Trolls Among Us
77Mitchell Henderson
In the spring of 2005, Mitchell Henderson, for some reason unknown to his friends and family, took a rifle from a shelf, went into a closet and shot himself in the head. He was a seventh grade student. At school the next morning all the students gathered in the gym to begin mourning. A MySpace page was set up to honor Mitchell by his classmates. The decorated it up with remembrances from his past. A clipping of his obituary was sent to MyDeathSpace.com which links to MySpace pages of those who had died.
Mitchell Henderson 13 years old
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Mitchells MySpace page came to be noticed by an internet message board known simply as /b/ and the "trolls" who dwell there. /b' is a designated board of 4chan.org, for random discussions which draws nearly 200 million page views a month. Most of the forum contributors post as anonymous. Effectually, it makes everyone invisible to others and basically reads much like a bathroom stall in a high school.
Some of the trolls found something funny to them about Mitchell's death. Amused by a reference on his MySpace page about his lost iPod, they started posting that he killed himself over it. Before much time passed, many others picked up on this and wrapped his death in absurdities.
Someone then hacked into Mitchell's MySpace page, and changed his picture to that of a zombie. Another went to his grsave and placed an iPod on the headstone and took a picture of it and posted it in /b/. His face was placed on spinning iPods, dancing iPods, porn scenes and a video was placed on YouTube dramatizing his death.
Before long phone calls were made to Mitchell's parents from these "trolls." The following is an exact C&P: “It sounded like kids,” remembers Mitchell’s father, Mark Henderson, a 44-year-old I.T. executive. “They’d say, ‘Hi, this is Mitchell, I’m at the cemetery.’ ‘Hi, I’ve got Mitchell’s iPod.’ ‘Hi, I’m Mitchell’s ghost, the front door is locked. Can you come down and let me in?’ ” He sighed. “It really got to my wife.” The calls continued for a year and a half.
Trolls
Internet users adopted the word "trolls" in the late 80's to denote someone who disrupts online communities with the intention asking baiting questions just to get a response. Early in the history of internet use, trolls were mostly only in Usenet groups. It became a game to many in which the question would be asked to find out who would reply in a stereotypical newbie behavior.
Today's trolls hunt for their unsuspecting victims in gangs. They are vicious in their attacks also. They show no mercy to their victims and are determined ti disrupt the lives of others they don't even really know.
Fox News Video about an email that was sent in "Supposedly" from Mitchell.
“Lulz”
Lulz is the way trolls keep score. “Lulz is watching someone lose their mind at their computer 2,000 miles away while you chat with friends and laugh,” It is a quasi-thermodynamic exchange between a sensitive person and a cruel one. You find someone who is a know it all and you exploit them to get as much drama as possible from them. The rules are simple really. 1. Get as many lulz as possible. 2. Make sure to widely distribute the lulz which allows for more lulz. 3. Play the game until there are no more lulz to gain.
Closing
In closing out this hub, I will state that I had planned on doing more than just the story of Mitchell. After researching I found that there are many others who need to be mentioned and written about. I will continue writing these type hubs as information is gathered making it more of a series.
I hope you read this and understand the seriousness of what is going on in the world of the internet today. Please leave comments below whether you agree with me or not that this is a dangerous game that is being played. The sad thing is that it is also adults who do this and not just teenagers.
Another Article About Trolls and Cyber Bullying
- Trolls Among Us 2
Megan Taylor Meier November 6, 1992- October 17, 2006. Megan committed suicide after an internet hoax went terribly wrong. Cyber Bullying played a key part in her mental state. Megan was pretty much a normal...
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Comments
Thank you SweetiePie for the comment. Yes we must do what we can to bring it all to an end. One suggestion might be to make it illegal to have a forum or any type of site that allows anonymous comments. I know there are many ways to hide your identity and there must be ways to find out your identity even if you are proficient at masking your IP.
Fascinating hub. I never knew about the troll designation before. Bullies and bullying are not good for the internet or anywhere else.
You are right JD. Bullying only hurts everyone and is never a good thing to do. Thanks for stopping by this hub and commenting.
