"How do I Back Off from My Scary Ex Friend"

Dear Cybersorter,
When an ex-IRA superspy friend requested friendship with me I said “yes”. Knowing how folk on Facebook and Twitter like to play around with faux famous names I thought it was someone playing a joke.
He’s been “poking” me a lot, sending messages and having a general gas with me. I’ve been responding, slagging him off, being slightly provocative, and so on. Now I find out from a Belfast mate that this is the guy (not just a namesake) and that he’s a tad obsessive. I felt a bit appalled and want to ditch him but obviously he’s not the kind of character I’d like to offend. Any ideas?
JL

Dear JL,
Block him from viewing your updates on Facebook.
Go to “Account”, “Privacy Settings”, “Customise” settings in the “Sharing” on Facebook section. Click on “Posts by me” and click on the drop-down menu. Select “Customise” and type the name of your superspy in the “Hide this from” box. This is the first step in cooling off the relationship.
He won’t be notified. He will no longer get your written updates in his news feed. This gives him less opportunity to have day-to-day interaction with you. Cool your responses right down. After a month of estrangement, block him on Facebook. Protect your tweets and then block him on Twitter. Once protected, you have to pre-approve all new followers and he won’t be able to view your tweets. If he persists in trying to contact you or makes you uncomfortable or worried, call the Garda and the PSNI