Twitter abuse aimed at Mark Gatiss

I don't check my Tumblr as often as I should. To be honest I use it mostly as a channel for links to this blog. However, I have just logged into my dashboard for the first time in weeks to find this link from one of my new followers:


http://cumberbatchweb.tumblr.com/post/57268260209/twitter-abuse-aimed-at-mark-gatiss

It contains this statement from Ian Hallard (the partner of Mark Gatiss):

… Mark receives many swearing, abusive tweets from Sherlock fans and he’s fed up with it. He doesn't care whether it’s supposed to be sarcastic or a joke. It’s tedious and rude and he doesn't find it funny. Please spread the word amongst the rest of the fans and get them to think twice. If it’s not something they would say to his face, the chances are they shouldn't tweet it to him. You may only be young, but it’s no excuse for this kind of bad manners.

Mr Hallard is spot on and should be listened to. Steven Moffat has already deserted Twitter and, if this nonsense continues, Mark Gatiss could go the same way and who would be most inconvenienced by that? I'll give you a clue - it won't be him.

I fear that some fans of Sherlock take it way too seriously. In fact it's more than a fear, it's a fact. I recently watched some of the Youtube videos fans made of themselves watching The Reichenbach Fall and I can easily see how that sort of emotional investment can boil over into the kind of abusive Tweets that Ian Hallard refers to above.

Social media has given the fans of Sherlock a level of contact with its creators that people like me could only have dreamt of when I was a similar age and the Granada series was first being aired. However, in many respects I'm glad it did not exist as it means I could not (even if I had been so inclined) say hurtful things to the people responsible for bringing my hero to the screen.

Think twice in future - in fact think half a dozen times before you unleash the words in your head onto someone.

For more information on Arthur Conan Doyle and his time at Undershaw please refer to my book, An Entirely New Country which is available through all good bookstores including Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Classic Specialities, and in all electronic formats including iTunes, Kobo, Nook and Kindle .

The Norwood Author is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Waterstones UK, Amazon UK,  Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon Kindle, iBooks for the iPad/iPhone, Kobo Books, Nook.

Close to Holmes is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA,  Barnes and Noble,  Amazon UK,  Waterstones UK,  Amazon Kindle,  Kobo,  Nook  and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.

Eliminate the Impossible is available from all good bookstores, in many formats worldwide including Amazon USA, Barnes and Noble, Amazon UK, Waterstones UK, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Nook and iBooks for the iPad/iPhone.