I kind of take a pretty hard stance on this. First off, parents need to know about what their kids are doing online. Secondly, freedom of speech being what it is, there's a whole lotta cans of worms about making cyber-bullying illegal. Third, sometimes people need to know when to step back. Treat messages from someone who is bullying you like you would spam, delete it without a second thought. It's been mentioned before that if you ignore a cyber bully often they will stop bullying you and find someone they can push buttons on, because that's what gets them off. I grew up the victim of *real* bullying in school on a daily basis. I was physically threatened and beat up on a regular basis. Kids need to just delete their accounts and start a new account that will afford them more privacy than the previous did, sometimes. It sucks, but life is full of people like this, the best way to deal with them is to simply ignore them.
A lot of cyber bullies are cowards really. It's easy to feel strong when insulting someone anonymously or under a nickname. However victims should really make sure to check their security settings - such as not allowing comments from anyone except friends. As far as hacked pages go, it's best to just move on to a new account - and this time make sure to follow the safety protocols against worms, which are the usual method for hacking myspace pages.
Nicole, those are some good points that you made here. Another things parents need to do is make sure their kids, aren't the ones doing the bullying. Of course the parents must not be bullies themselves or it wouldn't work.
I agree that cyber bullies are cowards Squimp. I also agree about abandoining an account once it has been taken over by a hacker. One thing about Mitchell is that he is dead and can't abandon his account now.
Thanks for the comemnt.
Sir Dent ... thanks for the detailed troll information. I've heard the term, I never knew it was organized. Thanks for speaking up against bullying. - David
I guess I'm naive because I've never heard of such awful things. These "trolls" should be ashamed.
Squimpleton... you mentioned "safety protocols against worms" could you or someone else elaborate on this? Thanks
Myspace pages are known to occasionally have worms. The page url will be fine but all of the links within the page will go to a non-myspace page (some will try to have a fake myspace url, to make it more realistic). If you pass a worm link, the person who made it can have your password cookie and can choose to log into your profile later on.
Most people would say "well my friends wouldn't do that". All it takes is for the person who starts to worm to have loads of careless myspace friends, they use the stolen passwords to get into their accounts and worm their links, and it spreads like crazy from one wormed page to another mostly because most myspace users don't realize when their own pages have been wormed, since they are less likely to click links on their own pages. The only way they can realize they've been wormed is if they hover links on their page, or notice bulletins written under their name but that obviously were written by someone else, or -the ultimate clue - the password and email addys have been changed and you can't get to your own account.
There's 1 very simple safety protocol against this: No matter whose myspace page it is, always check that the links are myspace.com urls. If you realize you just got to a worm link, you should close the tab/window, clear out all cookies, sign back into myspace and change your password right away.
Thanks for the comments David ans Rebel. I appreciate them very much.
Squimp, that is great information that you gave here. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Trolls only live when they have victims. What empowers them in part is that words on a screen don't have a face or an age, so many people fall into the trap of assuming the things people write on the Internet come from "adults" or at least from people whose opinions matter, so the words of morons are given weight they would never have in reality.
The best way to vanquish trolls is not to feed them. This might sound harsh, but, don't have thin skin. People reacting to trolls is why there are so many. There's not one person here who doesn't know a-holes abound in the real world. But you don't have to react to them when they pop up. Gotta learn to let dumb comments go.
The other thing I would toss in is don't be a troll maker. The difference here is that a lot of so-called trolls are just regular folks who make a joke and someone jumps in defensively or hyper-senstive to react to something that was NOT intended as trolling. Different people have different humor and sometimes if someone makes a joke that goes bad, others will attack them so furiously that they are put on the defensive. So, same goes for bad jokes as goes for trolls, don't have thin skin. Even if you think that you SHOULD say something about whatever it is you read, "because it's the right thing to do" just remember, your words don't have any more power on the Internet than theirs do, and you certainly aren't going to change someone's sense of humor (especially if the joke was just made in bad taste by a normally nice person). The bottom line is, if you make a fuss, you either feed a troll or create one. So let it go.
Good hub, SirDent. Glad you brought this up.
I agree Shadesbreath. The problem is that most teens and middle school children don't have thick skin. In fact, many of them are unstable emotionally also.
Thanks for stopping by to comment, I appreciate it.
You are right. Parent's have to teach there kids not to have thin skin too... or, if they don't feel their kids are mature enough to handle it, supervise all Internet access.
I will Amen that Shadesbreath.
