Our old adage "don't be a dick" applies to real life as it applies to the Internet: if you can't say something in real life, you probably shouldn't be saying it on Twitter either.

Case in point, college student Liam Stacey was sentenced to 56 days in prison for posting racist comments on Twitter after Fabrice Muamba collapsed during a match -- the soccer player was dead for 78 minutes on the field.

A student has been jailed for 56 days for posting offensive comments on Twitter about the on-pitch collapse of Bolton Wanderers footballer Fabrice Muamba.

Liam Stacey was arrested after his tweets were reported to police by Twitter users from across Britain, including the former England striker Stan Collymore. The 21-year-old admitted incitement to racial hatred. He posted his offensive comments shortly after Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during his team's FA Cup quarter-final tie against Tottenham Hotspur on 17 March

In another incident, Joshua Cryer used Twitter to fire a barrage of racist taunts to former England player Stan Collymore, in the hopes to "provoke a reaction".

[Joshua Cryer] was charged under section 127 of the Communications Act of sending grossly offensive messages, which included racist taunts, to the former England player. He was sentenced to a two-year community order with 240 hours' unpaid work and ordered to pay £150 costs to the court.

The growth of racial slurs on Twitter is now prompting various celebrities from abandoning Twitter completely.