> The exact flavors of that on HN, Slashdot, Twitter, Tumblr, etc are different, but the core issue is the same everywhere. I think there are three main factor

> The exact flavors of that on HN, Slashdot, Twitter, Tumblr, etc are different, but the core issue is the same everywhere. I think there are three main factors. Some cases are more one than the other. 1. Anonymity. Many places people know who you really are. Your family, friends, and coworkers arent judging you. 2. Using a mob for cover. As an analogy, its a lot safer to throw a Molotov cocktail from a crowd then by yourself. 3. No empathy for avatars. You aren’t talking to a real person, who you would empathize a lot more with. After writing these, they are largely different shades of anonymity.