HOW TROLLS WORK.....
THEY WANT YOU TO ANSWER THEM!!!!
THEY WANT YOU TO ANSWER THEM!!!!
The conversation below begins with a simple remark which seems innocent. This person, Micheal McDougald, had asked to be ny Facebook friend. When I erased an abusive person from ny friend's list (and they DO happen), MM quickly criticized me. Remember, this person asked to be my friend. I never ask anybody to be my friend as a general rule.
Judyth u r wrong for deleting and blocking people that dont
agree with u. That is what the existence of the usa is built on is the freedom
to express your opinion. U might wanr to reconsider this action
9:10am
I have received death threats and also a threat to go to
jail. You are not in my position. You already made up your mind: psychologists
tell us that once you publicly make a stand you will not change your mind. You
will never change your mind and would YOU have a 'friend' who doesn't like you
on your facebook pages? I have been online for fifteen years and these people
are bringing up old arguments knowing some of the original people who were my
witnesses are now dead. You will not change your mind. Gayle Nix Jackson even
posted my private PM messages online. Why bring people close to me who
have already made up their minds?
9:11am
after all that;s happened, you said you were my friend, then
befriended Trish Fleming, etc.. Enough said.
And you spell your name Micheal, which no real Michael
does...
9:12am
R u saying I cant be friends with trish fleming?
THIS IS A TROLL TRICK TO MAKE THE TARGET [ME] LOOK ABUSIVE.===
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An Example of a Rickroll Hyperlink (click through for more info)
SOURCE: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/trolling
READERS WHO DON'T KNOW THE STORY OF ME AND LEE HARVEY OSWALD: PLEASE SEE
http://www.meandlee.com
MY BOOKS: ME & LEE:HOW I CAME TO KNOW, LOVE AND LOSE LEE HARVEY OSWALD
AND
DAVID FERRIE" MAFIA PILOT...KEY TO THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION
(available on Amazon, at trine day Books, and also as e-books.... ME & LEE is also available as an audiobook!)
9:13am
I am saying you chose to be friends with a woman who
announced she's writing articles to destroy my reputation.
9:14am
When I was born the doctor misspelled my first name on my
birth certificate. So its spelled MICHEAL on my birth certificate so legally
the way I spell it on here is correct
9:14am
You would do the same in my shoes.
OK, but that has little to do with your saying you are my
friend and then befriending people who say they wish to destroy my reputation,
Had you made a single 'like' in my defense I would feel differently. You would
do the same.
9:15am
I never heard no such thing from or about trish fleming
writing any bad articles about u anywhere
9:16am
How did you happen to befriend her? Did she ask you?
I need people who like me as friends, not those who do not.
They want to put me in jail. They send death threats.
9:18am
I dont think that is any of your business how or why we
became friends. But if u insist on knowing then I will insist on knowing why u
befriended one of your friends
9:18am
IN TORONTO, I SPOKE BEFORE 800 PEOPLE WHO CHEERED ME WHEN I
FINISHED. But one person there wanted to puke -- Denis Kitty Morissette, who
wrote: "I was in the audience in Toronto a few months ago during her
interview/ ass kissing by Coast to Coast host George Norry [sic] [it's NOORY}.
I almost threw up when I saw them applauding Judyth Baker and believing every
claim she made. I almost took the microphone when they asked people for
questions. She and her audience were ridiculous. ==Morissette ' almost threw
up.' He 'almost took the microphone' when it was time for questions, but
refrained. I stood there on the stage. I put my face right out there, ready and
willing to answer any and all questions thrown at me. Why didn't he take the
microphone and lash out at me? Because 800 people there saw i was honest and
was telling the truth, and he would have been exposed as unreasonably hostile.
9:19am
Your last response has nothing to do with me or this
conversation we are having
9:23am
no, you do not understand... you are the one who befriended
Fleming and that is your business, I can ask why and you have every right to
say it is none of my business. I really just wanted to see if you were a real
friend. She may have requested your friendship and you innocently added her on.
