even after researching and writing about the online harassment of kathy sierra last year, i’m still totally shocked by the weekend’s news of a mcdonald’s executive’s ‘death by blog’.

i know too well the vitriol that gets directed at perfectly decent people who also happen to be bloggers. (i’ve had my taste, education and intellectual ability questioned… and i’ve only suffered the mildest of doses!) 

while commenters can’t take the blame for another person’s mental ill-health, we all have a duty to behave like human beings - whether online or off.

in other words, if you’re ever tempted to spew hate via your asdl, step. away. from the computer… and get a life, instead of trying to ruin someone else’s.