Ending online abuse against women is everyone’s job. An Editorial.

A woman logs into a online social community. She gets talked down to, insulted and threatened with rape and death by several male members. What did she do? She identified herself as female and expressed an opinion.

So why does it happen? No, “because it’s the internet” doesn’t count. The real answer is because the male population of the internet, from childhood to adulthood get their kicks and seem to get a free pass at demeaning women. The male geek population is not excluded. Numerous reports exists of women receiving sexual harassment and abuse at conventions with geek themes. This is not a problem of women. This is a problem of women and men – women as victims and men as perpetrators.

You might not think you’re involved. You might just be a nice guy and a bystander. But if you are not doing something to speak up, you’re passively…