I befriend anyone who is not openly anti Kennedy or anti Lee Oswald or anti- me
who is also a seeming good citizen-=-no porn on their site, I try to be
selective but in the last couple of weeks I let a number of new people in
without checking into their background just to see what I would get. It was a
new idea. no ugliness.... If later they prove to be any of those things, I
delete them. I added 500 friends last year and deleted 50--10%--who came only
to argue with me or to declare Lee killed JFK, etc. They can do that someplace
else.
9:24am
I am showing you what a person posted who at one time
pretended to be my friend. Wrote--oh, look what they are saying, please don't
let them do this to you, etc....
an example of why I do not let everybody be my friend...it
was one point, was about to show that to you.
I had mixed this person up with a female friend with almost
the same name....
anyway, you don't want me as your friend, so let it be.
I wish you well and ask God to guide you to friends who will
be kind and good to you and not merely use you for their own ends. smile
emoticon
9:27am
Please explain this to me directly from you. WHY ARE YOU
NEVER MENTIONED IN THE OFFICIAL WARREN COMMISION [sic] REPORT. OR THE HOUSE SELECT
COMMITTEE ON ASSASSINATIONS REPORT ON THE JFK ASSASSINATION IF U KNEW LEE AND
DAVID FERRIE SO WELL AS U CLAIM? please answer that for me
And if your telling the truth as u claim then why run and
hide in another country
9:31am
I see you swallowed the crap. Note that some of JFK's
mistresses were never mentioned either, high profile as they were, no record,
until they spoke out. You haven't read the books and believe the tripe. I was
'j. vary' in New Orleans, a name that got confused with Dave Ferrie if you only 'heard' it....I was Judyth Baker at Reily. I was Mrs. R A Baker III in Florida
and successfully evaded being noticed. I was hospitalized five times in four
years so live in exile. However, I have returned to the USA with bodyguards in
2012, 2013 and 2014, I stood ion A STAGE IN FRONT OF 800 PEOOLE IN Toronto a
couple months ago. It alwasy provokes a bunch of attacks on facebook and
threats.
9:32am
...five times hospitalized with car 'accidents' that
GEICO paid for because none were my fault and two were deemed deliberate, but
the drivers gave fake names and vehicles could not be traced.
9:33am
So basically u cant answer my question truthfully. That
proves alot to me
9:33am
My bodyguards are professionals.
What are you talking about? I can indeed answer you
truthfully. I have nothing to hide. I said they didn't find me and I stayed
under the radar. I am not the only one that evaded being found. I have witnesses
on film and audiotape as well. They didn't tell you that, did they?
9:35am
I dont care about your bodyguards and how others have
treated u. I just asked a very simple question and all u can do is dance around
it and dodge answering it
9:36am
You asked why I run and hide in another country. I replied,
I was injured and it doesn't happen any more now that I have bodyguards and also
by living in exile.
what other question did I not answer truthfully, according
to you?
I joined the Mormon church and was hidden under the
name"Sister Baker."
9:37am
Do u really expect me to believe that the federal government
couldnt find someone like you. I dont believe that for a second
9:37am
I published things under fake names, I was so afraid. I was
"Avary Baker" when teaching at a university, for example. My birth
certificates were altered and much else occurred so I could stay under the
radar. You can see it in the book.
Do you understand that the last ting the federal government
looked for was anybody that could open up the can of worms about a conspiracy?
9:38am
If the feds really wanted to find u for questioning it
wouldnt be that hard for them to do
9:39am
But as I said, you are calling me a liar and saying I hide
in Europe knowing nothing of my life but believing lies you've read. If you do
that there is no way to reach your heart.
Not so. I was protected in many ways. even changed my eye
color with contact lenses... used only my married name on checks...Never mentioned a thing until 1980. Except to my sister.
9:41am
What I am saying is if lee harvey oswald could be found so
easily then so can you. But if your sickness is so bad that u have to continue
your lies to live a peaceful life then so be it
9:42am
Sickness? I passed the MMPI II and have a psychologist's
letter to prove it, where she says I am not a person who tells stories or has
fantasies, etc. A PhD and she administered a whole battery of tests GEICO paid
for because of my head injuries. That was in 2002 after I had already spoken
out.
