that they're getting to you is a good strategy. Immediately reporting the abuse to the mods, website staff, HR, and the police instead of engaging the general public (where trolls hide) in order to catch the harasser by surprise is a good method, since announcing day-to-day abuse 1) encourages trolls to bother you more because they want to see how far they can push you, or 2) gives trolls a head's-up so they can immediately make a new account, use a different computer, and even go to a different location to continue the harassment without consequence. The key is to showcase an aura of calmness rather than the panic the trolls enjoy to see.

I've seen people block other users from their deviantART accounts, disable anonymous asks from their tumblr, and delete their twitter accounts just to avoid abuse. While this should not happen, people do what they can to make sure they remain safe for the time being. While I don't know how each individual abuser would be caught or found, the best way is try to shield yourself first before taking the steps to end the harassment.

[Caveat Lector]

In the cases of posting screenshots of the trolling, that's usually done in response to people accusing the victim of making up their harassment, which happens all too often (EDIT: Gah, I mean the people accusing people of making up the harassment happens too often, not people making it up, sorry this is why I should wait until I've totally calmed down from being hyper on tea before posting!) (and sadly, this also happens with domestic abuse cases as well--too many people are quick to side with the abuser even when the victim posts photographic, documented evidence of the abuse). It's a damning situation either way--if you don't post evidence of this harassment? You're making it up. If you do? You clearly photoshopped it. Because on the internet, every video and picture ever made or taken must be fake. If you put any faith and trust in the integrity of the people uploading these photos and videos, you're just a sheeple, right?

And while the whole "don't feed the trolls" advice is good in theory, it also varies from situation to situation. I personally wouldn't try to give out a universal solution for bullying, I would just give suggestions on what to do, because every bullying case varies and the same solution does not always work--sometimes ignoring works, other times it doesn't; sometimes being nice to the bully works, other times it doesn't, etc. I think that's also the same here. There are cases where just ignoring "trolls" works, and other cases where it doesn't. It all depends on each different case.

I'm also wondering if there are any national phone numbers people know about that others can call?

[Mad Harlequin]

And while the whole "don't feed the trolls" advice is good in theory, it also varies from situation to situation.

That's just it. It's good in theory, and can work in practice in the least toxic situations. But that's about it, IMHO. It doesn't, and shouldn't, apply to more serious cases---and certainly not when someone's personal safety is threatened.