Cllr Jon Bishop

AN INTERNET campaigner has claimed attempts to outlaw “trolling” after a Facebook group dedicated to Georgia Varley was sabotaged as a “waste of legislative time”.

But Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who is trying to get new laws through parliament, today insisted stronger action was needed to stop those who post abusive messages on websites.

Last year there was a furious reaction to messages left on a tribute page to train tragedy victim Georgia Varley.

The 16-year-old Birkenhead sixth form student was killed on October 22 at James Street railway station when she slipped from a platform and fell beneath a Wirral line train.

Within days of her death a Facebook page set up by friends in her memory was attacked by trolls, posting offensive content from locations abroad and under pseudonyms.

As friends tried to keep control of the page, Walton MP Steve Rotherham, took action by bringing up the issue in Parliament.

But in a letter to the ECHO, self-proclaimed trolling expert Jonathan Bishop, from Swansea, the founder of the “Trolling Academy” claimed existing legislation already in place could be used to stop the abuse.

He wrote: “MPs wanted to ban my favourite game of the 1990s – Night Trap – because it had scantily dressed women in. It turned out that the Video Recording Act 1984 was all they needed to use.

“The same waste of legislative time is evident to cyberlaw experts like myself.”

On his blog Mr Bishop claims trolling can be a fun and entertaining practice, rather than offensive.

In response Mr Rotherham said: “Laws of the land need to be constantly updated to reflect social and technological advancements.

“My intention is to see a greater conviction rate for those guilty of this vile practice.”

Since Georgia’s tragic death the ECHO has named and shamed some of the people responsible for the abuse on her Facebook tribute page.

But Georgia’s family and friends want to see tougher action taken to protect the memory of the popular schoolgirl they knew as “Gee”.

Mum Paula, who lives in Bray, Ireland, said: “I feel like I’m in a bit of a world of my own and it’s hard being here when all the investigations are happening in England. I want to know what’s going on.

“We are hopeful that Steve Rotherham can push the legislation through. If something comes out of this then it could save another family the heartache we have had to go through.

“Some of the things that have been written about Georgia are things I would never have tolerated being said about my daughter when she was alive. It’s even worse now that she is dead.”

ATTEMPTS to outlaw “trolling” after a Facebook group dedicated to Georgia Varley was sabotaged has been described as a “waste of legislative time” by an internet expert.

But Liverpool Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who is trying to get new laws through parliament, today insisted stronger action was needed to stop those who post abusive messages on websites.

Last year there was a furious reaction to messages left on a tribute page to train tragedy victim Georgia Varley.

The 16-year-old Birkenhead sixth form student was killed on October 22 at James Street railway station when she slipped from a platform and fell beneath a Wirral line train.

Within days of her death a Facebook page set up by friends in her memory was attacked by trolls, posting offensive content from locations abroad and under pseudonyms.

As friends tried to keep control of the page, Walton MP Steve Rotherham, took action by bringing up the issue in Parliament.

But in a letter to the ECHO, self-proclaimed trolling expert Jonathan Bishop, from Swansea, the founder of the “Trolling Academy” claimed existing legislation already in place could be used to stop the abuse.

More than 330 incidents of cyber harassment and bullying were investigated by South Wales Police this year, according to a Freedom of Information request.

The figure includes incidents of abusive, threatening or harassing messages sent via social networks to teenagers as young as 14.

The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is currently running a programme called Thinkuknow to warn children and young people that abusing people online – or trolling – is a crime.

A spokesman said: “Too few people realise that in acting this way online you can quickly break the law.

“People may think they can remain anonymous when they are online, that they can say and do things they wouldn’t dream of doing in real life without consequences.”

Jonathan Bishop, a South Wales based internet expert who recently ran a Trolling Academy tutorial, said fixed penalties and ASBOs should be used against cyberbullies.

Mr Bishop, a town councillor for Treforest, said the use of false identities is a “serious problem”.

Cloud computing will become an essential part of online education resources, according to one expert who stated that the growth of virtualisation will help to develop information providers in the learning field.

Jonathan Bishop, chair of The Centre for Research into Online Communities and E-Learning Systems at Swansea University, suggested that cloud technologies are a necessity for online subjects such as e-learning to grow and reach more internet users.

He said: “The holding of e-learning content in the cloud will enable faster deployment and sharing of resources.

