USING social media can be a two edged sword, as comedian Stephen Fry has found to his cost.
He has just fallen foul of a so-called 'Twitterstorm', after comments he made while hosting the BAFTA awards.
His crime?
He described a winner as being dressed "like a bag lady".
The woman concerned was not upset but some of Fry's followers were - which, in turn, upset him.
Saying Twitter had become a "stalking ground" where people felt they had "the right to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know," he closed his account, cutting off 12 million followers.
A wise man, I'd say.
It's always baffled me why anyone would use this form of communication in the first place.
Social media encourages the worst in human nature, mainly because those doing the posting feel that they are beyond reach.
Add that bane of modern life, political correctness, to the mix and what Mr Fry calls the "sanctimoniously self righteous" gain ascendancy.
Worryingly, this "I'm offended" brigade is on the rampage across social media, although it doesn't stop there.
After saying that transgender women "can't be women," doughty feminist Germaine Greer's speaking engagement at Cardiff University was cancelled.
And, at Oriel College, Oxford, the South African holder of a Rhodes' scholarship campaigned to have his benefactor's statue removed because he was a 'colonialist.'
And, if you recall, eminent London University professor and Nobel Laureate, Tim Hunt was hounded out of his job after he made self-confessed, "inexcusable" sexist comments during a conference.
Meanwhile, 'safe places' are offered by Universities to students who feel injured by those who hold differing views.
Where do we go next?
The first step is to ignore the online lynch mobs and, second, close your Twitter account.