[Lauren]

There's only been a few times when I've been really insulting to someone online, and I only do it if I get genuinely annoyed - so I would probably say that in real life too.

However, I know there are a few people who come out insulting people for no particular reason and unless they have serious sociopath/anti-social problems - they wouldn't come out with it in real life. The internet is often seen as something where the boundaries are pushed much farther out than in society. The only real implications of being anti-social is your IP being banned from that particular forum, and then many people go and troll others. Implications in society for this behaviour are stricter and go on a record.

Most people who act up on the internet are insecure in their everyday lives, I reckon. I'm talking about the people who spam, don't follow rules or act up, and call people names on forums. They're unwilling to act up in society, so they find a watered down version (i.e. the net) and use this.