DEAR HARRIETTE: I am very active on Facebook and recently started a lively conversation while watching a popular TV show. A lot of people joined in, and we were going back and forth with differing opinions and views. It was refreshing to see people going all out and expressing their thoughts.
Then I noticed that one person wrote a comment that was extremely derogatory toward me. It was personal. It didn't have anything to do with the topic we were discussing. Basically, he started badmouthing me in the worst possible way. I deleted his comment only to have him come back and write multiple bad postings on my page. I was horrified. I can't understand why a person would do something like that. I then went to his page to see who he is and if we have any mutual friends. While I do not know him, we do share friends.
I know that not everybody on Facebook is your actual friend, though, so I called up one of our mutual "friends" and asked about this person only to find that he didn't know him at all. I am so frustrated. What can I do now? I don't want him creeping around my page anymore. -- Dissed in Cyberspace, Washington, D.C.
DEAR DISSED IN CYBERSPACE: Sadly, people frequently use social media to express extreme opinions, especially when there is some sense of anonymity. You did the right thing by checking him out with your actual friend and also deleting his foul messages.
You can do one more thing: You can go into your settings and permanently block him from viewing your page or posting on it. At least in that incarnation of the cyber world, you can be rid of him.