In recent days the issue of twitter in particular but social media in general as a context for personal abuse and even very serious threats has become centre ground in terms of the other sort of media such as the papers, Radio and TV. The need for some form of protection for those who have already been trolled is vital for the good of society and to reduce the likelihood that the people who might otherwise be trolled tomorrow are not affected. It is clear that there is a great deal of misogyny in the recent cases, but there is also a deep issue that reflects a lack of respect of all of us, whatever our gender. It is clear that although all of us are capable of stepping over the line from time to time, and that all of us can improve our behaviour, that the cases which have been highlighted in the last few days are so extreme that the people who are trolling are clearly very disturbed and need a great deal of help.

However I am also conscious that the tone of any debate on twitter or facebook can vary from one conversation to another and some people can sound a great deal more aggressive than others. The confidence of some people, particularly those who are new to the media can also mean that they find robust discussions less comfortable than some of the people they may want to debate with. Speaking personally I have been on the receiving end of people whose comments seem to be personally motivated, or are based on what the responder thinks my views are on a given topic, even where this must be based on supposition. My comment this morning is regarding an early sign that some people are using the term troll to describe others who simply disagree with them and their tweets. In my own experience these people are people who appear to be offended that their own political comments have been challenged. They may not appreciate that twitter is a public space, or else they are simply not used to their views and ideas being challenged. There is also some indication that they don’t realise that twitter is actually a two way form of communication so they believe that they should be free to broadcast ideas without any expectation that these views might be challenged. I hope that the in the context of the terrible tweets that have been sent to people such as Caroline Criado-Perez and Stella Creasy MP and also the thousands of young people who are being bullied through social media, that others will not be tempted to make accusations of trolling in order to defend their points of view. It is vital that people who use social media understand its use and indeed how this changes with different conversations. Twitter is a great context for expressing points of view and in using it, I recognise that some people will find my views worthy of challenge. It is vital that they challenge my views whilst respecting my right to hold them, but even if they occasionally over step the line, that I understand that this is a long way from making threats that might be described as trolling.