Ever since Nine Inch Nails front-man Trent Reznor officially logged off Twitter, the internet has been a slightly less dramatic place. Now, in a post to his frequently updated forums, Reznor explains why he chose to pull the plug (again).
In the note, Reznor points out that he initially saw Twitter as a useful tool to connect with fans. Then, things turned a little sour. As he explains, "Around the time news broke of my engagement, a faction of troublemakers showed up whose sole intent was to disrupt, harass, insult and incite...When I started getting relentlessly reply spammed by these few individuals with harassment ranging from hoping I overdose to calling my fiancee racist slurs hundreds of times a day, YES - I could (and did) block them, but everyone else reading my replies sees ALL of that nonsense. So, I am providing a platform for this rubbish to be broadcast to my fanbase, which I am not going to participate in."
The problem came to critical mass when a stalker started harassing Veronica De La Cruz, the sister of NIN fan Eric, who recently passed away despite Reznor's best efforts to raise funds for a potentially life-saving operation. In a post to De La Cruz' Twitter, the stalker wrote: "someone got balls at last! Hey, can I have some of that #Eric money? The dude's dead, he doesn't need it lol."
Understandably, Reznor was pissed. "I tried to explain to her this person is just a lonely, obsessed, delusional, bitter 'fan' who recently posted how the celebrity she'd most like to date is ME. She spends countless hours a day obsessing over me, my fiancée and NIN resorting to ANYTHING for attention. In a reasonably moderated community, these people can be made to vanish - on Twitter, it's a free-for-all - hence they flock there."
Ultimately, this was the catalyst for Reznor's log-off. "It depresses me to think my art and life's work can attract this kind of scum," he said, adding: "If that was your intention you trolling, cowardly pigs - you've succeeded."
Obviously, he's never run into any of the Nine Inch Nails fans that went to my high school.
In the note, Reznor points out that he initially saw Twitter as a useful tool to connect with fans. Then, things turned a little sour. As he explains, "Around the time news broke of my engagement, a faction of troublemakers showed up whose sole intent was to disrupt, harass, insult and incite...When I started getting relentlessly reply spammed by these few individuals with harassment ranging from hoping I overdose to calling my fiancee racist slurs hundreds of times a day, YES - I could (and did) block them, but everyone else reading my replies sees ALL of that nonsense. So, I am providing a platform for this rubbish to be broadcast to my fanbase, which I am not going to participate in."
The problem came to critical mass when a stalker started harassing Veronica De La Cruz, the sister of NIN fan Eric, who recently passed away despite Reznor's best efforts to raise funds for a potentially life-saving operation. In a post to De La Cruz' Twitter, the stalker wrote: "someone got balls at last! Hey, can I have some of that #Eric money? The dude's dead, he doesn't need it lol."
Understandably, Reznor was pissed. "I tried to explain to her this person is just a lonely, obsessed, delusional, bitter 'fan' who recently posted how the celebrity she'd most like to date is ME. She spends countless hours a day obsessing over me, my fiancée and NIN resorting to ANYTHING for attention. In a reasonably moderated community, these people can be made to vanish - on Twitter, it's a free-for-all - hence they flock there."
Ultimately, this was the catalyst for Reznor's log-off. "It depresses me to think my art and life's work can attract this kind of scum," he said, adding: "If that was your intention you trolling, cowardly pigs - you've succeeded."
Obviously, he's never run into any of the Nine Inch Nails fans that went to my high school.
