StalkerGate

StalkerGate is a name for an early Harry Potter wank that began when an anonymous "stalker" started sending Cassandra Claire threatening emails, apparently incited by Claire's criticism of Alpha and Omega, a Harry/Ginny story by Imogen. IP evidence proved that the emails came from Jeff, the husband of Chryslin, a Gryffindor Tower admin who had written a story in Imogen's shared universe.
== The Events ==
In late November 2001, Claire posted repeatedly about how much she hated the popular Harry/Ginny story Alpha and Omega by Imogen.For one example, see Post #22689, posted by Cassandra Claire on November 27, 2001. (Accessed 20 May 2013, post now attributed to user "Name Changed 702".) Claire also posted about the story on her LiveJournal (see The Msscribe Story, Preface and Chapter One). Claire's comments angered many Harry/Ginny shippers, especially those at Gryffindor Tower, where Imogen was an administrator.
It is widely accepted that Claire's criticism of Alpha and Omega was what incited Jeff's anger--possibly in part because his wife's story, Deconstructing Harry was set in the same universe as Alpha and Omega. Claire wrote shortly after Jeff was caught:
Chryslin would later claim that Jeff sent an angry-but-civil email to Cassandra Claire about uncited references in her stories, and that Claire had invented the alleged stalking. This remains unproven (and generally disbelieved). See Chryslin's Letter.
=== Threats ===
Shortly after her posts about Alpha and Omega, Claire began receiving anonymous emails containing blatant threats, such as:
These emails also included Claire's real first name, which she had never publicly revealed but was considered an "open secret" in fandom and was apparently posted at the Writers University forums.bad_penny. Comment thread on "The Msscribe Story, Preface and Chapter One". 16 June 2006. (Accessed 20 May 2013.) The contents of the emails have not been made public, but according to Claire, the initial messages "threaten[ed her] with all sorts of horrible, painful things" and "seem[ed] to have something to do with being an H/H shipper, and [... allegedly] trying to destroy other fanfic sites."Cassandra Claire at LiveJournal. :( 03 December 2001. (Archived 01 March 2002 by the Wayback Machine.) [WebCite]
Additionally, a teenage fan named Emily (frown), who had commented on Cassandra Claire's LiveJournal, received death threats on her own journal, including the comment: 
The IP address from the comments at frown's journal matched the IP from Claire's threatening emails.See frown's comment on Cassandra Claire's post Well, well., dated December 6, 2001. (Post archived 13 November 2004 by the Wayback Machine, at which time frown's account had been deleted and appears as "ex_frown243".) See also Claire's subsequent journal entries, dated December 6-12th. [WebCite].
The police were contacted, and Claire's fellow FictionAlley mods, including Heidi and Stacey, worked at tracing the source of the threats.Charlotte Lennox. The Msscribe Story, Preface and Chapter One. 15 June 2006. (Accessed 20 May 2013.)Cassandra Claire mentions dealing with the police regarding the incident in a LiveJournal post dated December 5, 2001. [WebCite].
=== Writer's U & The Sugar Quill ===
Around the same time, a commenter at the Writers University forums using the name "Ted Logan" posted that he had been plagiarizing Claire's fanfiction by swapping character names and posting them on FanFiction.Net.Writers University forum. Re: Cassandra Claire. Posted 02 December 2001. (Accessed 20 May 2013.) Another comment at the forum was signed "Pamela Dean" and asserted that Dean had plagiarized from Claire, not the other way around.white_serpent. Comment on "The Msscribe Story, Preface and Chapter One". 16 June 2006. (Accessed 20 May 2013.) Writers U owner Michela Ecks confirmed that the IP addresses of both "Ted Logan" and "Pamela Dean" matched the IP from Claire's threatening emails.Excerpts from Michela Ecks's locked entries, dated 20 December 2001 and 24 December 2001. Reposted by white_serpent with permission, 18 June 2006. (Accessed 20 May 2013.)
Reportedly, Heidi, one of the FictionAlley mods investigating the threats, originally accused the Sugar Quill mods of supplying the stalker Claire's real name, which they had recently learned in a "fandom unity" luncheon in New York City. The Sugar Quill and FictionAlley mods had had a tenuous relationship dating back to their days at HP4GU, but the Sugar Quill mods agreed to make a statement about the stalking and compare IP addresses to confirm the stalker's identity. They confirmed that the IP from Cassandra Claire's threatening emails matched the IP of posts made by Jeff or Chryslin at the Sugar Quill, and they removed Chryslin's fanfiction from their archive.
== Aftermath ==
According to Claire, Jeff admitted to sending the threats, but "persist[ed] in haunting the fandom and LiveJournal" claiming to be the victim.Cassandra Claire on LiveJournal. Ugh. 19 December 2001. (Archived 11 March 2004 by the Wayback Machine.) [WebCite].
Charlotte Lennox reports that Claire agreed not to press charges against Jeff as long as he stayed away from Harry Potter fandom entirely and Gryffindor Tower removed Chryslin as an administrator, and "[her] understanding is that Jeff agreed to the terms fairly quickly [...] but that GT resisted, first calling the IP evidence into question and doubting Jeff's guilt, and then not wanting to remove Chryslin as an admin, since she actually owned part of the site, and offering instead to block her home computer and allow her admin access only on her work computer account."
In Cassandra Claire's official statement on December 12, 2001, she wrote:
Though Claire's statement implies that it was Gryffindor Tower's decision to remove Chryslin as an admin, Chryslin asserts (in agreement with Charlotte Lennox) that it was a condition given by Claire's lawyer Heidi in exchange for Claire not pressing charges against Jeff.Chryslin's letter, a posted anonymously by Michela Ecks June 17, 2006. (Accessed 20 May 2013.)
=== Chryslin's Letter ===
Chryslin voluntarily retired from fandom, leaving Gryffindor Tower and leaving her work in progress, "Politics of Dancing", unfinished. However, on December 24, 2001, she sent Michela Ecks a long letter, detailing her version of events. Chryslin claimed that Jeff had initially written to Cassandra Claire about an uncited reference in one of her stories, and that Claire responded "spewing of profanity and vulgarity." Furthermore, she wrote:
She claimed that all of Claire's evidence as well as Jeff's confession was fabricated and that "when one of the admins of GT requested proof [...] it was explained that those messages had been deleted and couldn't be retrieved."
This version of events was met with skepticism, as it didn't explain certain incidents, such as the threats made at frown's journal. white_serpent wrote in 2006:
== Broader Impact on Fandom ==
These events further exacerbated the preexisting animosity between Gryffindor Tower and FictionAlley--particularly Claire's "Inner Circle." This was later exploited by notorious sockpuppeteer MsScribe.
The MsScribe Story states:
== Meta/Further Reading ==
* The MsScribe Story, Chapter One: The Background (see section "Late 2001 - The Stalking War")
* Cassandra Claire: Stalker Gate and Gryffindor Tower: Stalker Gate at Fan History Wiki (archived link)
* Cassandra Claire's official statement (archived link)
* Chryslin's letter to Michela Ecks
* This is probably the most difficult post I've made here on LJ in a long time, if ever., a post by Heidi8, along with comments (2005) 
== References ==
Category:Harry Potter Fandom Occurrences
Category:Scandals
Category:2001 Events