[Leica] Internet Trolls

[jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)]

Nice one. I think you should post this on the forum as well.
Cheers
Jayanand

On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 6:49 AM, Ric Carter <ricc at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> What is a Troll?
>
> An Internet ?troll? is a person who delights in sowing discord on the
> Internet. He (and it is usually 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).
>
> 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.
>
> Why Do They Do It?
>
> Affirmation.
>
> 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.
>
> Why Does it Matter?
>
> The sad fact is that trolls discourage people. Established posters may
> leave a message board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and
> lurkers 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.
>
> What Can be Done about Trolls?
>
> ??The only way to deal with trolls is 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.
>
> What Not to Do
>
> 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, 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 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. 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.
>
> The Webmaster?s Challenge
>
> 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.
>
> 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.
>
> What about Free Speech?
>
> When trolls find that their efforts are being successfully resisted, they
> often complain that their right to free speech is being infringed.
>
> 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.
>
> 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.)
>
>
> Conclusion
>
> Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody whom
> 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 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.
>
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