[Livia]

Originally Posted by lostalex

it's not always serious though Livia, saying "i will rape you, and then you will be pregnant with my child, and then I will fist you until you have an abortion" is not a serious threat, it's just an internet comment. is it crass and disgusting? yes. now if the same person starts stalking that person, or obsesses about it that person, then sure, but treating every extreme comment as a threat is not right.

The internet is not real life. If it moves into real life, then of course the police should be involved, but most comments are just trolling and trolling should not be illegal. If trolling was illegal I could make a case that the Entire Guardian Website is trolling! everyone who has people disagreeing with them can claim that they are being
"trolled". where would you draw the line.

The police should only get involved when it becomes a REAL issue. someone who is near the person, and is directly threatened.

hyperbole is not a crime.

Whatever you say on the Internet is covered by exactly the same laws of libel and slander that cover what you would say in real life. There is no difference. The Internet is VERY real if you're on the receiving end of bullies, if someone nicks your identity and passes themself off as you, if someone threatens to rape you... Saying it doesn't count is you say it on the internet is like saying it doesn't count if you say it indoors. It's irrelevant.