Internet Trolls

[Nutsy]

Gosh Dan I had no idea such people existed

That was very interesting & saddening



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for Dan

 

[cubsfan]

Great link....
Thanks Dan!

Brian

 

[always quiet]

Gosh....I had heard the term "troll" before (and have even been "baited" by one before! ). I never knew that they actually were defined by that word!! I just thought it was a funny term to use to describe some internet low life!

 

[Grog]

Great article, Dan.

I run into a lot of trolls on sports related message boards. The best thing to do is to not feed them. Walk away. Don't type a response. Too many people rise to the bait and give the troll exactly what he wants.

Food for thought... while there are "pure" trolls, those who sign on to a message board just to stir up trouble, there are also "part-time" trolls. I've seen people here on the DIS with hundreds and thousands of posts, who will post something, not to promote a healthy exchange of ideas or opinions, but simply to stir up trouble. They are the ones who post topics like "Children should be banned from WDW", knowing full well that something like that is going to bring out the anger in most of the parents who read it. To me those types are even worse than the "pure" trolls.

 

[snoopy]

Food for thought... while there are "pure" trolls, those who sign on to a message board just to stir up trouble, there are also "part-time" trolls. I've seen people here on the DIS with hundreds and thousands of posts, who will post something, not to promote a healthy exchange of ideas or opinions, but simply to stir up trouble. They are the ones who post topics like "Children should be banned from WDW", knowing full well that something like that is going to bring out the anger in most of the parents who read it. To me those types are even worse than the "pure" trolls.

Yup........I totally agree with that. Traditional trolls don't bother me a bit, since I have no connection with them and they are usually gone pretty quickly. Its "trolls" who are here disguised as members that I take exception to.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Thanks for the information Dan, when I first started posting (over came my lurking status) I ran into a TROLL I didn't understand why anyone could be so offensive, so I went back to lurking...after a few days I realized this one person didn't represent the whole DIS, from reading more threads and Boards I have found many new friend and posters I feel are friends.

Thank You.

 

[jjcollins]

I heard they disguise themselves too

jj.......

 

[trishy]

However, there are also those that simply believe friendly banter between people is perceived as "trollish" behavior. It is a shame to label people for the pure satisfaction of making oneself feel better when you feel left out. The most important thing in dealing with trolls, feeling left out, or disagreeing with a person is to leave that thread and go to another thread. It does work. I agree that there are trolls in existence even on the DIS. I just thinks it's sad when someone needs to make themself feel above others by resorting to name calling in order to enhance their ego. If you are SURE it's a troll, follow this suggestion per Dan Murphy's link:

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.