You are right, although I will say that a number of those who got involved in the Isobel Fall situation have been getting involved in these sorts of internet pile-ons since Livejournal at least — I recognise the names. Knowing that context actually opened my eyes, and helped me to see these situations for what they were: longstanding intracommunal grudges or unresolved conflicts within a large, extremely online community.

I definitely agree that Twitter makes things a whole lot worse, though.