Hate campaigns against individuals, some of which disturbingly includes targeting tribute pages to the deceased, have become an unwelcome by-product of the growth of Internet social networking. The pure violence behind the words and actions of these so-called "trolls" is clearly something to be addressed. Legal powers exist to convict offenders, as with the case of the student who posted racist comments about the critically ill footballer Fabrice Muamba. I also believe that people need to be educated about appropriate behaviour on the Internet.
Public figures have started to speak up about some of the language and threatening behaviour they are subjected to online. There is some excellent writing emerging on the subject. One individual used a social networking site to threaten a Member of Parliament, Louise Mensch, with killing her children - above and beyond what you would imagine the very worst trolls could be capable of.
I urge caution at this point: the Internet phrase "trolling" has a broad definition and is used expansively. Many web forum and social network users will describe others as trolls, purely because they disagree with them. Anyone who has used forums over the years will already be aware of debating against the 'tyranny of the majority', and being classed as a "troll" - itself surely an act of trolling! Some may be described as trolls for constantly repeating the same points, which in fairness may become tiresome. Others may be described as trolls for repeatedly seeking out the same person on a social network in order to hassle them, something which can be more accurately described as stalking.
Trolling is also often described as someone writing with the distinct purpose of gaining a reaction. Using that definition, it could be argued that Mensch herself is a troll. That might be stretching things a little far. At the very worst, I would argue that the time Mensch spends on Twitter could be better spent working for her constituents. Yet however offensive you find Mensch's celebrity politics, there is no excuse for some of the material she has been subjected to. The word "troll" does not begin to capture the significance of it. The poison pen letters are criminal. It is not just celebrities being subjected to it either - a Brighton resident won a court battle to order Facebook to release the names of those who waged an online hate campaign against her.
While those who write the nastiest of material should be dealt with, there is also a risk of misunderstanding the behaviour of those who are yet to realise the Internet is no different to the outside world. Perhaps the most unforgivable fact about Mensch's tormentor is his age. At 60, he should be aware of what is acceptable and what is not.
I recommend a structured plan to improve conduct on the Internet without criminalising the immature, who simply need bringing into line. There should be a simple set of rules, which are brief and are displayed when someone logs on to the Internet for the first time. One one hand, the young person currently sitting in prison over a nasty racist tweet can only reflect on the big mistake he made. On the other hand, there is no way the ranting of a 60 year old man can be dismissed as life inexperience. These are challenges we must overcome.
