A. Trolls.
1. . . .10 or more new posts by one screen name in a 5 minute period.
No normal person looking for good conversation and/or debate is this persistent or manic. This troll is the easiest to ignore. Literally. If the option is available, you just click 'ignore' and you will be thankfully reprieved from feasting your eyes upon 30 messages that usually include a mess of repeated offensive titles or links to off-limits websites. This troll is a clear spammer and is, more likely than not, easy to recognize and avoid.
2. . . .a sudden message within a thread instigating trouble by bringing up a topic that will obviously push buttons.
I understand that this troll can be harder to ignore. Some people, though they claim to despise trolling, will rise to the task of arguing with these people (loosely defined) until they are blue in the face. It's okay if someone makes the mistake of responding because, after all, sometimes people are just oblivious to their reckless introduction of goading words. Add in the problem with reading sarcasm and irony through the written word. It does not take very long before it is obvious whether someone is interested in discussion or whether they are getting off on the fact that they've turned you into a frazzled and demented pile of adrenaline.
How to deal with these trolls? Walk away. The equivalent to 'walking away' in online cases? Deal with the fact that you don't need to have the last word. I know, I get it. It's really hard to be the bigger person online. Because it can appear that you have been bested; that you're out of comebacks. Who cares? Let these freaks have their tiny false victories. In the grand scheme of things, they are in a gross old basement or will be called down to dinner by their moms pretty soon.
3. . . .someone who plays the fool and refuses to understand your point of view.
If you've got the stamina, you will spend days and days and days back-and-forthing with this troll who pretends not to get it. No matter how many veins you force to extrude from your neck as you explain your point of view from angles that don't even exist in the physical world, this person will come back with the same argumentative response. Every. Single. Time. Why do you bother with this person? Why is it so important that this stranger see through your eyes? Because. You believe in your perspective so strongly; you know it's right, you know it makes sense, that you're willing to give up an entire Saturday afternoon pounding that truth into an unwilling and simple brain. You know it would change this other person's world entirely if they could just see your side.
No. You are totally being scammed. This person is not an idiot. Well. That's debatable. But they know exactly what you're talking about. They're just in it for the challenge. How many times can I get this sucker to reply to me. How long will they go? This guy either doesn't have a job or works from home through ads to his lame website or he fancies himself some kind of perpetual college student majoring in psych or English. He gets his jollies from feeling superior. And the only place he can do that is online. Where he's miraculously taller, smarter, and more handsome than everyone else.
What can be done? You're not responsible for some fraud of a decent human being. It is not your job to offer these oddballs an education through distance learning. State your case once. Clarify once. Agree to disagree. Once. There's nothing a troll hates worse than an "oh well" reply with a smiley face. I bet it just makes their skin crawl. You may have made an enemy. But he's an impotent rage-monster who's probably wearing a shirt that says, "FBI: Female Body Inspector." So, you need not worry.
B. Anonymity.
This is a problem for the internet as a whole. For some reason, people have this idea that if no one can see their face, their real name, or their address, they can do and say whatever they want, free of consequence. While they may see themselves as a form of internet rebel who won't let 'the man' get them down, I prefer to see them through the spectacles of reality. Cowards. Absolute cowards. With Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and so many other social networking inventions, it's a lot harder to hide your identity. Especially considering that these networking sites inspire many a goober to relate every banal detail about their past, present and future lives. However, instead of making people more accountable for their actions and words, it seems that what these social sites have done is allow persons to unfavorably become unashamed of themselves. I should do an entire blog post on the First Amendment, making careful note of the gross misuse of this great addition to our Constitution.
For those who still rely on anonymity as an excuse to be a disgusting pile of immorality, I just. . .I just feel sad. I remember being a youngin'. I remember feeling invincible and completely uninhibited. I remember thinking I had amazing ideas and world-changing philosophies. I remember saying things I shouldn't have in the company of people who deserved better respect. I remember desiring to be the center of attention, even if that focus came because I was being a total and complete ass. I remember. And yet. . .I still don't get it. It's the plight of the adult. Adolescents think they have it bad? Try being one for 7 years and then growing up and losing all comprehension of why, what, where, when, who. . .it's very disconcerting.
What digs into my spine is the fact that these supposed anonymous jerks are not always under the age of 19. They are old enough to know better. It's despicable. Despicable and cowardly. How do we avoid it? 'Ignore' if you can. Do not respond in kind. Don't respond at all. You can not talk sense into someone hell-bent on ruining civil peace. You can not help them to see the light; to realize the error of their ways. The only thing that bugs me more than these little balls of sunshine are the polite and well-meaning individuals who attempt to get to the bottom of what the real problem is. As if acting the friend by lending a hand of support; a word of kindness, an offer to help a grumpy demeanor will ever work. The "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" tactic will fall on deaf ears. These people never have anything nice to say. That is their M.O.
They are deliberately preying on the kind and loving hearts of the world because those are the compassionate kinds of people who will try to reach out and, therefore, become trapped in their web. These are the very people the trolls want to catch losing their heads. So that they can feel better about themselves because, if they can get a nice person to swear or get angry or lose it, then nobody is really as kind and sweet as they claim to be. These trolls are passive-aggressive and using the internet to spread contention so that they can feel like some kind of deity and watch their stage erupt in flames as all their players run amok, wondering how it all came to this. These trolls have no power in their real lives, so they find it where they can. Do not let them be a catalyst for your animosity.
