Why do we make this so complicated?
Trolls are an inevitable aspect of today’s internet. They are disruptive, and can at times be downright offensive. Fortunately, if there is any real communication that occurs in a forum, they are also relatively easy to dispense with. Let’s go over how.
First, we need to understand what a troll is (and isn’t) because there are some misconceptions in this area. A troll is an individual whos purpose is to create mayhem in some form or another. They tend to be disruptive and crude, depending on how hard it is for them to garner the desired reaction.
They can take a number of forms; some operate exclusively in forums. Others can go to one extreme or another; larger (one group orchestrated the delivery of images with flashing lights to the epilepsy foundation’s website) on down to the little ones (leaving unpleasant comments on an article.
Someone who speaks in a manner you do not approve of, or who says something to you you don’t like is not a troll; a good number of people have somehow that a troll is the same thing as a jerk, and it simply isn’t.
That being said, there is one very simple way to weed out trolls…
It really is this simple. The trolls we have on Triond are, as a whole, garden variety everyday trolls. They do what they do for attention, in the same way a 6 year old does. And they should be treated accordingly. Do not engage the troll; as a general rule the guilty parties aren’t all that bright, and as such can’t be bargained with. (and won’t realize it if they’ve been out smarted).
Ignore them! It isn’t this complicated! If you cut off that which they crave, they will leave for greener pastures. Yes, they may throw insults. Be aware of the rules of the site, and if they violate them, report it. They will continue to cause trouble just as long as they get attention. Communicate with each other. If you see someone buying in, explain to them. It works. We are making this so much harder than it has to be; crying for moderators and such.
Keep it simple; trolls really do shrivel up and disappear if treated so.
October 16th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Nice one…Thanks for sharing this good article.
October 16th, 2009 at 6:14 am
Spot on advice. Ignore them as you would a child and they will soon go away.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:02 am
“Do not feed the trolls-management.” I like this. You’re so right, they’re just there for attention. When it is given them, they bask in the glory. So, it’s good to just carry on and just ignore them, as RJ says.
October 16th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Fun!
October 16th, 2009 at 7:54 am
AND ONE OF THE MOST INPORTANT THINGS DONT BE A HIPOCRIT LIKE THIS GUY WRITING THIS HE ACTIVELY ENGAGES INBEING A PREDATOR AND TROLL YET USES YOU VIEWS TO PASS HIMSELF OFF AS A GREAT HELP LOOK WHAT HES SAYING HERE YOU CAN TELL HE BELIEVES HE IS FAR SUPPERIOR THAN OTHERS WHAT HE REALLY IS IS A HCKER WHO BROKE TRIONDS COSDE TO GET HIMSELF LISTED ON HOT CONTENT OFTEN HE REALLY IS A VIEW STEALER STEALING THE SHOWCASE BY FRAUD FROM YOU ALL WHO DESERVE IT
October 16th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Good one.
October 16th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Yes, ignoring them is the best way to get rid of them.
October 16th, 2009 at 10:30 am
They are a blight and I agree that most of the time ignoring them makes them go away. Not always, though.
Good article.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:31 am
`I stopped going into the forum due to them and all the trouble it has.But yes,knows a troll when i see one and has no real use for them.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Nice article. Better to ignore than argue with them, because there is no reasoning with them at all. Ignore, don’t explore. Good advice.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Great article. I have written two articles on bullies of the internet as well. Ignoring them is good but confronting them works best.
October 16th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
… Well you can try that…
… However I think some sort of sword, or gun; may do a better job.
October 16th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Trolls are so provoking. Sometimes, it is hard to ignore them…
October 16th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Good write. Some of them are fun to toy with.
October 16th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I enjoy toying with trolls too Sharazad
It is probably better to ignore them but I can’t help pointing out that they are in fact illiterate scum.
…we all have our cross to bear
October 16th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Everyone has a right to their opinion but no one should force their opinion on anyone.
