Exactly. About a decade ago, I posted a story on writing.com - a site that encourages writers to review other writers' work publicly. Someone "anonymously" reviewed mine, but it was odd and fairly apparent that they were just lashing out, you know? Not directly talking about the work, just tearing down a person they didn't know. So I responded. The deal on that site is that you can review anonymously, but if someone responds to "Anonymous" and "Anonymous" writes back, they lose the anonymity. ;) I basically said "I don't know who's kicked you around today, but I'm sorry. I hope that in lashing out at me, the dog and your family members are safe from being kicked or berated. I hope that tomorrow goes better for you."

They wrote back. And my gut instinct was 100% correct; it was a teen who'd had a rotten day at school. He apologized immediately. I reviewed some of his stories (with honesty and kindness), so he'd know I wasn't out for revenge. We exchanged a few emails and real reviews after that. He was a nice kid, he just FORGOT that there were real people on the other side of the screen and never expected to connect with one. I said, "What are you? Not a real person over there?" I give kids a bit more leeway than I do adults who REALLY ought to know better, but some adults - they just weren't raised right, you know?