Jason Unger

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The suicide death of Megan Meier, the 13-year-old Missouri girl who hanged herself after a neighborhood mom posing as a young male teen told her "the world would be better without her," is one of the biggest tragedies facilitated by the Internet.

While police aren't charging the hoaxster, Lori Drew, with a crime, the court of public opinion has spoken.

The Drew family is currently being shunned by their neighbors and the community at large — an entirely appropriate reaction.

"I think that what they have done is so despicable, that I think it absolutely disgusts people," Tina Meier, who lives 4 doors down from the Drew family, told ABC news. "I can't take one ounce of energy worrying about who does not like Lori Drew or who hates Lori Drew. I could not care less."

Because of the situation, Drew's clients left her home-based advertising business, forcing her to close it down.

Unfortunately, because of the ill-will towards her, police patrols have increased in the neighborhood, essentially turning Lori Drew into a victim.

For some reason, people think the Internet is still an anonymous form of communication. It isn't. There are real people on the other end of that screen, and your actions and words can and do affect them.

Look at the morons who keep on getting caught on "To Catch a Predator" — they don't realize that their actions online have ramifications, even if they aren't immediately obvious.

The Drews have apparently received death threats, which is absolutely not an appropriate response. But when a person does something so horrible and the law can't do anything about it, it is up to the community to react.

What Drew may have come to realize is that the community isn't just the people who live in her neighborhood — it's the entire Internet, as bloggers unearthed her name and address when the newspaper wouldn't report it.

Welcome to the digital age.