Dear Internet,

Part of me is amazed I have to write this, I honestly thought we would have figured this out by now. The other part of me is sad, sad that the place I spend a majority of my time on still can't get this lesson through its thick skull. This has been said time and time again and will continue to be said. Don't be toxic on the internet. Sending people death threats, not ok.

Telling people to kill themselves, not ok. Throwing racial slurs at people, guess what, still not ok. These things are not acceptable. It's sad that these things are expected by some. People should be free to express themselves and their ideas on the internet. A DeviantArt artist shouldn't be afraid that her work might bring death threats. A Medium blogger shouldn't have the N-word or some other slur waiting for him in his DMs. Instead, they should be allowed to show off their art or voice their opinions.

Unfortunately, I think I know why many of these trolls decide to throw out this filth. They don't want a dialog, they don't want to help or appreciate anything. They want attention, plain and simple. Something has gone so wrong in their lives that they have to resort to throwing torrents of unmitigated toxicity to get some attention. This is not right and this is not a long-term solution.

Such a desire could stem from not being in control. Not being in control of one's life is indeed a miserable a state.

However, even if misery loves company, that doesn't mean the company is going to help you. I have a suggestion for all the people who regularly hurl floods of hostility at people on the internet. Instead of degrading people to get a sense of control, compliment them instead. A compliment still alters the person's life in a way and, instead of bringing society down, you could help bring us up. Just a thought. I know this letter won't fix the problem overnight, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't still try.