For those who haven’t been following the Kathy Sierra situation, just go here and read any of the dozens of posts on it, including her’s. This unfortunate situation, which is absolutely exploding right now, seems to be simmering down into a discussion on the line between free speech and threats on the Internet.

It’s a complex and interesting debate; it’s unfortunate that a bad situation has given rise to it.

What I find particularly interesting is famed blogger Robert Scoble earlier tonight calling for a boycott on Digg. He did this on, of all things, Twitter.

When Kathy Sierra’s story hit Digg, some trolls came out with comments (though seemingly nowhere near as bad as I’ve seen, perhaps some were deleted?), and Scoble had enough. He posted on Twitter:

“WE NEED A DIGG BOYCOTT. The comments on Kathy Sierra’s Digg is just UNACCEPTABLE. Why do we accept this kind of speech”

Immediately after the comment, some people seemed to agree whole-heartedly, and some seemed to disagree. It wasn’t a question of whether or not the comments were horrible, but what role Digg, and social networks in general, play into this.

Digg’s comment section can be a notoriously awful place. Pick any major story, you can usually find some example of completely ridiculous, idiotic statements that many times have absolutely nothing to do with anything let alone the topic under which they reside. It doesn’t seem to make sense that this many sociopaths would gather in one place in which the main draw is tech news, but then what is it that prompts these people to say such nasty things?

It’s a debate that delves very deep into the realm of free speech, decency and online anonymity. This could be the first of many situations that inflame it, and Digg’s comment section could be a major battleground.

Scoble has decided to take the week off of blogging on his blog Scobleizer (which if you follow him at all, you’ll know is a big deal) to show his distaste for the situation. Whether or not he will hold steady with and call out again for a boycott of Digg remains to be seen.

What role, if any, should Digg play in this? The comments could be a place for great discussions on the story, but usually they degrade into the musings of lunatics. When do comments stop being free speech and start being serious threats? These are the questions.