We have been taught to distrust almost every aspect of online interaction. The majority of the email we receive is spam; unsolicited and potentially costly. Credit card fraud – we are told – is rife. And, don’t even start on chat rooms, which may be virtual but can lead to danger in real life. To quote a Bruce Springsteen lyric, it’s like “a part of town where when you hit a red light you don’t stop”.

For good reason, and we’re not about to drop our guard.

However, it’s not all bad. I have encountered some extraordinarily useful people online, who have generously dispensed with professional assistance that would have cost me thousands had I commissioned it. I am thinking, particularly, of the people who frequent the support forum for the Thesis theme (WordPress template) I used to build this website. I elected to use the same theme for TheSlingshot.biz, but needed some assistance with the technical side of getting it to look the way I wanted. Every time I posted a query there was an answer within 12 hours, which meant that I, as a non-techie, could build my own website. There are seriously switched-on people who give away hundreds of lines of code every day without payment. It’s most humbling to be on the receiving end of this generosity.

Humanity, generally speaking, is alive and kicking.