It's close to what I was asking about in our LJ (Friends-locked for many reasons, and this is one of them), about whether people believe gossip. For most people who replied, it seems that they do, at least in some situations. And that of course is what gives trolls like this the power they have.

That said, I'm terribly sorry this has happened, netmouse. You don't deserve to be attacked like this.

K.