Bullies, Griefers and Plain Old-Fashioned Harassment, Part 1

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This article is the first of a three-part discussion on the nature of, and relationship between, cyber-bullies, griefers and the legal concept of harassment.

Because the terms “cyber-bully” and “griefer” are often tossed around interchangeably, I’d like to clarify when and under which circumstances they are meaningfully distinguished (at least for our purposes), and when they are not. General definitions, set in their proper context, will probably suffice for this purpose. Where such definitions fail to adequately reach, or address, problems involving physical or psychological damages, we will look to the law to determine (a) whether it has come to recognize meaningful distinctions between griefers and cyber-bullies. More importantly, we will look to the law to (b) get a better understanding of the types of remedies it provides where damages are incurred (Note: though it would seem to “round-out” our discussion to lie it alongside an actual case study, our blog format is not suited for such elaborations . . . so anyway . . . ).

Let me begin with a general clarification of the term “griefer.”
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