Harassment in Cyberspace

The nightmarish harassment of author Jayne Hitchcock, detailed in The Times on Monday, demonstrates that there are things to remember while foraging the Internet. Among them: trust your instincts. Stay clear of any web site, person, group or alleged business that gives even the slightest hint of something awry.

This case involves Net “newsgroups” that allow users to read messages and post electronic replies. On one site for writers there seemed to be ample reasons to be wary of a supposed literary agency and its numerous uncustomary solicitations.

Nevertheless, several writers, including Hitchcock, sent personal information and samples of their work. When the writers began to suspect some kind of scam was afoot, they began issuing messages of warning and complaints to the agency’s Internet provider. It was then that Hitchcock encountered the cyberspace version of having her phone number written on the lavatory wall. Personal information, including her telephone number, was posted on prurient web sites. Insulting electronic mail was sent to her colleagues, listing Hitchcock as the sender.

Of course, the sensible thing to do for those who decided to take on this apparently bogus literary agency would have been to post their warnings anonymously to avoid retaliation. But this case is also a warning to avoid outright those cyberspace solicitations that sound too good to be true. Honest mass media junk mail is often a contradiction in terms.