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An Internet "troll" is a person
who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and
it usually is a he) tries to start arguments and
upset people. Trolls see Internet communications services
as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some
reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people.
To them, other Internet users are not quite human but
are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel
no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed,
the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their
'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative
anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.
Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive
or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot
cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason
with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some
reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules
of courtesy or social responsibility. Perhaps this sounds
inconceivable. You may think, "Surely there is something
I can write that will change them." But a true troll can
not be changed by mere words. |
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Some people - particularly
those who have been online for years - are not upset by
trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using
the net. As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic
without ants."
It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the
sad fact is that trolls do discourage people. Established
posters may leave a message board because of the arguments
that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who read but do
not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves
to abuse and thus never get involved.
Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred
up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally
affable people can become bitter after reading an angry
interchange between a troll and his victims, and this
can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time
users.
Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that
a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious
and inappropriate backlash. The Internet is a wonderful
resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping
away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment
of this beautiful forum for ideas. |
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What Can Be Done About Trolls? |
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When you suspect that somebody
is a troll, you might try responding with a polite, mild
message to see if it's just somebody in a bad mood. Internet
users sometimes let their passions get away from them
when seated safely behind their keyboard. If you ignore
their bluster and respond in a pleasant manner, they usually
calm down. However, if the person persists in being beastly,
and seems to enjoy being unpleasant, the only effective
position is summed up as follows: The only
way to deal with trolls is to not react, or to limit your
reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you
insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he
wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is
being ignored. |
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As already stated, it is futile
to try to "cure" a troll of his obsession.
But perhaps you simply cannot bear the hostile environment
that the troll is creating and want to go away for a while.
If you do that, then for the sake of the others on the
system, please do not post a dramatic "Goodbye!" message.
This convinces the troll that he is winning the battle.
There is, perhaps, no message you can write on a message
system that is as damaging as an announcement that you
are leaving because of the hostility that the troll has
kindled. If you feel you must say something, a
discreet message to the system operator (and some of the
others users, if you have their email addresses) is the
best course of action. Incidentally, if you are writing
the letter in an agitated state, it is a good idea to
wait an hour and then give it one last review before you
actually send it. That might spare you the pain of saying
things that you don't really mean to people you like.
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One technique used by trolls
to generate chaos is to pretend to be a well-liked person.
On some systems there is nothing to prevent somebody from
signing your name to a distasteful message. On other systems
the troll may have to be a bit more wiley, perhaps by
replacing one character with another. Here are some examples
of various spoofing gimmicks that could be used against
a person named Brenda Q. O'Really:
Brenda Q. O'Really |
Brenda Q. 0'Really |
Brenda Q O'Really |
Brenda Q. O'Rea11y |
Bredna Q. O'Really |
8renda Q. O'Really |
Note:
"Brenda Q. O'Really" is a made-up
name used to illustrate spoofing and is not
intended to refer to a particular person. |
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If you react with anger, the troll wins. So if you see
a message impersonating you on a message board, simply
write a follow-up reply entitled "That Wasn't Me" and
type only this: I did not write that message; it is
a fake. Of course, sometimes you will find that people
who know you well have already identified the message
as a fake and have tagged it as such. After all, one of
the troll's goals is to make you look bad. If you have
a good reputation, people will be tipped off if a message
that you apparently wrote is completely out of character.
Trolls have been known to become so irritated at having
their spoofs identified that they have learned to write
in another person's style. They may end up writing an
intelligent message that is indistinguishable from your
own golden words. If that happens, you can always just
let the post stand and take credit for it! Trolls will
also sometimes write a "That Wasn't Me" message after
a genuine one, attempting to elicit a denial. There really
is no reason to give him what he wants, since a "That
Wasn't Me" warning merely reminds people to be skeptical.
That is to say, it is of no real consequence if somebody
isn't sure that you wrote a normal message, since
in the long run it is the ideas that are important. |
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The Webmaster's Challenge |
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When trolls are ignored they
step up their attacks, desperately seeking the attention
they crave. Their messages become more and more foul,
and they post ever more of them. Alternatively, they may
protest that their right to free speech is being curtailed
- more on this later.