3. Repeat posts.
Riddle me this. Someone has a question. They post that question on a message board and patiently or impatiently, if you're me, await response. One person replies. A second replies. A third, fourth, fifth, sixth. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt if you're one of those first 5 or 6. Especially if you have additional comments to make on those who have replied before you. Or you have replied at around the same time as the others came in. But then we get down to 2 or 3 days after the original posting has been made. It's 58 hours after the initial question and there are dozens of replies that have ALREADY ANSWERED THE QUESTION and you feel the need to add your two cents? Not even your two cents. Word-for-word, you post the pat answer that, if you'd bothered to check at all, has already been indicated. What is this about? I feel like I'm the only one that even notices this! No one else has a problem with sifting through 8 pages of repetitive nonsense? Why don't the moderators get on and say enough is enough? Why don't they lock the thread? The question has been answered. End of line.
It is not that hard to read farther than the first post to see if the question has been answered. It's your duty to do so. It's part of the unspoken, and sometimes spoken (or at least written), rules of the message board. Don't be lazy. Do not assume that, after 2 days, you are the savior of this original poster; you're the only one with the real and true answer. No one else could possibly have the insight you have to offer. If you know the answer to a question that has already been answered. . .I'm sorry. You do not pass Go. You do not collect $200. You do not get credit. Take solace in the fact that, if needed, you had the answer. It was there, ready in your repertoire, to be doled out at a moment's notice. But! If someone got there before you (if many someones got there before you). . .let it go. Just let it go.
My dearest message board - you are the salt of the earth when I need to get together with people who are as crazy fanatic about something as I am. But I am so glad, so very glad that you have that little x in the top right hand corner. Little x? You are the best. And you keep me from losing my mind.
*Comics supplied by Toothpaste for Dinner.
This is a problem for the internet as a whole. For some reason, people have this idea that if no one can see their face, their real name, or their address, they can do and say whatever they want, free of consequence. While they may see themselves as a form of internet rebel who won't let 'the man' get them down, I prefer to see them through the spectacles of reality. Cowards. Absolute cowards. With Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and so many other social networking inventions, it's a lot harder to hide your identity. Especially considering that these networking sites inspire many a goober to relate every banal detail about their past, present and future lives. However, instead of making people more accountable for their actions and words, it seems that what these social sites have done is allow persons to unfavorably become unashamed of themselves. I should do an entire blog post on the First Amendment, making careful note of the gross misuse of this great addition to our Constitution.
For those who still rely on anonymity as an excuse to be a disgusting pile of immorality, I just. . .I just feel sad. I remember being a youngin'. I remember feeling invincible and completely uninhibited. I remember thinking I had amazing ideas and world-changing philosophies. I remember saying things I shouldn't have in the company of people who deserved better respect. I remember desiring to be the center of attention, even if that focus came because I was being a total and complete ass. I remember. And yet. . .I still don't get it. It's the plight of the adult. Adolescents think they have it bad? Try being one for 7 years and then growing up and losing all comprehension of why, what, where, when, who. . .it's very disconcerting.
What digs into my spine is the fact that these supposed anonymous jerks are not always under the age of 19. They are old enough to know better. It's despicable. Despicable and cowardly. How do we avoid it? 'Ignore' if you can. Do not respond in kind. Don't respond at all. You can not talk sense into someone hell-bent on ruining civil peace. You can not help them to see the light; to realize the error of their ways. The only thing that bugs me more than these little balls of sunshine are the polite and well-meaning individuals who attempt to get to the bottom of what the real problem is. As if acting the friend by lending a hand of support; a word of kindness, an offer to help a grumpy demeanor will ever work. The "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" tactic will fall on deaf ears. These people never have anything nice to say. That is their M.O.
They are deliberately preying on the kind and loving hearts of the world because those are the compassionate kinds of people who will try to reach out and, therefore, become trapped in their web. These are the very people the trolls want to catch losing their heads. So that they can feel better about themselves because, if they can get a nice person to swear or get angry or lose it, then nobody is really as kind and sweet as they claim to be. These trolls are passive-aggressive and using the internet to spread contention so that they can feel like some kind of deity and watch their stage erupt in flames as all their players run amok, wondering how it all came to this. These trolls have no power in their real lives, so they find it where they can. Do not let them be a catalyst for your animosity.
3. Repeat posts.
It is not that hard to read farther than the first post to see if the question has been answered. It's your duty to do so. It's part of the unspoken, and sometimes spoken (or at least written), rules of the message board. Don't be lazy. Do not assume that, after 2 days, you are the savior of this original poster; you're the only one with the real and true answer. No one else could possibly have the insight you have to offer. If you know the answer to a question that has already been answered. . .I'm sorry. You do not pass Go. You do not collect $200. You do not get credit. Take solace in the fact that, if needed, you had the answer. It was there, ready in your repertoire, to be doled out at a moment's notice. But! If someone got there before you (if many someones got there before you). . .let it go. Just let it go.
My dearest message board - you are the salt of the earth when I need to get together with people who are as crazy fanatic about something as I am. But I am so glad, so very glad that you have that little x in the top right hand corner. Little x? You are the best. And you keep me from losing my mind.
*Comics supplied by Toothpaste for Dinner.
Have you been posting on IMDB? I swear, at times that place is a breeding and training ground for tolls. I've come up with a troll scale. I award higher points for originality, spelling, punctuation and humor. I take away points for stupidity, errors and genral offensiveness. Of course, all scores are arbitrary and subject of my mood at the time but I've found it's a fun and sometimes affective way of dealing with the stupid trolls who feel the need spam the board of a movie they don't like.
ReplyDelete1. amok amok amok offffff
ReplyDelete2. I remember, too.
3. I don't need to say it last to know I'm right.
4. I'd probably be so wrapped up in correcting the spelling and grammar that I'd loose track of the conversation anyway....