October 16th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
We had alot on the forums.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Thanks for the tip!
October 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Its almost fun to watch trolls have a complete and total mental breakdown. And sad too.
October 16th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
does a troll follow you forum to forum and make fun of your grammar when you are bilingual, is that a troll to you? I know for a fact that not only do I let the troll go, I also let go of the ones who support those sort of trolls by further conversation with them
October 16th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I expected more.
October 16th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
One way to kill a troll, is to sneak up behind them when they are taking a drink of water, and slam the toilet seat on their head.
October 16th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
really run stuff!
October 17th, 2009 at 2:51 am
Nice stuff. A good informative article.
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October 17th, 2009 at 4:26 am
good advice given here
and always remember to take it as a compliment that your article is good enough to attract a troll
October 17th, 2009 at 7:14 am
i hate trolls, good they don’t exist
October 17th, 2009 at 9:51 am
Exactly right just ignore them. Trolls are easy to goad but not worth the time.
October 17th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Good Advice
http://www.flashgamingempire.com
October 17th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Nice advice – thank you!
October 17th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Good advice.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:54 am
the one thing though, which I will be writing about, some writers seem to believe it is better to leave up negative comments along with positive ones, I beg to differ because the negative editing might not be brought on by professionalism, something in the article can make them lash out, but they cover it up like a great edit
October 17th, 2009 at 11:57 am
an example would be
you have written an article that tells others that chopping down a tree for two weeks is not really eco minded, so that person leaving a message uses those types of trees, so they have been pierced by your article, their conscious now knows it is not friendly to earth to do that, all of a sudden, it is grammar, it is your article not being right etc..making excuses for cutting down that tree, by blaming your article
so I take the negative postings down, not from pride, but because it might be rooted to their own emotions brought on by what you have written
keep this in mind when weeding out comments
October 17th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
like I had one troll on my religion one on the tree, she complained that she has never met one Christian to complain about the jeremiah verse, and became nasty,
it could be rooted to a variety of things
1) she has not spoken to the type of Christians I have, scared of using a tree, that does not mean I am inaccurate
2) she never knew about that verse in Jeremiah, and became flustered as a practicing Christian of 40 years not to know about it and was pierced by it
3) she cuts down trees herself, and became upset by the knowledge it is not green
renee made a good point, ONE, that if you used one in a pot, you can repot it, however how many do this? how many places sell a 4-6 ft tree with ROOTS, in a pot big enough to decorate in the winter time?
any lists of these places?
October 17th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
and you would have to keep it in that pot all winter long, because the soil is to hard to plant it,
I have never heard of potted Christmas trees, or evergreens, it might be possible, but I do not see many do this
October 17th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
*ignores Jeff Merrow* Did it work? (Sorry, I had too.)
October 17th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
I enjoy trolls and find them an engaging part of everyday activities on the internet.
October 17th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
great article!
October 17th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Dawn, maybe she just disagreed with you? We are all entitled to our own opinions. If you take it to heart so much that you repeatedly post on another writer’s article about your own issues then maybe you’re in the wrong business.
Writers are in a cut throat industry with people ready to tear your work to pieces in an instant. There are bad writers, good writers and tremendous writers. The lucky (or smart) amongst us will take the comments of others on board to better our abilities.
October 17th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
It’s a symptom of a free society and I remember one commentor saying about Russia after the fall of Communism, “Before you couldn’t keep them quiet and now you can’t shut them up!”
Thanks for the write . j
October 17th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
i suppose you get trolls on most web sites like vultures hanging around for the kill.
October 17th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
emma, no offense, she said Christians i mentioned did not exist? like i was lying about the ones about the trees?
October 17th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
well if you feel it is lucky or smart go for it, I wrote an article on dark predators who leave comments, dark from the past in other circles or forums, problems you have had with others that have nothing to do with writing etc…
October 17th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
damn. I was hoping you were going to say just to make troll stew out of them…lol.. you advice is rather dead on…
October 17th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
this article is pretty much a troll LOL!
