I've taken part in my fair share of online conversations about controversial topics. In my case, this mostly happens on Twitter, but people get into arguments online on absolutely every platform available, from Facebook to Reddit to blogs to Youtube comment sections. Maybe you don't make a habit of participating in these kinds of debates, but I'm sure you've at least seen them unfold on plenty of occasions. More often than not, internet arguments get pretty ugly. The topic can be anything, a movie, a politician, racism, global warming, and people will find a way to get inordinately angry and start slinging personal insults and threats at the person with whom they disagree. I know it's easier to say awful things to someone when you forget you're talking to a person and not just a computer; that's not exactly news. But there's a recurring trend I've noticed in these conversations that honestly disturbs me somewhat.

During the times when Internet debates do get really aggressive and hurtful, when I or someone else tries to step in on behalf of the person being attacked and tell everyone else not to be so harsh, the protests are invariably met with a chorus of "This is a public forum, if you can't handle this don't post things here," "you can't expect only positive comments," "Stop acting like a child, we don't have to be nice to you," etc. Sure, the Internet is a democratized platform in this country, within the bounds of the law you can say whatever you want. But in how many other "public forums" do you see people giving the kind of abuse that gets thrown around online and expecting others to just take it? Do we speak to people that way in newspapers, in classroom discussions, or even on the streets? And more importantly, what does it say about us as a society that most people's first reaction to being told they don't need to insult someone's character just because they disagree with them is to say that the people on the receiving end should be able to just deal with it?

I understand that the Internet is indeed a public platform, and I don't expect everyone to nice and polite all the time; that's unrealistic. But I think we've learned to tolerate a worryingly low standard of discourse on the Internet. Disagree with someone all you want. Disagree with them in a way that makes you believe your opponent is a bad person, even. But should you really throw as much vitriol as possible at anyone you have an issue with, and should that really be seen as not only acceptable but par for the course? We set our own bars for civil interactions, and the online bar is very low indeed.