NY town angry over Net slurs at suicide victim [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

WEST ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - A community reeling from the suicide of a popular high school senior turned its sorrow to outrage Friday over a practice known as "trolling," in which derogatory, hurtful comments are posted online against a person.

In this instance, a tribute site created for Alexis Pilkington, 17, of West Islip High School was the target of insulting messages after her death.

"I think it's horrible. It's vicious. It's cruel. It upsets me as a parent," Lorraine Kolar said as she left a memorial service Thursday for Pilkington.

Classmates, relatives and friends were incensed over what they called creepy, insensitive messages about Pilkington, many posted anonymously and also appearing on other Internet sites since her death.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20100326/D9EMIM500.html

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A memorial message decorates a car as students head to the funeral for 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington Thursday March 25, 2010 in Babylon N.Y. Pilkington was a popular athlete, a well-liked star who had already landed a soccer scholarship to college. But none of that stopped the teenager from becoming the target of nasty online comments. Even after the Long Island girl killed herself, the harassing Internet messages kept on coming, posted on a page meant to stand as a tribute. (AP Photo/David Goldman)