Please read the following in an exasperated tone of voice, because that's what I feel here.
The problem is the very public trashing of kickstarter on her blog, combined with the multitude of people who have had run-ins with Rachael over the past few years calling her "crazy" etc.
Allegedly the FBI are uninterested in prosecuting the cyber stalker. However since coming across this today I've seen nothing that indicates they actually exist, or if they do exist, the kind of hateful things they harass with.
As far as anyone external to the situation can tell the stalker is either a figment of Rachael's imagination or someone who is going around informing people who potentially might give her money of something she doesn't want them to know.
We just don't know.
So in light of the very public trashing of kickstarter, it seems only fair we get to see all the evidence publicly as well - like documentary evidence of complaints to the police about the alleged stalker's behaviour.
Edit: and instead of downvotes, please tell me why my train of thought on this matter is unreasonable.
I believe Kickstarter has an obligation to treat Rachel like a customer. I believe they are capable of building the tool needed to deliver a good experience to customers like Rachel. I don't support the specific language Rachel might have used, but I empathize with Rachel's frustration with Kickstarter's flawed process.
I met Rachel a few months ago. She seems nice. I know she has all this weird unresolved drama from the past, but I have a strict no drama allowed rule so I try not to dwell on it. I believe that people can change and become more rational and less dramatic and Rachel seems to be doing really really well, except for all these weird people from alternative music scenes that Rachel somehow made way too angry.
I ran across one example of the stalker randomly on the internet yesterday, which was the stalker writing a review of Extreme Futurist Fest saying it was really bad. The review was willfully inaccurate, I was at the event, and it was really good for a new event and the attendees really impressed me with their intellectual caliber. The review was posted unsolicited on a bunch of mailing lists that didn't care, such as the list of the Mormon Transhumanist Association.
No, it's utterly ridiculous to post evidence related to ongoing legal matters to the peanut gallery of the internet. Any lawyer or legal TV show will recommend against that.
> No, it's utterly ridiculous to post evidence related to ongoing legal matters to the peanut gallery of the internet. Any lawyer or legal TV show will recommend against that.
This is where you and I disagree. Regardless of real-world implications I consider it unethical to use the court of public opinion to court sympathy ("my stalker of 10 years..." "police are doing nothing...") and to trash companies you think have wronged you (this kickstarter affair) without posting all the evidence people ask for, or need, to craft an informed opinion.
Kickstarter removed her because of the spamming, which seems to be an indication that the stalker exists. Of course she might have just been talking to herself, but having never heard about her before, I am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And you've heard about her now. Hmm. Whose interest does that server? Someone who wants to stop her life, or someone who wants to promote and sell tickets to her "transhuman" art projects
Why is it that people like Rachael always have drama around them?
I know people like this. Everyone is out to get them and people are always doing something to them (oh yeah, the world needs to know about it). I feel like she probably brought this onto herself somehow.
Stalking is serious, if did happen, something needs to be done.
She always has drama around her because she has some kind of rockstar vibe, she's hyper, and she has what seems like a limitless supply of enthusiasm and good will. I've seen plenty of people like that get shit all over just because they're happy when other people aren't. It doesn't mean she deserves a stalker. Just sayin'.
By comparison I'm a relative nobody, but this same person who stalks Rachel has also stalked me off and on for about a decade because I once told him "no" when he asked me to do something for him I didn't feel comfortable doing. All it takes to trigger stalker-dude is to make him feel slighted in some way.
That is harsh, but it is a lesson I learned from my stalker.
No one deserves to be stalked, and the people that do the stalking and weird and disturbing and evil. But I caused a significant portion of the problem in my drama.
Recognising that is a critical step to making them go away.
Of course you are mostly correct and I've expressed this same sentiment to Rachel several times. She understands it, but she doesn't "get" it yet. She's a great target because she does that stress panic thing some people whenever this guy starts messing with her. I'm sure everyone here recognizes that as a maturity/self-control thing, but it comes easier for some than others. Especially in people who have dealt with traumas it can be difficult to stave off an amygdala's hijacking and not freak out.
On the other hand, this guy really does go out of his way to harass people on his list. He still randomly mails shit-o-grams from throw-away yahoo or gmail accounts to my old email accounts. I just learned to ignore him and forward the lulz back to the abuse department of his provider.
Unfortunately Rachel, when faced with this guy on Kickstarter, thought she needed to tell her supporters what was going on. Kickstarter interpreted that as if she was responding directly to the "spammer" and turned their back.
What you say about her learning to not let him under her skin really is a critical step in making him go away. If the squeeky toy stops squeeking, it's no longer fun.
The problem is the very public trashing of kickstarter on her blog, combined with the multitude of people who have had run-ins with Rachael over the past few years calling her "crazy" etc.
Allegedly the FBI are uninterested in prosecuting the cyber stalker. However since coming across this today I've seen nothing that indicates they actually exist, or if they do exist, the kind of hateful things they harass with.
As far as anyone external to the situation can tell the stalker is either a figment of Rachael's imagination or someone who is going around informing people who potentially might give her money of something she doesn't want them to know.
We just don't know.
So in light of the very public trashing of kickstarter, it seems only fair we get to see all the evidence publicly as well - like documentary evidence of complaints to the police about the alleged stalker's behaviour.
Edit: and instead of downvotes, please tell me why my train of thought on this matter is unreasonable.