We live our lives online today, these are our methods of communication. These are the ways we keep up on the news, do our work, keep in touch with our friends and family, indulge our interests and passions, relax, etc. This whole "sticks and stones..." mentality is poisonous. There is no wall, no chasm, no separation between "the real world" and "the online world" the internet is just a medium of communication for communicating within the real world. These people are real people. The way you treat people online matters just as much as the way you treat people in person or on the phone matters, there is no communication medium which magically filters out the consequences of one's actions nor one which filters out the potential to be hurt.