Online Harassment How to recognize it and how to protect yourself What is Online Harassment? Online harassment is a course of conduct directed at an individual that causes substantial emotional distress in that person and which serves no legitimate purpose. Online harassment may include... Unwanted / unsolicited e-mail Unwanted / unsolicited chat or instant messages Public or private messages on IRC Disturbing messages on Usenet or bulletin boards Unsolicited comments about you to others Online harassment is a crime in New York State punishable by up to one year in jail, a $1000 fine, or both! What to do if you've been harassed online: Be sure that you've actually been harassed. Rude people, unpopular ideas, "spam" e-mail, or simple disagreements are not harassment. REPORT IT! To the System Administrator(s), the ISP complaints account, to your ResNet RHC, to the University Police. Archive and log all communication from the harasser. Tell the harasser to cease and desist, once. Be firm, be professional, be formal. Tell them once, and then break off all further communication with them. Protect your online space. Practice your information control by limiting the amount of personal information you have available online or that you give out. Keep your password a secret and change it frequently. For further information… CyberAngels* http://www.cyberangels.org Wiredsafety: Harassment* http://wiredsafety.org/cyberstalking_harassment//index.html WHOA: Working to Halt Online Abuse* http://www.haltabuse.org/index.shtml The University at Albany "Blue Book" The University at Albany ResNet Manual *Note: These web sites are listed as additional resources only. These sites are not affiliated with the University at Albany and therefore the University is not responsible for the content or availability of these sites. To report an incident of Online Harassment, contact the University Police Department Top University Police University at Albany 1400 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12222 n Tel. (518)442-3130 e-mail: UPDWeb@uamail.albany.edu