Trending: Dear internet, I’m sorry for my crappy driving

The internet is often derided as a mass congregation of bad manners — a virtual club house where the mask of anonymity seems to fuel bullying, bigotry, and a barrage of petty insults.

That’s why it was so surprising, and refreshing, when a Toronto driver logged onto Reddit to apologize for hitting the gas, instead of the brakes, when a packed streetcar stopped to let off passengers on the busy King Street route.

ThrowawaySorryTO wrote: “If you were riding the King Street West Street Car today at 1pm — at Strachan street and saw some jackass in a car cut off passengers when the streetcar was stopped…I humbly apologize as that idiot would have been me.

I honestly had a lapse in judgement and instead of stopping when the streetcar slowed, I continued moving and as such endangered the people getting off.

I know that I’m not helping the reputation of TO drivers and chances are, no one that was riding that nor the driver of the street car will see this, but I want to apologize either way.

I’m sorry and I promise I’ll pay more attention in the future.”

Suddenly, something changed. Usually-bitter strangers on an anonymous forum joined virtual hands and began singing “Kumbaya.” Alright, not quite, but some pleasant feelings and positive sentiments were bounced around.

One Redditor called it one of the “most Canadian posts I’ve even seen.”

Others did their best to soothe the tormented driver’s guilty conscience.

“It happens,” wrote an aptly named, DriveSlowHomie. “Not a single driver has never made a lapse of judgment…it’s all good.”

“Thanks for your efforts to be conscientious on this in the future!” added michaelhoffman.

Bu alas, it was too good to be true.

Before long some posters began making jokes about recently-deceased Toronto councillor Rob Ford, who was once criticized for also driving through a streetcar’s open doors.

But for an all-too-brief moment, the internet shed its callous reputation, and showed a glimpse of humanity.