Thanks for a great article SirD. Reading this reminded me of the Megan Meiers case in which the mother of a rival had thought it perfectly normal to stalk a child, attack her sense of self worth and ultimately set off a series of chain reactions that would lead Megan to take her own life.
It truly makes me ill to think that there are people out there that can derive pleasure from another person's pain.
The trolling phenomena is yet another abusive internet practise that is abhorrent. Chat rooms too can spawn dangerous behavior. It seems to me that the legal system and international law needs to be updated so that criminal prosecutions can take place. While not wishing to take away the wonderful freedoms that the internet gives us, the normal social and human responsibilities need to prevail and if neccessary policed and enforced so that we can get rid of theses cybercriminals and they are criminals! as we need to be safe on our streets so we need to be safe on the internet. Anonymity is a blessing allowing us to express ourselves freely but a curse when it allows us to cloak abhorrent behaviour.
Great Hub SirDent I salute you.
This is reprehensible behavior, especially by "adults," made all to unaccountable for by the anonimity of the internet. And I agree with Nicole; You have to "play the game" to be bullied on the internet. Messages can be easily deleted and blocked. NOTHING should EVER be opened in your email box if you do not know who it is from. With no reaction, there is no game.
Good hub, SirDent.
Firstly, Good God, i have never heard of such a thing and was shocked when i read your piece. I have just had a little girl and this kind of thing makes me worry what kind of world she'll grow up in. I agree with constant walker-really good point, unfortunately, the targets are probably teenagers too vulnerable not to open these mails. Is anything being done about this does anyone know? Is there any kind of body that monitors web content like this?
Good hub-very worrying indeed.....
Thank you Spryte for the comment. Megan Meiers will be the next hub in this series if I can find the right resources.
I appreciate your comment also sixtytorso. Many have called them bullies, but I feel it is terrorism. Unfortunately, there isn't much we can do about them. Educating our children in ignoring such attacks is the best thing we can do.
ConstantWalker, I agree with what you wrote also. It can only be a game if more than one participate.
lelfaulkner, the only thing I know to do and has been suggested by others in comments, is to educate your child and monitor her activities especially online. I would like to also add to educate her to not be one of these cyber bullies.
Many times it might be adults who bully children, such as the Megan Meiers case. They couldn't prosecute the woman who did that because there was no law against it. From what I have found out there has been a law passed since then in the state or county where Megan lived.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Therte is a lot of helpful info in the comments here. I suggest everyone read those after reading the article.
This is truly disgusting. It never ceases to amaze me, how much human debris is trolling the internet. Keep writing these hubs, to expose these miscreants. I hope that these degenerates have the same cruel jokes played upon them.
Sir Dent,
It only goes to show you that "gang" mentality exists everywhere, even on the Internet. Trolls are just as nasty as the word implies...Maybe we should have a refresher course on the Three Billy Goats Gruff? Don't feed the trolls...this must be taught to our teenagers or we will have incidences like this continually. Thank you for pointing out a major problem with anonymity. Chickens suddenly become very brave when you can't see them! And don't forget...once a chicken see's blood on another animal (even a chicken) they will peck them to death!
It's all fun and games to them rmr. They have no regard for others. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks inthedoghouse for stopping by and commenting. What you said about chickens is true. They will peck whenever blood is present.
The best thing we can do is educate our children so they will not end up being victims of these cowards. We also must educate our children to not become one of these cowards.
BULLYING HAS BEEN AROUND FOR AGES,,,,EVEN BEFORE THE COMPUTER DAYS,,
That's true Silly, but with the internet the identitiy is hidden from everyone. Thanks sfor stopping by to read and comment. :)
Hello SirDent,
I read about something like this in the NY Times magazine. It is very despicable that people thrive these shameless techniques to up their ego.
Thanks
How did we let our world get so out of hand? I say we because whether you have children or not, it is our responsibilty as the adults to prevent this type of behavior. I will never understand how someone can take pleasure in others pain. I pray that God will comfort and guide Mitchell's family and friends during this horrendous ordeal.
Thanks feewee for the comment.
Jean, there is a new hub I just published I had been working on since I published this one. You may want to check it out also. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting.
This reminds me of an article I read in Wired. It was about Griefers in Second Life. Basically they were just another word for trolls. They would get together then target a victim or an event on Second Life then unleash mayhem. A woman that made her living on second life got harassed and lost most of her income. They also ruined CNet interviews. It isn't right but for the bullies it is entertainment. They are happy making someone else miserable.
