Anatomy of Troll

You are on a message board, in a forum, even a writing site. Suddenly you're being attacked in the most vicious manner by someone you never knew was alive.

You may respond in kind, you may be shocked to the core, you may even become so insulted you pack up and go. But what you should never do is take anything posted seriously.

The deindividualisation of the Internet has led to the birth of the Troll.

This is a pathetic person who believes the anonymity of cyberspace not merely protects him/her/it but endows them with the powers and abilities they are denied in Real Life.

Creating an all powerful avatar, hiding behind a nickname, these people attack for attack sake. They have no point, they are simply 'acting out' as a two year old flinging himself to the floor, shouting; "I hate you!"

In the 1980s, as summer vacation arrived, Bulletin Boards would be saturated by schoolers trying to outdo each other in filth and viciousness.

Those BBS which had active Moderators or Sysops would be deleting with both hands, then blocking the phone number, (in some places, calling the parents) to protect their BBS.

Those which had inactive Mods or Sysops turned into cesspools real users abandoned. Hence, the 'death' of a BBS usually took place in the summer.

With the commercial availability of the Internet, the first venue for Trolls was IRC . People from all over the world would get into real time chat and of course, so would a Troll.

However, in those days many geeks were in IRC and it was not unusual for a Troll to be quickly bounced, sometimes with damage to his Operating System.

As time passed, the creation of Message Boards,(MB) the 'Human face of the Internet' arose. And this was the milieu of the Troll.

Firstly, MBs were so enticing, each had to have a number of full time Mods to prevent Trolls from destroying their little chatland.

Many MBs destroyed themselves by having so many rules and needing every comment scrutinised before posting it became ridiculous.

Many MBs descended from discussing a topic to having flame wars. Serious people packed up and left.

Other MBs had various mechanisms in which the Mod could delete or change a post made by a Troll so it was worked to drivel. But again, this was work, and free work at that. Unless one was being paid to monitor the MB, and alert to what was happening, the MB became a desert.

Secondly, the ability to create Duals made every troll a Repulsion, (my term for a group of trolls).

One pathetic loser could create twelve or more different nicknames, logging in, either from one IP or via a number of Proxies so it seemed there were a dozen persons attacking one, when it was a single Troll using different names.

Delphiforums became the proving ground. Anyone could create a forum, anyone could create a number of accounts. Going from forum to forum attacking, spewing invective, was the joy of those who in Real Life couldn't stand up to an angry ten year old.

Wise Mods learned syntax, able to discern that Diggadog and Sickgrrls and Kiata and Serena, were one person. Astute Mods would catch the potential troll at first post, and bounce them, and keep banning.

As time passed just about every site included a feedback section. These were often unmoderated. The mentality of the owners was, in many cases, 'you come here to post your writing, (for example) you don't have to go to the discussion section'.

As soon as it became common knowledge that X site had an unmoderated forum, Trolls raced in trying to outdo themselves in attacks on hapless posters.

Some posters avoided this section once it became clear that there was no 'protection'. Others honed they skills at troll baiting and bashing.

But the fact is, any response is a response. Hence; "Do Not Feed The Trolls" became the motto.

On Triond, there was a Forum so infested with Trolls there was no sense in posting.

The Trolls, many of whom haven't (or can't) write a shopping list, squatted in the discussion area, attacking others, creating threads, using sewer language, because there was no 'mommy & daddy' to discipline them.

This situation continued until a Magog arrived and destroyed the forum, then destroyed the comment section under the advisory (which had become a Troll Toilet).

A Magog is totally different than a Troll. A Magog does not communicate. A Magog simply destroys.

If a Magog reaches a Forum, he/she/it will so fill it with meaningless symbols that it no longer exists. Hence there are no topics, there are no comments. There is just screen upon screen of symbols.

Anyone logging on sees nothing to read or comment upon. Scrolling down it is screen after screen of something like

*&^*)___+)*&^%*(__

(*&$##%^*(____(*&&^^

*&^^()__(*&^%%$$

which makes the user log off.

On most Writing sites, the writer has the pleasure of deleting comments. Wise writers police their work, deleting inappropriate comments.

Xomba had a menagerie of those who believe they have 'entitlement' and will swarm on any hapless writer who is chosen as 'comment of the day'.

It doesn't matter what one writes about, if one is chosen for this honour, the Trolls descend trying to make one feel unworthy of such an accolade.

Although using academic language and behaving ever so aloof, these are trolls with table manners.

On Hubpages one has the immediate 'approve' 'deny' so it makes no sense for a Troll to waste a keystroke trying to trash your work, because it will never see the light of day.

Wikinut belatedly gave the power to delete to writers. One ageing Troll didn't seem to get the fact that everything he wrote was deleted, and kept commenting, sending hits through the roof, so that Trolls do provide some monetary benefit .

If one likes mixing it up with Trolls, take a glance at Trollkingdom a site created for these kinds of miscreants. One will appreciate that outside of a few moments of triumph, the truth is, answering a Troll always results in a victory for the Troll.

Ignore the Troll.

Skip over its comments, respond to someone else.
Delete where you can delete, block where you can block.
Never take anything posted by a Troll to heart.

On writing sites, where you are the author of the piece, you can trick a Troll
into filling your pocket by getting it to keep posting.

Practice retrograde delete. The Troll posts, you comment. The Troll posts again, you comment and delete his first post.

You keep going to entice him to keep posting. Eventually, depending on how stupid the Troll is, it will find that it has made over thirty comments, but only this last one exists.

Remember, Trolls have no life, so for it to make ten posts a day for thirty days
is a low average.

If you belong to a message board or forum that has no intrinsic value, as soon
as it becomes a cesspool, leave. If the message area is attached to a site you
want to belong to, just don't enter the sewer.

The worst things posted about you will eventually go down the bunghole.
No one will remember it, if anyone even reads it.

Many years ago, a columnist wrote a very nasty piece about a particular person.
The media began calling the person for her response.
She replied; "I don't read that columnist."

That is the greatest insult one can ever pay.
Hence exercise your freedom of reading.

Remember, you have freedom of speech, I have freedom of hearing.
I don't want to hear you.
You can write whatever you want.
That is your right.
I have the right to not read you.