9:45am
On the contrary, I would like a peaceful life, but these
people are the ones who give me no peace. I am over here in Europe and they
write things that you have read and believe, such as the lie that I have a
mental illness and am a fantasist. None of them ever met me. Nor have you.
However, you have decided what to believe. I have not lied to you. I did not
evade any of your questions. I am not included in the WC and HSCA, etc. because
I would have been killed. Look what happened to HSCA witnesses. I speak out now
and look what's happening to me. Imagine what would have happened back then.
9:45am
I was fortunate that back then I did not have to use a
social security number to be employed in patt time jobs. The number did not
show up for years.
9:46am
Sure is strange that if u were so adamant that lee was innocent
then u would have showed up in dallas on on November 22,1963 soon after lee was
arrested or on November 23,1963 to proclaim his innocence. But no you waited
about 17 years later sometime in 1980 before u started coming forward with
anything. I find that extremely strange
9:48am
Hmmm. On that point why was nix. Zapruder. Moorman.Beverly
oliver. Marina oswald. Ruth paine. Etc etc never killed?
9:48am
I waited because they would have killed me. Look what they
did to Lee in just 47 hours. I sure had time to speak up in his defense, didn't
I? I was living in Florida and by the way, who would have listened to me way
over there? People risked a lot to help me hide...they would
have been exposed. I did not do this in order to be forced to live overseas for
my safety in my old age. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I
prayed deeply about it before speaking out.
9:51am
Ruth Paine attacked lee Oswald. read her testimony. She kept
'finding' evidence against him as well. Marina was threatened with deportation
and has said so. Her American-born baby would have remained in USA with Lee's
mother. Think about that. Beverly Oliver is attacked to this day. She did say
bad things about Lee and that saved her. Zapruder was too obvious standing on
the parapet. Instead, he was paid an enormous sum ot make sure the film didn't
reach the American public.
9:52am
The only reason people are so critical of your
"stories" is because u have chosen to run and hide behind bodyguards
in another country. Believe me if some powerful ententity really wanted to get
you they could before your "bodyguards" even knew what happened. I.e.
lee. Ruby. Lee bowers. Etc etc
9:53am
Who knows? Someday you may change your mind when you learn
the truth from books such as JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE. As your comments show you
do not know very much. Years from now, maybe you will see that you were harsh
on me. God bless you to learn the facts and the truth. I hope it will happen
someday.
9:56am
Im not being harsh on you sicko. Im being honest with you.
There is way too much strong evidence that says lee harvey oswald was part of a
conspiracy and that jack ruby was assigned to shut oswald up before he told
everything he knew about the conspiracy plot
9:57am
you called me 'sicko' and say that's not harsh? I provide
for you the fact that I am just fine according to psychologists. No 'friend'
would call me such a name. GOODBYE.
9:58am
Lee harvey oswald was not the angel u proclaim him to be. U
might not have known it if u really did know lee and david ferrie but I
seriously doubt that u did
But lee and david ferrie was involved in some capacity in
some very big stuff. Im sorry that they pulled the wool over your eyes
And that you were to blind to see the wool being pulled over
your eyes. Lee may not have killed jfk but he was involved in the assassination
plot in some capacity even as minimal as being a fall guy because of his
connection with russia new orleans ferrie guy bannister etc etc
10:03am
You called me 'sicko' which is abusive. I have bodyiuards
who guard me for FREE because they have observed my being threatened and even
know of efforts to locate me by people who post threats against me. You have no
such problems. You can doubt all you wish. I have nothing but trouble for
speaking the truth. For you, this is just armchair stuff, I have been
cooperative. Had you read the book, you might have felt differently. But
believe those who do not want you to read Me & Lee, or my 500 page book on
David Ferrie, which is now going to be published in hardback because of its
good reception as a paperback.Please read JFK AND THE UNSPEAKABLE to learn more
about JFK's true enemies. I will, with God's help, forgive all who treat me as
you do and hold no ill feelings, always believing that eventually you will
realize that I am doing something good, and good for the country, because the
truth makes us stronger. Lee's tax records withheld for security reasons--think
of it. Records blocked, so you do NOT know if I am in THOSE (we do not know how
many have been destroyed).