The moderator of a message board may not be able to delete
a troll's messages right away, but their job is made much
harder if they also have to read numerous replies to trolls.
They are also forced to decide whether or not to delete
posts from well-meaning folks which have the unintended
effect of encouraging the troll. Some webmasters have
to endure conscientious users telling them that they are
"acting like dictators" and should never delete a single
message. These people may be misinformed: they may have
arrived at their opinion about a troll based on the messages
they see, never realizing that the webmaster has already
deleted his most horrific material.
Please remember that a troll does have an alternative
if he has something of value to say: there are services
on the net that provide messaging systems free of charge.
So the troll can set up his own message board, where he
can make his own decisions about the kind of content he
will tolerate.
Just how much can we expect of a webmaster when it comes
to preserving the principles of free speech?
Some trolls find sport in determining what the breaking
point is for a particular message board operator. They
might post a dozen messages, each of which contains 400
lines of the letter "J". That is a form of expression,
to be sure, but would you consider it your duty to play
host to such a person?
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a webmaster is
deciding whether to take steps against a troll that a
few people find entertaining. Some trolls do have a creative
spark and have chosen to squander it on being disruptive.
There is a certain perverse pleasure in watching some
of them. Ultimately, though, the webmaster has to decide
if the troll actually cares about putting on a good show
for the regular participants, or is simply playing to
an audience of one - himself. |
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What About Free Speech? |
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When trolls find that their
efforts are being successfully resisted, they often complain
that their right to free speech is being infringed. Let
us examine that claim.
While most people on the Internet are ardent defenders
of free speech, it is not an absolute right; there are
practical limitations. For example, you may not scream
out "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, and you may not make
jokes about bombs while waiting to board an airplane.
We accept these limitations because we recognize that
they serve a greater good.
Another useful example is the control of the radio frequency
spectrum. You might wish to set up a powerful radio station
to broadcast your ideas, but you cannot do so without
applying for a license. Again, this is a practical limitation:
if everybody broadcasted without restriction, the repercussions
would be annoying at best and life-threatening at worst.
The radio example is helpful for another reason: with
countless people having a legitimate need to use radio
communications, it is important to ensure that nobody
is 'monopolizing the channel'. There are only so many
clear channels available in each frequency band and these
must be shared.
When a troll attacks a message board, he generally posts
a lot of messages. Even if his messages are not
particularly inflammatory, they can be so numerous that
they drown out the regular conversations (this is known
as 'flooding'). Needless to say, no one person's opinions
can be allowed to monopolize a channel. The ultimate response
to the 'free speech' argument is this: while we may have
the right to say more or less whatever we want,
we do not have the right to say it wherever we
want. You may feel strongly about the fact that your neighbour
has not mowed his lawn for two months, but you do not
have the right to berate him in his own living room.
Similarly, if a webmaster tells a troll that he is not
welcome, the troll has no "right" to remain. This is particularly
true on the numerous free communications services offered
on the net. (On pay systems, the troll might be justified
in asking for a refund.) |
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Affirmation. Regular net users
know how delightful it is when somebody responds to something
they have written. It is a meeting of the minds, which
is an intellectual thrill, but it is also an acknowledgement
of one's value - and that can be a very satisfying emotional
reward.
Trolls crave attention, and they care not whether it is
positive or negative. They see the Internet as a mirror
into which they can gaze in narcissistic rapture. If you
want a deeper analysis than that, perhaps a psychologist
can shed some additional light on the matter. |
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Next time you are on a message
board and you see a post by somebody who you think is
a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write
a follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only
this:
The only way to deal with trolls is to not react, or to
limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond
to trolls.
By posting such a message, you let the troll know that
you know what he is, and that you are not going to get
dragged into his twisted little hobby. The Internet is
a splendidly haphazard collection of both serious and
silly material. Because it is so free, there are bound
to be problems. I think that we can best enjoy it if we
deal with everything that happens online with a wry grin
and a ready shrug. |
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