Good article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about why people can be nasty in online discourse:

The digital world is a place where everyone is equal. It strips away inhibition, allowing the shy and introverted to jump into conversations and situations they’d run from in the real world.

The only problem, experts say, is that it also allows, or even encourages, people to be more free with their darker sides.

“You’re sitting there in your pajamas at the keyboard instead of facing a group of people,” said Howard Rheingold a blogger and author of books about online communities. “They can’t hear your voice. They can’t punch you in the face.”

More often than not, they don’t even know who you are.

It’s that anonymity that experts and users alike blame for much of the nastiness found online.

Good article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about why people can be nasty in online discourse:
The digital world is a place where everyone is equal. It strips away inhibition, allowing the shy and introverted to jump into conversations and situations they’d run from in the real world.
The only problem, experts say, is that it also [...]