I was the 'psycho ex'.
When I look back on the spring of 2006, it seems quite clear to me now that something quite important in my brain had snapped. I could blame a combination of copious amounts of pot and my then-girlfriend cheating on me with my then-flatmate, combined with the pressures of university. Whatever caused it, I can now see that I was not of particularly sound mind.

My mental condition was not helped by my ex, who was determined to keep me in her life and called me nearly every night to tell me how badly my former flatmate was treating her; apparently it was a surprise that someone who would screw over a friend had no qualms in messing her about. Anyway, I digress. This story is about the time I got caught stalking.

I'm not too bad with computers- I'd probably describe myself as a 'power-n00b'. She had a Livejournal in which she would write things about him, me and the others. I, of course, just HAD to know, even though the old adage about evesdroppers not hearing nice things about themselves would frequently ring true.

I knew her password, so I'd log in once in a while and see what she was saying. Seemed harmless enough, and I became a little bit hooked on reading what was basically her diary.

(As I write this, I am cringing. That part of my life was a very low ebb. This is cathartic.)

Then, one day, she called me up. Angrily, she demanded to know why I'd been reading her private Livejournal entries. I denied all knowledge.

At this point, my main computer was a first generation iBook- one of the ones that looked a bit VTech. It was too slow to reasonably run OS X, so I was running a stripped down Debian install.

I had no idea that Livejournal records logins, complete with browser, operating system and CPU architecture.

Needless to say, when she presented me with a login header that read 'Firefox, Debian, PPC' I had no choice but to 'fess up. I felt a bit like a burglar who had dropped his driver's license at the scene of the crime.

We stopped talking after that- *I* wouldn't have stayed friends with me after that- and I gradually sorted myself out. I'm a lot more normal these days, but thinking back on the time makes me think- we all walk a fine social line, and it can only take a little push before we find ourselves changing routines and aspects of our lives to keep abreast of someone who would rather we stayed away.

Apologies for length and lack of humour. I feel a little better now :)
(Generator cannot be named for legal reasons, Sun 3 Feb 2008, 17:19, 3 replies)

!!
She sounds like a twat, you are far too good for her. Logging in to her thingy is nothing, a lesser man would have set fire to her frizzy bottle blonde hair and laughed.
Have a click.
( browser still relating boring anecdotes into a void on, Sun 3 Feb 2008, 17:46, closed)

ouch
for future ref:

johnbokma.com/mexit/2004/04/24/changinguseragent.html
(zero.coke, Sun 3 Feb 2008, 18:12, closed)

Hehe
I wouldn't worry, it's probably more common than you'd think. I've uncovered a mini stalkerrette of my own, an ex...... I can practically remote control her, simply by updating my bebo page :) Course I only know it's worked by doing a bit of cyber-stalking myself.....
( baw__bag contains traces of nuts on, Sun 3 Feb 2008, 20:06, closed)