include bullies.

Mind, there are a fair share of them out in the office type and worldly world. However, when your main outlet is the world wide web, then it can get personal.

Take for example a friend of mine who was posting on forums. Yesterday, she was banned for essentially being a member of another rival forum. She was accused of poaching new members just for saying hello to an old friend on their boards. Rude and nasty emails were sent to her despite the fact that she hadn't even made the first contact. Basically, they wanted us all back as we were ardent posters before they switched us off autumn last year. Despite wanting us back, they were greedy and wanted us back all unto themselves. And for merely saying hello to an old forum friend, they threatened potential legal action against the new forum. Whilst the others can see the laugable side of this, all I can think is the man behind the emails must have a very huge opinion of himself to make up for something lacking.

Not even on the same level is the story that many far far better bloggers have commented on this but it has really got under my skin to the pint that even I have been riled enough to send my own personal email to the person in question. Nicholas Hellen, the then Acting News Editor from the Sunday Times sent what I would term as a blackmailing email to Girl With A One-Tracked Mind. Basically, the ST took time out from Conservative support et reporting, to outing an anon blogger who just so happened to have a book deal. They gave her the choice of having a bad photo, her name and her family in black or white, or turn up in a pretty evening wear dress as they couldn't be arsed to give her any type of cordility and would in all probablity still name her family members as well as ruining her career in the film industry at the same time. Zoe pointed me to Troubled Diva who in turn, linked to Heller's rebuttal to the blog outrage.

Despite his protestations, it doesn't take away from the fact that Heller took away personal privacy of not only a blogger, but her family. In essence, he was a total bully. You may try and defend your actions as qualifying a story but that defence just doesn't wash. Heller joined the ranks of black mailing creeps that you see in seedy 1960s-1970s films who have incriminating evidence to goto the press with but want something from you to prevent you family being dragged into it. GWAOTM is a grown consenting woman who yes, may have been a little naive in thinking that her privacy may be protected, but as others had managed it, why could she not expect the same? What Heller was basically doing was in IHO morally & ethically wrong - he had no real journalistic interest in outing The Girl; his arrogance in believing that his actions were justified is misplaced as it clearly wasn't in the public interest, amounted to nothing but pain and distress at the invasion of privacy on The Girls behalf and just proved that a gentleman he is not as his actions make him in essence, a bona fida w$nker.