Forget trolls, it's the troll-hunters I hate

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A victim of internet trolling caused a stir Monday after he tracked down his abuser, a friend's son, and confronted him. Today thick-skinned Brendan O'Neill goes hunting for the troll-hunters.

"it turns out that, amazingly, there is something even more irritating on the internet than these so-called trolls", writes O'Neill. "It’s the troll-hunters, the celebs, commentators and coppers who have made it their business to chase down trolls, expose them to public ridicule, and sometimes even haul them before a judge."

O'Neill castigates snivelling law for taking an interest in online trolls.

"I can save the DPP the bother of having ‘a series of roundtable meetings with campaigners, media lawyers, academics and law enforcement bodies’ by telling him right now when prosecutions should be brought against people for writing things on the internet - never. It is none of the law’s business what you or I or the unbelievably annoying hoggers of online message boards say".