October 18th, 2009 at 6:56 am
In my experience, trolls are nasty pieces of work. Having been a moderator I have seen a few! They generally make snide comments, then the recipient gets all upset, types a reply which has errors due to the emotions, which then gets picked on.
Generally, a disagreement between two people is just that. Trolls will make personal attacks, and I have seen that trolls are always right!
Of course they are…
Trolls will spend their time waiting for the reply. Surely it is fun not replying and knowing that some idiot somewhere is wasting hours waiting for a reply.
Topknotchwriter – How do we know you aren’t the troll? You have come here and been abusive. Who cares if the author is a troll? If they are, then they know better than most how to get rid of them. So take your nastiness elsewhere!
October 18th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Hmm, I know sometimes I leave bad comments, but that is when I know the person is either severely stupid or plainly wrong, but I don’t consider myself a troll. Nice article.
October 18th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Yes, this does usually work, on our website though, if they dont go away we end up fighting back…
October 18th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
A great article enjoyed the read as much as the comments lol nice work.
October 19th, 2009 at 3:10 am
How does I troll
October 19th, 2009 at 6:26 am
nice work, doctor styles.
*quote from trauma center, under the knife*
i like it. i wish i got something in hot content :/
you must have made a fortune with this
October 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I\’ve seen people who take an opposing view called trolls on numerous occasions. It is a convenient defence for the stupid who publish rubbish and are unable to argue coherently. I\’ve also seen a writer who, when s/he was objected that a high and mighty self appointed site had plagiarised her work, was called a troll.
I publish extensively on Xomba now. There you can flag rude remarks – that is sufficient.
Trolls were once decent creatures and it is a pity that nerds have taken their name to attach to offensive behaviour
October 19th, 2009 at 9:39 am
thats a very good blog..keep the good work up.
October 19th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
hilarious
October 19th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
great job!! HC as well!!
October 19th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
“Do not engage the troll”
I repeat, “Do not engage the troll”
and that’s how it’s done. Nice write, Gramps.
~Bella
October 19th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Never knew about pc trolls until now. I just figured that there were a lot of mentally deficient people roaming the nets and let them go on there merry way.
October 19th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Wonderful article, kudos. In most cases ignoring the less fortunate troll will cease the disturbance; as all of these trolls crave attention. However, there are some extreme cases in which the troll will not leave; stalk pages, contact friends to find out personal information, act to steal your identity or work, and act like a toddler. I’ve had experience, being terminal, I was told that I should “die” and that she was “not going away until I killed myself”. It’s now in the hands of a lawyer and police because it got so bad; so I warn all that these people do have the standings to take it to a level beyond the simple bad comment or insult.
Secondly, I would like to mention that a troll often leaves obsessive comments on articles that may hit home; as they say the truth hurts. These comments often are in no subject to the article, as the ones I read above; used to stir the pot. I would classify anyone who leaves a span of 3-4 or more comments in rapid succession to an article of this correctness as that of a troll; mentally ill and seeking attention. Or as I say, a glutton for punishment. Wouldn’t you agree? These trolls may often write articles in slander to others who refused to give the attention they sought out for.
Great article.
October 19th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Wow!I just found your article and havent hjad a chance to check out the forum.It seems to have its fair share of different charactors.But your article was intersing and intends to ignore a troll if I see one.
October 19th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
still on here?
October 19th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I think also you can go into the COMMENTS section somewhere and BLOCK SENDER.
That works . Thanks for the stimulating discourse . j
October 20th, 2009 at 4:39 am
Why shouldn’t the trolls be utilized for the benefit of the Internet Users. The positive side of the trolls can be well understood, by going through the article, Beyond The Mirage of The Alluring Programs on The Internet, published at this very site.
October 20th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s good to inform the rest of the community of this reality.
October 20th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
you kill a troll by doing it all night,non-stop.i swear,it works.trust me…it’s been done
October 20th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
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