[Carl in Tampa]

On Tuesday, May 20, Bill O'Reilly had two guests on his "Back of The Book" segment who were asked to name the most dangerous and sleazy websites on the Internet.

I found it of interest that one of the guests named a site that came to my attention for the first time a few months ago through mention of it on TOTV. It was a site where quasi-anonymous people were impersonating registered TOTV personalities and making very derogatory posts about them. I say quali-anonymous rather than anonymous because there is at least one TOTV regular poster who has identified the screen name he uses on the other site.

The O'Reilly guest who named that site characterized it this way, "Alex Little went with a site called Topix. "It describes itself as an online forum for local communities," he said, "but it has become the virtual bathroom wall where folks write whatever they want about their neighbors and their enemies. It's a hotbed of slander and defamation."

Having visited it solely to understand how some TOTV personalities were being hurt by the postings, I agree with Mr. Little. It is a site that I have chosen to ignore.

[mgjim]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

[Clipped]
Having visited it solely to understand how some TOTV personalities were being hurt by the postings, I agree with Mr. Little. It is a site that I have chosen to ignore.

I absolutely agree with you. I visited that site recently just to see what people said about The Villages. Mostly nasty people who have nothing better to do than insult each other. What a waste of time. For all it's faults, I'll stick with TOTV.

[redwitch]

I don't know if I'd characterize it as sleazy and not convinced it is truly dangerous but it is one of the ugliest sites I've ever had the misfortune to visit and most definitely is extremely hurtful. I found it sad that these people had nothing better to do than try to hurt each other and others. What a pathetic group of little people.

[Patty55]

I did a quick look-see over there. How sad. How revealing. One poster (the one who identified himself) was someone I actually respected a bit (based on the love he had for his dog), now not so much.

I found the conversation regarding me laughable. I'm allegedly a Republican, an alter ego of another poster but hey, apparently the word is that I look good while I do it

[skyguy79]

The Topix (or should I say Toxic) website is very much as Carl describes. I have only been to the website about 3 or 4 times over the past few years, and have never posted anything on it. However, I recently did a Google search on my own screen name of skyguy, and surprisingly found I was mentioned about 4 or 5 months ago. The troll accused me in their post, of making a mean post (or something similar as I don't remember exactly what was said) under an alias name just before they posted their flaming message. That's nothing however, compared to how they attack some other active TOTVers, but it does show the extent of just how sick this individual or those creeps are. Try Googling your own TOTV screen name + topix, and don't be surprised if you just happen to be mentioned for no logical or apparent reason.

[BarryRX]

Freedom is a messy thing. The web sites you describe pale in comparison to other sites that support pedophilia or are racist. Idiots like the nazi party have a website.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

Freedom is a messy thing. The web sites you describe pale in comparison to other sites that support pedophilia or are racist. Idiots like the nazi party have a website.

I definitely agree with you. Topix is very disagreeable but not dangerous like others that actually preach armed takeover of our country - and these are from groups that call themselves American " patriots".

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by BarryRX

Freedom is a messy thing. The web sites you describe pale in comparison to other sites that support pedophilia or are racist. Idiots like the nazi party have a website.

I agree there are some extremely cruel and nasty web-sites out there. If they are confined to an audience of just a few people though they seem the equivalent say of what a few gossips at a local Villages' pool are saying about their neighbors. And, if they do say something of an actual libelous nature, the parties involved can take them to court. If you want to defend yourselves, you can try on Topix as well.

I got into a 5 year flaming war on Findlaw (2001-2006) with a man who needed my help to find appellate caselaw in his white collar crime defense. He would vigorously attack the Judges in his County on Findlaw as well and other people. I suppose these Judges just let this man blow of steam as no one took him seriously. In a rage, he started attacking me while pretending to be a friend in our e-mail exchanges as well as on his regular handle. I never figured out who this Mr. Hyde like persona was until he started bragging about playing me for a fool around 2005. I must have written thousands of complaints about Mr. Hyde to the Findlaw Sysop; hundreds to others as well like to my US Representative in Palm Harbor, FL and the police departments in both his County in Virginia and the Sheriff's Office in Pinellas County, Florida when I learned about this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like duality in 2005. I had complained about this Mr. Hyde when I went in person down to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office to complain about various stuff including this Mr. Hyde on September 17, 2002. I also gave them copies of some of the nasty Findlaw messages of Mr. Hyde, they (Detectives Crandell and much later Det. Warner via phone) just said there was a First Amendment right of Free Speech and people say nastier things when they are not face-to-face. I gave them (Crandell) several hundred copies of documents (maybe 200?) I had had picked up in my victims/survivors rights' campaign as well from around 1990 onward. I had bigger fish to fry with these documents but my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kept knocking over my frying pan.

