ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Don't Feed the Trolls! How to Deal with Them Effectively

Updated on July 17, 2012

© by Jennifer McLeod writing as jenjen0703, all rights reserved.

Source

What is a Troll

The definition of a troll, according to Wikipedia, is someone who "posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

The act of trolling refers to the intentional actions and harassment created by the troll, which are directed towards others in an attempt to bring other people down.

However nice and cute a troll may appear to be, do not trust the troll. They are self-serving and do not care if their online words tear other people's lives apart.

Source

Identifying a Troll

Trolling is an annoying action developed by people who feel the need to argue, bully, and stalk others online. Trolling is a serious problem and causes people to debate and argue over the simplest topics imaginable.

The most serious form of trolling I have witnessed is a Web site that was designed by a man who has a personal interest in my friend's criminal case. It is believed the charges are a result of corruption in the system and the fact his children are worth quite a bit of money to a foster family who would keep them together. We have enough evidence to establish some of the illegal actions taken by the state and county, and even more that shows the malicious power that the government truly has over us as Americans.

This troll's Web site has several pages dedicated to individuals who have dared to defend my friend. I am one of the lucky people who has had the privilege of having my name slandered on his site, complete with some of my life history. Much of the information on the troll's site is twisted, alleged, and fabricated.

I believe the troll has several people posting under different screen names, but we believe some of them are all him because the IP addresses come back the same from some of the comments that are posted. A final answer to this theory is in the works, as we speak.

Have you ever dealt with an internet troll?

See results

The Other Writer...

As I mentioned before, another hubber has been harassed by the featured troll. Sweetsusieg gives a humorous rendition of the masked serial-troll with Internet Trolls, how to feed them properly.

Communicating with a Troll

Talking to a troll is nearly impossible, not to mention aggravating. If you ever have the misfortune of dealing with a troll, you will severely hurt your desk from banging your head onto it in frustration. Trolls cannot be impartial, and they have no respect for others. Other noticeable traits of a troll include:

  • Dishonesty - they cannot tell the truth, as it is. They twist and manipulate facts so the story fits their version of the truth.
  • Disrespectful - they are rude and obnoxious. Their main goal is to do whatever they have to do get what they want.
  • Bullying - if you do not agree with a troll's opinion, he or she will become extremely rude and verbally abusive and attack everything you say online.
  • Stalking - the worst types of trolls may become cyber-stalkers and may stalk you on social networks and interfere with your friends and followers at these sites.
  • Narcissistic - trolls expect everything to be all about them. If you take the spotlight off a troll, they become annoyingly obtrusive and throw tantrums.
  • Multiple screen names - trolls sometimes use different screen names to post comments. They do this as a weak attempt to appear to have support in their fight so they do not feel lonely.

My Personal Experience

My experience with the troll who stalks me has been stressful, to say the least. He had a page in his Web site dedicated to me and even includes my maiden name. He knows where my last job was, my criminal record, and has went as far as to post my psychiatric history. He twists facts and allows his "supporters" to verbally abuse people on his site.

He has also stolen personal images from my friends' Facebook profiles and has posted them on his site without permission, as well as pictures of their news feeds.

This troll has stalked me (and others who have been targeted on his site) on YouTube, MLive, and WWMT. He also stalked some of my followers at HubPages and tried to discredit me as an author and advocate. One of the victims of his site is also an author here at HubPages and is known as Sweetsusieg. Susie also has a page dedicated to her at this troll's site.

As you can see from the above picture, this troll stalks our Facebook news feeds. I have my privacy settings completely enforced, so luckily, not much of my Facebook is on his site. The troll is stalking various people to the point that he appears to be operating a full-time business, with the sole purpose of trolling the people involved in this criminal case. Trolling seems to be his favorite hobby.

Here is an example of the types of abusive comments that can be made by trolls and their supporters. This example is mild compared to some of the other comments they have made.

Source

Getting Rid of the Riff-Raff

It is pointless to carry on conversations with a troll, but sometimes, it is unavoidable. Trolls can provoke a great deal of anger in others, and they know this, so do not let them win their game by getting angry at them. Fighting back on their level will only give them a feeling of satisfaction and superiority.

Remember these following tips if you have to deal with a troll:

  • If you can avoid the troll, do so. Block them on your social networks and instruct your friends to do the same (if your troll is as ruthless as mine).
  • You can prove them wrong in one comment, but they will find another way to come back with more comments and will never stop.
  • No matter how honest and positive you are, trolls will be consumed with negativity and will do whatever they can do to drag others down around them, even if they have to abuse and lie.
  • Because of their obsession, trolls will dominate a great deal of your time arguing. Don't give them the time.

Good luck on your adventures with trolls. They can only be as bothersome as you allow them to be. My examples are somewhat broader because of his ties in the case. He is a malignant troll, one that is not operable.

This is my what I picture when I think of "troll"...

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)