“Cloud computing will become essential as the mobile platforms for e-learning become widespread.

The expert added that with the revolution of the cloud – just like to implementation of CD-ROMs in the past – will create a surge in popularity for industries such as distance learning.

Dr Mick Grierson, computing director of the Goldsmiths College Creative Computing Programme, recently commented that advanced computer technologies like the cloud could expel the need for traditional computing methods.

Workers with jobs in IT could find themselves being up-skilled via e-learning much more in future because of the growth of mobile technologies, according to an expert.

Jonathan Bishop, chair for The Centre for Research into Online Communities and E-learning Systems at Swansea University, believes that the growth of mobile technologies is one of the driving forces behind the rising trend.

Another reason for the growth in e-learning’s popularity is the desire of companies to cut costs yet increase opportunities for themselves. Mr Bishop believes that if these two reasons stay strong, then e-learning could continue to grow.

Mr Bishop said: “As businesses and consumers look at cutting costs, while increasing opportunities for themselves, then e-learning can only grow.”

“Mobile technologies will be the main growth for e-learning, but one cannot rule out some unknown technology that will transform e-learning – like the world wide web did.”

Jonathan Bishop is a chartered IT professional fellow and chair of The Centre for Research into Online Communities and E-Learning Systems at Swansea University.

A local internet expert will hold an interactive tutorial on Twitter focusing on the online art of trolling.

Trolling can be defined as posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response.

Generally viewed in negative terms, Councillor Jonathan Bishop aims to lift the lid on how trolling can be used in a non-offensive way while having fun online.

His Trolling Academy tutorial, which runs during Get Safe Online Week, also aims to help people gain qualifications that can count towards entry to higher education.

Coun Bishop, a town councillor for Treforest, will launch the Twitter tutorial tonight (Thursday, November 10), at 6.30pm, showcasing how one can ‘troll’ politicians online to see if they believe what they say they do.

People can find out more about the Trolling Academy at (www.trollingacademy.org) and follow the Twitter account at www.twitter.com/TrollingAcademy to join in the tutorial.

The youngest representative of Llantwit Fardre Community Council was sworn-in this week. And the 23-year-old hopes to follow in the footsteps of his family who worked tirelessly in the public service.
Jonathan Bishop of Heol-y-Parc, Efail Isaf, was sworn-in as a Community Councillor for Llantwit Fardre last Wednesday (April 23).
A Freeman of Llantrisant, Coun Bishop hopes to follow in the footsteps of his ancestor, Coun Ivor Jacob, who was chairman of Llantrisant Town Council in 1947, by making a worthwhile contribution to his community.
“I feel honoured to have been given the chance to represent my community and take an active role in helping to change it for the better. This next year looks to be exciting and challenging, and I’m looking forward to playing my part in making it a successful one.”
Chairman of Llantwit Fardre Community Council, Coun John Worth said: “Jonathan Brings with him a lot of enthusiasm and commitment and we welcome the opportunity of working with him over the coming year to continue to make Llantwit Fardre a community to be proud of”.

The Llantrisant Town Trust officially launched its eagerly awaited website on Friday at Theatre Y Bont in Pontypridd.

The website, which has been developed by University of Glamorgan student Jonathan Bishop, promises to provide residents with access to the latest news, as well as historical information about the town. Internet users from all around the world can now search ancient records for family members, including the Freemen’s Roll – a list of names connected to the town’s tradition dating back to the 14th Century.
As Jonathan explains, the website is not just about finding ancestors, but locating existing family members as well.

“The Circle of Friends feature allows users of the site to store the names of family and friends they use online, so they can keep in contact with them and give distant relatives an opportunity to get in touch”.

Each person who registers on the site is given their own web page, which contains their family coat of arms and history. These pages can be modified so that they tell others more about them, including their interests and hobbies.

Llantrisant Parish Church has also been involved and forms an important part of the site. Users can find out about the history of the church and have access to information on services and events going on in the community.

Jonathan, who designed the website as part of his Multimedia Studies degree, believes that in the future nearly all towns will be on the Internet. “Llantrisant Online gives residents the opportunity to find out more about their area and debate local issues affecting their lives,” he said. “I don’t think it will be a long time before this method of coming together as a community will be commonplace.”

Llantrisant Online can be accessed using any internet-enabled PC or Digital television set by visiting www.llantrisant.info