Updated 4/15/2014: The text that I originally wrote for this post has been removed. Since it was originally published on April 2, 2014, there has been a considerable amount of back-and-fourth discussion from numerous individuals on both sides of this topic. Through a variety of emails, online chats, and other methods of communication with individuals that I know and trust, it has become increasingly clear that there are multiple sides to this story, and that I don’t have a complete picture of everything that has gone on.
While cyberstalking may or may not have occurred, I don’t support the idea of fighting fire with fire. The individual who was accused of the original acts that had been detailed in a document that I linked to here, has also found himself the victim of similar campaign against him, with some unsavory websites created as part of that campaign. I won’t link to those sites for obvious reasons, but to say they are in poor taste would be an understatement.
I will say that I do still support the idea of crating a resource to prevent cyberstalking in the world of outdoor adventure and exploration. As many of you know, the later climber Chad Kellogg suffered mightily at the hands of one such person, who made went overboard to besmirch him at every opportunity. That kind of activity has to stop. On the other hand, some explorers and adventurers have chosen to live their lives in the public spotlight, and having a bit of transparency about their accomplishments, background, and history is probably a good thing as well. Either way, no one should be the target of these kinds of online bullying tactics.
It is not my style to just delete a post here on The Adventure Blog, and I have rarely done so in the past. I will leave this post in place, and say that I am saddened by some of the responses that this original story drew. I know that there are strong emotions revolving around this topic by those who are involved with it first hand, and I am very empathetic to those feelings. As I said above, no one should have to endure cyberstalking, online bullying, or similar activities.
I suspect this isn’t the last we’ve heard of this story, although I will be very careful with how I approach this topic moving forward.
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This is a pretty sorry piece of "journalism". For a balanced read on this subject, you can go here: http://ripleydavenport.net/american%20diplomat%20accused%20of%20cyberstalking%20annotated.pdf
As a companion piece to this article I offer the Website of WingNut World: http://www.kentmadincyberstalker.com/