SirDent, another outstanding hub!
I have never heard of trolls, this kind anyway. Despicable! I can only try to imagine what a child must be feeling to be harassed to the point of committing suicide. I assume that it is typical of other forms of abuse in that they cannot tell any adults or go to the police.
This has such frightening implications of the direction of online activity.
Thank-you for making me aware of what's going on.
This boy comitted suicide for reasons unknown. The bullying and harassment was after he had died.
WE GET OCCASIONAL TROLLS sorry caps lock! on a poetry forum that I moderate. They come in posing as writers, some of them write well enough, then start the process of 'winding up' others, by provocative feedback. It's very destructive of community spirit. Ours are not dangerous, but they're sickening as all they want to do is destroy others. Well done for highlighting this.
Yes, Paraglider, that is what trolls do. They merely want to disrupt everything else to get their lulz. Thanks for comemnting.
SirDent, I am almost sorry to have read this - I am obviously quite naive, but appreciate the opportunity to read your hubs!
I know what you mean Ken. The internet is a great resource, but can also be very cruel at times.
Thanks SirDent for this hub - I was aware of cyberbullying but didn't know the extent to which this provocative cruelty stooped to...
Wow that is very interesting. Thanks for letting us know about this topic.
Yes, there is trollish behavior done by many, but this had gone way too far. The other hub on Trolls is just as cruel. Thanks for stopping by and reading ajcor and Candace.
I just followed Candace over here. WOW. What a disturbing trend. Thank you for raising the issue here, Sir Dent. I have seen examples here in HubPages, but I suspect they are mild, mild, mild in comparison with true "troll" behavior. I can definitely see how preteens and teens would not have the maturity to realize that their actions were harming someone. The internet is a double edged-sword! MM
I think it's getting worse every day online.
Thanks for the comments MM and mdv. The issue here needs to be made known among all parents. I know that my son created a myspace account and I made him delete it.
Sorry, to here all this SirDent,
I have noticed some trolling around too. I do not know what some people think when the get in the internet. Some people have what I call internet rage. They troll the internet looking for somewhere to let go. It almost seem like they are lerking aorund and almost stacking. What are they trying to proof. I have meet some that appear that they have a masonic political agenda, They are crawling around the internet to try to get the points out. They call other people bad names and put them down. They have a total lack of respect for others. If you do not have the opinion as them, they consider you a low life. And to have them do what was done to the young man, and their family is total wrong.
Thanks, and take care.
This has been an inspirational read, the comments too! My fave website is LJ, no one us anonymous, per say, but it's not wrong to have more than one account, so some people who get bored post nasty things to communities that have nothing to do with the topic, or everthing to do with it in a nasty way. I'm added to a cat macro (lolcat) community, and sometimes people simply post dogs, which are not cats (lol) to the community for a laugh. But a couple of times, mutilated cats have been posted to very loud upheival and anger. Thus = The troll gets what he/she wants and the owner of the com is alerted and bans the troll, only to find that he/she will make another account.
You've all woken me up, I will simply ignore it. It's not like me to do this, But I will,
Thank you.
Sir Dent,
I 100% support and applaud your efforts. Trolls/Bullies should be opposed whenever possible. - David
I horrible I am against that all together what a sad story...:(
I'm with AE on that. disgusting behavior!
Thanks for the comments AEvans and CC. I agree that it is disgusting behavior.
this hub is very true. this goes on on hubpages too. people who don't have a real grip on reality who don't get the attention they crave find ways to get it this is one of them. Innocent pelopl get hurt and they like every minute of it. Does tearing other poepel down make the ones without confidense feel better?
I was just thinking how ironic and horrible it would be if we got a troll on this blog!
This is totally unbelievable that someone or somepeople would degrade a death with such severity. I am totally appalled at these actions. But, it just goes to show ya, there are evil people living amonst us...
There is nothing left to say. Evil men do indeed live but God is not mocked.
They do indeed BJC. Thanks for the read and comment.
SweetiePie says:
16 months ago
Trolls on the Internet are a serious danger. I did a hub awhile back about tech abuse and how many people use the Internet to stalk their victims. Trolling and tech abuse are something we need to help bring an end to. Thanks for your insightful hub Sirdent.