Bullying online

This is a very serious blog post and I apologize in advance. Let me take you back to the start...

As many of you may know, I used to run the account ignailartcredit. This site is for reporting accounts on Instagram that do not credit nail artists, erase watermarks, claim nail art property as their own, etc. the nature of the account is quite calm and friendly. There is no abuse or fighting. It is highly monitored and the page is private. 

Nail artists are only allowed to follow this account, as the issue is applicable to nail artists and enthusiasts only. 

I recently handed the account over to another nail artist to run while I take a break from it. This nail artist was more than happy to take control of it and completely agreed with all the conditions of the page. 

A few weeks later, I received a comment from "instagramaccount". This page is not called "instagramaccount", I am using this as reference only as I do not wish to name them.

They asked me if I still ran the account ignailartcredit. I told them I didn't and someone else had taken over for me. They said they wanted an explanation as to why they were not accepted to follow ignailartcredit. I didn't look at their account, but asked the current owner of ignailartcredit why via Kik. 

Their answer was simple: their account was dedicated to the Miss Jen Fabulous Nail Art Theif issue. This is quite a sensitive issue for a lot of nail artists. The current owner of ignailartcredit and I both agreed that it wouldn't be in the best interest of ignailartcredit to allow them to follow. A lot of people are getting very fired up over the Miss Jen issue but we felt like some of the posts on "instagramaccount" were a but too direct and aggressive. Our opinion. We didn't want that type of behaviour to possibly stain the calm nature of ignailartcredit. 

So, I replied back to "instagramaccount" telling her politely that we both felt like the posts on her page and her direct attitude would clash with the integrity of ignailartcredit. Even though she then commented that she wanted to report other accounts, I still felt like the nature of her account wasn't a good vibe for ignailartcredit. I ended it with "I hope you understand". 

I instantly received frantic questions asking what the point of ignailartcredit was. I explained that the Miss Jen issue is a seperate issue. And, it is. Ignailartcredit is for reporting accounts who steal nail art. Miss Jen has copied designs and not provided any recognition to other artists, plus other dramas involved. It's different. 

I was then asked by "instagramaccount" what do I expect to do about accounts like Jen. I suggested that she direct those concerns to YouTube, as Jen is employed by YouTube, not Instagram.

So, long story short, "instagramaccount" didn't like the fact that they were not accepted to follow ignailartcredit. I didn't hear back, so I assumed the issue was resolved. I deleted the comments on my page a few hours later as I felt like they were negative and I didn't want it left on my page. I didn't get a friendly vibe from their comments and I instantly felt better for deleting all the comments. 

The next day, "instagramaccount" posted on their page about an account on Instagram that didn't credit a nail artist. In the caption they mentioned that they were basically left on their own to report these pages because myself and ignailartcredit didn't accept them into their "club". They claimed there was "no reason", even though I clearly told them why. I felt like this was very rude, offensive and I asked her to delete it. 

What I got then was long posts attacking me saying I was rude, lying, etc. I'm not even going into the comments in particular because it's a waste of my time and yours, but they kept threatening to post the conversation that I had with them. I had no idea why this was supposed to offend or attack me. I knew I was polite and did nothing wrong so what was the issue? 

She also then likened me to Miss Jen, because I deleted the original conversation off my page. She claimed I was hiding the bullying I put upon her. That hurt most of all, since I did it to clear the negativity off my page. I told her to go ahead and post the conversation because I had nothing to hide. But I also told her that if she did, I would be reporting it to Instagram. I also said I would be blocking her and would no longer comment because I had nothing left to say. She continued to post, using posts from my own page to mock me. I had in the meantime posted a quote on my page saying "if people keep trying to bring you down, it only means that you are above them". I NEVER posted about "instagramaccount" on my page. I never wanted to because I keep my account drama free. "Instagramaccount" in fact asked me to post about it in my account. Which I thought was strange. I had no idea how this even started in the first place!

So, she posted the conversation we had on her page.

In the meantime, a few nail artists came accross the page and commented in my defense. Unfortunately, "instagramaccount" then felt like they could go onto their own personal page and continue their rant. 

This afternoon, I noticed that "instagramaccount" was gone. I logged in through several of my own Instagram accounts to make sure I wasn't just blocked. No, it was gone. 

I was happy, I won't lie. I don't stand for people lying about me and thinking they know who I am. It's defamation to my name and brand. I'm glad I chose to block them and refuse to comment even more. 

The only thing I regret is starting to defend myself in the first place. I should have just reported it and let it go. But in my personal life, I am not one to roll over and accept people treating people like this, especially me. 

I've dealt with bullying in my teen years, as I know about 99% of the population has. I don't put myself in a special category because of this. I sympathise with victims of bullying and am even involved in anti-bullying programs in my personal life. 

When I saw that "instagramaccount" was gone, I was relieved that it was over. But I wanted to make sure no ripples had formed as a result of it's removal. Sure enough, it had. 

Let's call this new account "instagramaccount2". I came across a hashtag on their page using #snowglobenails. They already had me blocked. Basically, they have used the account www.missjenfabulouss.com (2 s's at the end) to write a blog post about how I have "abused my power" to remove an account that had done "nothing wrong". Pretty sure Instagram wouldn't remove an account if it had done nothing wrong. I am disgusted at the attitude towards me just telling someone that I didn't agree with the nature if their account. Would she rather that I lie?

This blog post is a way of getting back at me. Here is a screen shot: 

Apparently I should "know better"?

And apparently ignailartcredit's purpose is to "rally people together in order to report and have accounts deleted". This part is true because these are accounts are contributing to property violation. What I don't agree with is that apparently I casually just report people when I don't agree with them. Why would I? And who has the time for that? I reported because I was getting harassed. And "instagramaccount" had turned into a hate account where the last 8 or so posts had my name in the caption with a snide remark.

I will not post about this issue directly on Instagram as I don't want to drag people into this who do not want to know. But since I have put up a post saying I was taking a break from Instagram, I have been receiving messages (off Instagram) as to why. I believe I owe them the reason as to why I need to take a break.

I am hurt, offended and equally disgusted that someone can't see past their own anger to look at the facts.

I will leave it here...

Update - February 27th.

The blog post on the website above has been removed.