Everglaze Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 I wasn't sure where to put this, but since it said "Ex-Christian Life," I thought it might be suitable here. Anyway, the dilemma is that there are some net Christians that I met two years ago when I was a Christian. It all started from a forum like Christianity dot com, but they have become so attached that it feels like they're stalking me. Even now, they continue to follow me around the internet being nosey by reading my blogs or visiting my sites, etc. What the hell? I'm not a Christian, I have nothing I want to do with these people, yet they continue to annoy me by trying to chase me around. Do any of you have similar things happening to you? I've trashed their e-mails and I've blocked them even. What do I do to knock the sense into these people that I don't want them riding on my coattails? They say some stupid things like how they don't care, yet they continue. They want to make me feel obligated or something. "Oh, this is our Christian duty" or "You're abandoning your duty!" They say they're not stalking or anything, yet it's exactly what they're doing. Are they infatuated? It creeps me out like a bunch of cult loons. I haven't talked to these strangers in months, never needed to and don't want to ever again! Anyone know what to do about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lycorth Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Legal action, I suppose? If their emails have the sender computer's IP logged, save those emails. If the boards and such they hound you on have moderators who pay attention, contact them and explain the situation; perhaps they could log the IP addys of the offenders. Then perhaps frame a response, citing all this info, and email the stalkers and threaten legal action if they keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twincats Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 Wow. I guess saying 'ignore 'em and they'll get tired of following you' isn't good advice if they've been hounding you for nearly two years. I hope you can find a way to rid youself of these hangers-on. I really kind of pity them because so much of their self-esteem seems to be tied up in being able to convert people. Conversions stroke their egos. But it seems to be a double-whammy to them when someone turns away from their imaginary friend in the sky when they were once part of the 'flock.' They take it as a personal failure. Maybe you should give them the old "It's not you, it's me" speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 One of the frustrating things about stalkers is that they always seem to think they're not actually stalking you. When of course, they are. You can't really stop anyone from perusing web info that you make public, but you can certainly take steps like you've already taken, with email and more private info. If it's been going on for a long time, they aren't going to let up on their own, most likely. My first impulse would be to let them know that I no longer want their attention. I'd send them an email outlining this in simple, direct terms. CC it to any friends who are aware of the situation and willing to stand as witnesses to your telling these guys to piss off. They get exactly one warning. If they continue to follow you around, that's when I'd contact an attorney, moderators, ISP folks, and so on. Another thing about stalkers that's a pita is that they thrive on attention, too. So whether or not you actually take any action other than ignoring them is up to you. It might make things more intense rather than get them to leave you alone; but if it's been going on a couple of years, they obviously haven't found any other potential "victim", so to speak... ...heh, so I suppose you could find someone you really can't stand, and turn them on to that person... "Hey, I notice Joe Blow needs some spiritual guidance and I know how persistent you guys are; I'll bet you could really help him out!" I dunno. Stalkers are weird too. Sometimes it's just that someone really doesn't have a clue, other times it's that they're a fucking psycho and won't leave you alone. Hard to know the difference unless you're willing to try to tell them to leave you alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprus Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 To the extreme, if they are pestering you that much, you could get another ISP, change your e-mail addresses, internet identities, and so on. Or, you could just bide your time, and wait for the "stalkers" to give up...maybe they will just lose interest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everglaze Posted October 21, 2006 Author Share Posted October 21, 2006 Yeah, the thing is...they must have some sort of an obsession with me. Even when I was a Christian, these were some very manipulative people. They acted like they were in control of the way I lived my life. I mean, as I was slowly leaving the faith, they started to deliberately force me into "nurturing" their fellow "brethrens in the struggle." I have better things to do with my time. I think it was honestly a way to keep me from running away. One of them has told me that she "enjoyed" talking to me at one point. She starts telling me that she's got no sympathy for me, which I never asked for in the first place. She has no business even telling me that. I told her to get lost and she actually quit replying for a while, and then after several months, returned with yet another obnoxious email. The way they still manage to slip an email to me is beyond my comprehension. I've already told them off several times and yet they just don't get it. They're either attention whores or a bunch of psychos that need to group together in order to see what I'm always up to on the net. It's pathetic. I just recently got another email in my important email account (I regret giving this out to them in the past when I was a part of their "group"). I didn't even bother reading it and trashed it. What I'm trying to do is change my SN and every net ID that I have. I've already changed my email address. I'm trying to avoid any legal actions if possible. I'd rather obscure myself on the net. For now, I'll go with what you say Piprus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 I wish I had a stalker. I guess I'm not cute enough Anyway good luck with theses people. It's almost like they are on a mission from god or something like the blues brothers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprus Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Everglaze, does your PC have SpamKiller software, or some other anti-spam software? If so, you can simply enter their address in SpamKiller and it will always be trashed on arrival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everglaze Posted October 21, 2006 Author Share Posted October 21, 2006 No, I don't have spam killer for my PC. Do I buy that or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everglaze Posted October 22, 2006 Author Share Posted October 22, 2006 Yep, I've addressed that word before. Guess what they or one of those persons said? "I'm not stalking." It was somewhere along those lines. I can't remember. It was a while ago. Finding safety in me isn't even it. They either don't have any people to talk to offline with whom they find contentment with or are basically attention whores. One of them has said that she leads a full life outside of the net and has "support" or "fellowship" and after confirming that she wasn't a friend of mine nor anything more or less, she continues to seek attention? I think she has issues. This isn't even someone around my age group either. This is someone way up there with a family and everything. It should be okay now that I've changed my email address and every identity on the net, except for this one here. But, if they DO come here. That confirms them as exceeding the limit and having serious problems. I wouldn't be surprised though. I wouldn't even be surprised if one of them was posing under a different alias in order to converse with me either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ nivek ♦ Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Everglaze, Feel free to drop me a line via any of the IM services, or PM box. I have just a little experience playing Net Warrior over the past few years. kFL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprus Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 Everglaze, I would definitely suggest installing a spam blocker on your PC. I use McAfee SpamKiller, highly recommended, part of McAfee's Internet Security Suite. You can block any unwanted email instantly, and forever. Other such programs are available, esp if you use providers like Yahoo! , Verizon AOL or Earthlink. Well worth investigating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Everglaze Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 Alright thanks. I'll definitely look into that. The internet can be such a hassle. If spyware and viruses weren't enough, there's the firewall and the email safety issues too. Damn stalkers and hackers just feel equal to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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