Thanks to a new internet tool known as "Grassroots search", many city-dwellers have been able to trace their relatives living in villages. Recently, a college student was subject to harsh verbal abuse by Chinese netizens after she made some negative comments on the Sichuan earthquake online. Her personal information was released to the public through "Grassroots search", which sparked a lot of discussion. Let's take a look at the views that have been expressed in the media.

A commentary in Guang Zhou Daily said "Grassroots research" violates people's rights. Although the person who was attacked verbally made the improper comments on the internet, her privacy should not have been violated by netizens. A so-called "moral trial" should never happen at the expense of a person's privacy. Even if a crime was committed, government authorities are at hand to mete out punishment.

The commentary says different people have different opinions is normal. Disputes in a law-abiding society should be settled legally. If people misuse the internet and then try to avoid facing the consequences, a wave of verbal abuse is but to be expected as a backlash.

An opinion carried by Peoplenet asks whether it was right for people to criticize the college student's so-called "harsh words", and whether they did it in the right way. Did she deserve the humiliation and loss of face due to her untimely words on the internet?