SquiddyCracker
Banned
I'm of the opinion that giving or receiving a threat via the internet should be treated just as seriously as giving or receiving a threat by phone or mail. If somebody sent a letter to a person's house saying they were going to attack them or their family, would that be taken seriously?
Why should it be different because the threat is sent electronically?
It is different because of the differing degrees of effort required and the implicit level of actual danger inherent in the different communication methods.
I could PM you a threat right now, but I would never be able to act out on it because all I got going for me is your username on this forum. With a phone or mail threat though, you are made aware of the fact that I know where you live or work (or else I wouldn't have been able to call or mail in the threat). There is a much greater level of potential harm in the latter, which is void if I'm just emailing or PMing someone a death threat.
I strongly believe you need to be of a radically different mindset to threaten someone via the mail or the phone, than if you're just using the Internet. In the case of the latter, sure, I don't doubt it can devolve into actual danger, but I imagine that the attention span on the internet dweller means that ignoring the online death threat is the best course of action - not bringing attention to it, which will validate the Internet troll and empower them.