Unfortunately, I disagree entirely with what you have said. People forget that twitter is publishing to the world, and therefore should be treated similar to that of putting something in print.
If someone makes remarks which are clearly against the rule of law, then they should be punished in the same way (here, I dont mean comical references to blowing up airports, but openly vitriolic racist/sexist/homophobic etc remarks).

If this is not done, then people will continue to think that they hide behind a keyboard. If posters are taken to court, then everyone will soon learn the lesson and problem will start to diminish. Leaving them alone is what has happened so far, and the problem is getting worse and worse. If we allow the minority to get away with mindless postings, it opens up their ability to hijack any normal discussion and derail the debate for the majority.

But more importantly, by not taking actions against them, they are being given the signal that it is alright to say what they say. Times have moved on, and people who spout this nonsense need to see that they are living in the past and that the continuation of their despicable attitudes cannot be tolerated.

At the same time, I am not in favour of third parties acting as 'moral guardians', so the onus of responsibility has be on those that are defamed.

It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so ........ what.

thats exactly what i was thinking reading this thread....why are we giving him publicity to an anonymous trouble making attention seeker on here?

first, IF someone really is offended by something that is said directly to them, it can broadly come down to 2 reasons :

a problem in context, different backgrounds/ages/cultures etc these are fairly easy to resolve and generally are sorted out without redress to anything other than a friendly chat. in these instances no offense was meant by whoever was speaking.

a deliberate offensive attack intended to cause hurt

Lets be honest, we are talking here about the second type. Trolling behind an anonymous keyboard, knowingly using their anonymity to say things which they know are offensive and (probably) illegal.

also remember that it is the author bears a responsibility to understand who they are speaking to and whether or not what they say may be taken badly. this doesn't mean that they are always in the wrong, but you cannot use 'some people are easily offended' as an excuse for a lack of respect/courtesy.

I know a Kieron Wright who is a wigan fan so please be careful what you're saying. This is clearly some kid playing keyboard warrior and you're all biting