apehater: hmm ... maybe the op got a death threat because he's an idiot
ScotchMonkey: And took it seriously because hes still an idiot.
Yes, EXACTLY, okay except for the two details :
1° Starmaker not being an idiot.
2° Death threats not requiring to be realistic in order to be death threats. It's not a matter of someone's life being in danger (I doubt that starmaker assumes it), it's a matter of being told "i would kill you if i could". This sort of statement is itself an aggression of a level that is rarely accepted, it's largely more sick than "i declare you an imbecile". Try going from "stop being so dumb" to "i wish to kill you" and you'll see a qualitative jump in the discussion. This goes to a level of expresed hatred (or abstract intentions) that places the speaker in a very specific "deranged zone". It is a whole new category of not-being-nice. Hence : woah, guys.
It's all forumic, it's all verbal. But on the spectrum of verbal violence and unhealthy emotions, this kinda hits the high striker's bell. And this thread is the noise it makes.