The very innovations that have made the Internet revolutionary--
instant publishing, effortless sharing, vibrant communities of
like-minded people that transcend geographic boundaries--have
also made the web a place where judgments are swiftly rendered
and reinforced, and provocation begets mass damnation. This
week, those who write for the web have meditated after
confronting its downside.  Earlier in the week, journalist Nir
Rosen was swallowed by a tsunami of Internet outrage when he
tweeted that people shouldn't sympathize with Lara Logan, the
CBS reporter who was sexually assaulted by a Cairo mob, because
she was a "war monger." After resigning his fellowship at New
York University, Rosen has taken to Salon to apologize for his
words and explain what he intended to say. Rosen says that when
he composed his tweets he "didn't think the banter between
myself and a couple of other guys would amount to anything."
But, of course, that's not how Twitter works, which leads Rosen
to reflect on the web dynamics tha