I do not believe getting all upset about the equivalent of some boy wrote on a bathroom wall in high school say about the girl who dumped him is all that useful. If there are broader issues involved, yes, get involved. I was on Findlaw for so long because very important issues were involved.

Topix though is one bathroom wall I am not going to even bother looking at. I am quite certain that the more dangerous web-sites are carefully monitored by the FBI, human rights' groups, the CIA if abroad, the NSA, and an alphabet of other organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center. http://www.splcenter.org/

On a lighter note, I have been playing FunTrivia Daily Private Tournaments. One of these Private Tournaments has some not-so-good players, so I can win often in that one. I won most of this week and started to get very nasty comments left by some man or woman named Tatty. I think he/she is just trash talking so I am off my game. It worked one day. But, now I am just going to ignore whatever baiting this gamer throws at me. This is not on the TOTV FunTrivia game http://www.funtrivia.com/private/main.cfm?tid=101297 as there are some very knowledgeable and skillful players on the TOTV Private Tournament. The FunTrivia moderators are great at kicking off anyone who plays dirty but I guess they have no say in the Private Tournaments.

[CFrance]

I hope GG's reading this.

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by CFrance

I hope GG's reading this.

I did look at the Topix a few months ago and GG was the main target. I have found her a great friend to newcomers on TOTV as well as a shoulder to cry on in the very infrequent but very mild personal attacks on TOTV.

She has sent me some very welcome and friendly Private Messages.

They seemed to allow obscene sounding handles on Topix. That should tell you how seriously you should take that site.

My Findlaw cybersmearer was often obscene in some posts but would also appear very mature in others. That's why I had such a hard time figuring out who he was. And, extremely two faced people really put me off.

[Patty55]

There have been many times that I've been annoyed by the level of censorship on this board but after reading TOPIX I get it-kind of-LOL. You would think that a group of adults could govern themselves, but apparently not.

Pedophiles and predators are a different situation, leaving victims in its wake and desensitizing the pedophiles into thinking their actions are acceptable. I also think parents have a responsibility to be aware of what their children are posting and try to see it through the predators eyes.

I believe in the First Amendment and that you can't pick and choose what is acceptable. You have to take the good with the bad, I don't have to agree with it, I don't have to read it but I do defend the wackos right to voice their opinion.

The TOPIX thing is just laughably stupid and revealing. I know others are hurt at what is being written, me, I couldn't care less. What a bunch of YENTAS.

[Bucco]

TOPIX is so very troubling on so many levels.

As someone who seems to be in the cross hairs of some of the attacks, it really makes you feel sleazy as they demean your online persona. Worthwhile to add, the posters there simply make stuff up. If I am a member of some clique as advertised up there, I never get notices for the meetings nor get all the pm's supposedly sent to me.

What is most disconcerting to me is that these are Village residents posting there....and they are "among us". They post on here as well as there and that, to me, is extremely upsetting.

[Patty55]

Hey Bucco, I think you are part of my clique, must be true, I read it on TOPIX. Sorry you missed all our past meetings, the next meeting will be held at the new TADS-the one near the Coach store, not the one near the waterpark. Hope to see you there.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Bucco

TOPIX is so very troubling on so many levels.

As someone who seems to be in the cross hairs of some of the attacks, it really makes you feel sleazy as they demean your online persona. Worthwhile to add, the posters there simply make stuff up. If I am a member of some clique as advertised up there, I never get notices for the meetings nor get all the pm's supposedly sent to me.

What is most disconcerting to me is that these are Village residents posting there....and they are "among us". They post on here as well as there and that, to me, is extremely upsetting.

Originally Posted by Patty55

Hey Bucco, I think you are part of my clique, must be true, I read it on TOPIX. Sorry you missed all our past meetings, the next meeting will be held at the new TADS-the one near the Coach store, not the one near the waterpark. Hope to see you there.

I wanna be in the "click"! I wanna be in it!!!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by Bucco

TOPIX is so very troubling on so many levels.

As someone who seems to be in the cross hairs of some of the attacks, it really makes you feel sleazy as they demean your online persona. Worthwhile to add, the posters there simply make stuff up. If I am a member of some clique as advertised up there, I never get notices for the meetings nor get all the pm's supposedly sent to me.

What is most disconcerting to me is that these are Village residents posting there....and they are "among us". They post on here as well as there and that, to me, is extremely upsetting.

You should see what used to come up when you Googled my real name. (Lots of really nasty attacks by Snopes Tinfoil Hat board people and the Snopes Administrator gave me no access to defend myself which is extremely TROUBLING). I doubt if anyone active on the Internet has much control of what others may see. At least, on Findlaw's message boards I had all kinds of ways of posting.

The TOPIX posters when I looked seemed to use their real names or borrow the names of real posters and make inane remarks. Anyone familiar with your posts on TOTV should be able to tell the real from the fake personas.

It does really bug me that they picked on GG as she is such a sweet person online and a great contributor to TOTV.