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ORIGINAL: WhipLash803

One of the difficulties of evaluating a Dominants responsibility for "protecting" a sub from behavior over the Internet is that there is so much that is subjective and interpretive. Something that the sub or a third party views as "harassment verging on the criminal"  is often nothing more than rude or unsolicited comments . There are so many people that replace large portions of a "real life" with a "virtual life" and then place a completely undeserved seriousness and importance upon this virtual life. I wonder whether the "protection" needed is from some rude asshole on the Internet or an intervention for a sub that needs the keyboard pried out of her hands. Chatrooms, Forums, Posting Groups, IM's, Texts, Emails...they all have a place in the rapid exchange of ideas, conversations and viewpoints in the digital age. However, if so much of your life and personality have been transfered into your virtually created "persona" that a "virtual attack" on that persona is perceived as an attack upon your real person...you probably don't need to be protected from them...you need to be rescued from yourself. Put down the keyboard, back away from the computer slowly and nobody gets hurt.

PS. Yes, I know there is a whole shit-load of Internet Sociopaths and Predators too. And they are definitely a pain in the ass, possibly dangerous...and even potentially can make that transference from virtual back to "real" life...becoming very real dangers. However, most of this can again be avoided by not being the "low hanging fruit" for victimization by being so deeply ingrossed and commited to your "virtual" persona. You can minimize the co-creation of a problem with these Sociopaths and Predators by limiting your exposure to them. Keep the Internet time short, keep your virtual persona private and discrete. When approached by one...don't engage...just move on or shut down, they'll quickly move on to another "victim" that doesn't know better and they'll engage them...instead of you.

WhipLash