I’m not sure of the answer to this question:
What do you think is most disturbing: The fact that being a troll is literally against the law in the U.K., the fact that Coss’ neighbors felt it necessary to inform the police that there was a troll living down the street or the fact that the police thought the matter was important enough to warrant an interview and then formal charges?
Answers on a postcard, please.
Either way, I agree with the conclusion:
Any society that puts people in prison for being a dick is a society that’s in deep trouble indeed.
Maybe that rage ain’t so far away after all.
The police acting on it doesn’t surprise me – it’s an easy target. The neighbour action is hardly surprising either – the old adage ‘good fences make good neighbours’ is there for a reason.
But that a government made up of lawyers can produce such a law? That does surprise me…
Can’t say it surprises me. It might have, once…
Personally I would have quoted the whole of the last paragraph rather than just the last sentance – especially that bit about a punch in the mouth.
Although I do find myself asking “Where are the forum moderators?”
I frequent another site, “The Grumpy Old Sod” and any comments of such an offensive nature would simply be deleted as soon as they were spotted – in fact have been. Not as an attack on free speech, but as an intolerance of of the terminally stupid.
They get deleted here, too. Any new commenters automatically go into the moderation queue, so trolls don’t see the light of day.
Yup, same here. Pointless personal attacks get deleted. The trolls soon get bored and drift away as their every insult gets deleted / ignored. Don’t even bother to kick them as you walk past, they only crave the attention.
Sticking one in the jug for being a sad, pointless git without a life does seem a trifle OTT though.
A little bit of self policing went on a few years back on the SafeSpeed forums. As soon as an offensive post went up someone would put a simple post after it with a customised emoticon – a Mr Happy figure holding a sign saying “Do not feed the trolls”.
Agree entirely. It’s a very worrying case. Yes, the guy is a moron, but how is that a police matter? It’s the universal right not to be offended raising its ugly head again.