I agree with Julian, Twickenham (except the free porn part) . I think the Internet is good therapy. People can use it to voice their opinion, anger, fears and worries in anonymity, instead of penting it up leading to violence or suicides. You can learn and get support from each other, and in general gauge people,s feelings on certain issues. Nowadays people are afraid to speak up or confront others in public for fear of being kicked, or stabbed to death on the streets. Especially young people thus don,t get feedback on what society thinks acceptable or not. In my opinion internetpolls are not less reliable than other anonymous polls. You do have to interpret them intelligently though. (millions of viewers, as compared with the hundreds who posted to criticise). The majority of people don,t abuse the internet in the area of voicing their feelings.

cherrypie, Barcelona , Spain

R. Paul - "the extreme libertarian" got second in Nevada. Boy those Las Vegans must be proper kooks! Right David? Bush should intern those nutjobs as terrorists!

Just off now to another ace media website - the BBC - to view again Jane Standley's piece on the Salomon building having collapsed at the World Trade Centre, whilst she's reporting live with the said buiding still standing behind her. Oh, yeah, whilst I'm there, I might call up the BBC's version of Sir David Frost's interview with Benazir Bhutto, you know the one where the bit where she says Osama Bin Laden was murdered some time ago was cut out - can't think why? Ah, well gotta trust auntie Beeb 'aven't ya!

Keep up the great work!

lickspittle, fiscalhaven, Cayman Islands

Your comments are sadly too true. I find that in an International Politics undergraduate course it is totally unacceptable to the vast majority of students to say anything against even the most aggressive Islamism or in favour of Israel's right to exist. Sad.

Thom Hutchins, University of Warwick, UK

so what should we do about the internet then, ban it?

andrew peace, st albans, uk

The problem is simple - newspapers give columnists free rein to abuse the public's opinions and beliefs daily. So today you can tell me that anyone who is against war is merely demonstrating a Pavlovian reponse to lefty adjectival seduction and that's OK, but if I suggest that your right-wing support of protectionist thuggery and occupation of others' land is pro-Zionist that's not. Perhaps, along with all professional opinionists, you should consider that if you wish not to receive abuse you should stop handing it out.

eric campbell, harrogate, ik

Anonymity and a sense of indemnity are indeed major drawbacks of the internet. Therefore, one can fully understand why an increasing number of sites are scrutinized by web masters iin order to maintain an elementary respect for standard ethics. It is not a question of censorship but a logical reaction to a profound misinterpretation of the concept of free expression.

Ray Massart, Hombeek, Belgium

Internet abuse seems like the equivalent of venting spleen in the car. I keep up a running commentary of invective about my fellow motorists, but I am sure there are some decent humans among them really, who are doing their best to engage the clutch as the traffic lights turn green.

As you suggest, its about anonymity, but perhaps also about that internal monologue we all have that is perhaps not so complimentary about others, spilling over into the public domain.

wrinkled weasel, Edinburgh,

Mr. Aronovitch,Good article.I feel sorry that the world doesn't know how to interperet polls on the internet,so it can use them to sway voters.Of Course I do,I really do.Hee Hee.

ron, toronto,

If it's any consolation, I think you're a pretty good bloke and I like your articles while Mr Murray's views are totally uninteresting (and predictable for a NL apparatchisk).

Tam Earl-Aine, Cheltenham,

A neocon, I had you down as a "pinko commi" waiting for the call from Gordon to state the new socialist state. No sooner has Brown got his hands on the keys to Number 10 and we are plagued by floods, run on the banks house price crashed and now upsetting the police and civil servants and now he is going round with the begging bowl for Chinese and Indian money to bail him out of the mess he has made of the UK's finance.

Hunte, Croydon, UK

The net allows all of us to drop any false diplomacy and voice exactly what it is we think, for good or bad. For that (and the free porn), it should be appreciated rather than vilified.

Julian, Twickenham, UK

I was looking for advice on man boobs, how did I end up here?

Anthony, London,

Well said David, and isn't it just indicative of the attitude of the Foreign Office towards the only democracy in the Middle East that they would recruit such filth into their ranks. Indeed I am sure it is policy to root out any person who displays the slightest tendency to (whisper now...) support for Israel. (There, I said it...and am proud to have done so...)

Jay, London,

Of course, this despicable anti-Semitism is nourished by the Craig Murrays of the world coupled with the anonymity of the Net.

Your fine article provides some insight into just how the darker periods of the twentieth century crept into the day to day.

Thank you for the glimpse of this stomach-turning, gutless individual.

Keep up the good work.

David MacKinnon, Amstelveen 1181 PB, Netherlands

Oprah is now concerned about obamas muslim ties. The black communtinty in the Us is turning their back on him. Once again Oprah jumped before looking. Just like today she is in town preaching about the martin luther king party

patjeanes, Memphis tn, usa

Excellent article Mr. Aronovitch. Its nice to see there are still some skilled writers around

Ray Meenan, Tokyo, Japan

Ron Paul wins all of the online polls, without any orchestrated "click in" campaigns. He has hundreds of thousands of self-organizing supporters who search the web daily for stories about him. He has more volunteers by far, and has been raising more money in recent months than any other Republican candidate.

There's nothing "extreme" about him -- he expects the government to follow its own rules per the Constitution, a very reasonable position. He is the only candidate in either party on the majority side of all 4 of the biggest issues -- against the Iraq war, for smaller government, against illegal immigration, and for civil liberties.

He placed second in Nevada with 14% of the vote, and fifth in Iowa with 10% of the vote -- both very respectable showings.

Craig, Irvine, California