“I’m not convinced, though, that what might politely be described as ‘robust’ debate on the blog generates light as well as heat. The internet has always licensed people to be far ruder than they would in a face-to-face encounter. […] Many of the people who post on blogs appear to be annoyed not by what the writers say so much as the fact that they’re in a position to say it. […] The most belligerent voices on the blogs speak with either a weary, condescending sneer or a florid pomposity redolent of Ignatius J Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces. If, as they imply, their taste is flawless and their intellect mighty, then perhaps they could find a better use for these prodigious gifts than taking potshots on websites.” writes Guardian critic and blogger Dorian Lynskey