10:04am
I'm sorry you called me 'sicko' as I would never descend to
calling you names. We are all in God's hands. I sure do wish I could have peace
in my golden years, but I owe it to my country to speak out. Thank you for reading.
I now have to go.
10:06am
Why would u be on lees tax records he was legally married to
marina when u allegedly knew him in new orleans
10:07am
No, you misunderstood... Lee's tax records from the Marines
have been withheld, the time he was in the USSR...and was being paid 'hazardous
duty' as a fake defector. they will destroy those records before admitting he
was paid as a fake defector.Or already have. With photoshop these days,
however, they can try to create fakes. Fortunately, we know (currently) how to
analyze photoshopped faked records....I have to go....
10:10am
That still dont explain you one of your many aliases would
be on his tax records? I understand u gotta run and hide because u cant answer
my questions without your lies being exposed
10:12am
no, I have nothing to do with his tax records. I used that
as an example of files that cannot be seen, and the fact that other files exist
that may have mentioned me but are withheld...or have been destroyed,...the tax
records being withheld would show he had been paid while in the USSR...they do
NOT want those records released and any other very sensitive records also would
not be released.. they do not release smoking guns to the public.
10:13am
I have to run because it is 11 12 here and I have been asked
to meet friends for lunch. I have a life. I have spent a lot of time with you
and now can't spend any more. I did not hide. I replied politely to you. You
are insulting me again. Don't you have a life? I have over 2,000 people here
and 16 others also want me to talk to theM right now in pop-up boxes.
10:13am
Tax records showing he was a fake defector wouldnt prove if
he did or didnt pull the trigger on jfk
Excuse me but I have a life because I dont have to run and
hide when the heat gets to[sic] hot on the burner
10:16am
.,, you are being
abusive. You are in God';s hands now. Goodbye. ... the tax records are being
withheld for national security reasons. So are other files. Hundreds of them.
You cannot prove I am not in those files or that they did not destroy such
files. But as I said, you did not come here to learn anything. You came to
accuse me of lying and haven't stopped, no matter......
Seen 10:16am---THE TROLL SEES THE MESSAGE----
You cannot reply to this conversation --THE TROLL HAS NOW UNFRIENDED ME AND BLOCKED ME.----
.......how I try to reason with you.
Enough is enough.
Seen 10:16am
-----IF YOU FIND YOURSELF BEING ABUSED ON FACEBOOK, UNFRIEND THE PERSON AND BLOCK THEM. I TRY TO REASON WITH THEM, BUT IT NEVER WORKS. HOWEVER, THEIR ABUSE IS ON RECORD.-----
FACTS: 10% OF FACEBOOK USERS RECEIVE ABUSIVE MESSAGES:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9946564/1-in-10-Facebook-users-abused-online.html
POSSIBLY, ONE OF THESE METHODS TO PROTECT YOURSELF CAN HELP:
"Trolling refers to any Internet user behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else in order to provoke a response..."
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TROLLS AND TROLLING:
Etymology
The etymological root of the word “troll” is generally attributed to hunting and fishing jargons. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary[8], the noun “troll” originated from an Old Norse word for a type of monstrous creature and the verb to troll comes from the Old French hunting term “troller.” According to Merriam-Webster[9], the English verb to troll refers to the act of slowly dragging a lure while fishing as bait.
In Other Languages
In Japanese, tsuri (つり) means “fishing” and refers to intentionally misleading posts created with the purpose of eliciting negative response from other users. Arashi (あらし) means “laying waste” and can also be used to refer to simple spamming. In Korean, nak-si (낚시) means “fishing”, and is used to refer to Internet trolling attempts, as well as purposefully misleading post titles. A person who recognizes the troll after having responded (or, in case of a post title nak-si, having read the actual post) would often refer to himself as a caught fish.
Early Usage
The contemporary use of the term is alleged to have appeared on the Internet in the late 1980s, but the earliest known mention of the word “troll” on record can be found in a post on the Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban from December 14th, 1992. The term continued to grow popular in the early 1990s through its usage in the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban and by the late 1990s, the alt.folklore.urban newsgroup had such heavy traffic and participation that acts of trolling became frowned upon. Prior to the widespread use of the term “trolling,” similar behaviors have been observed through “griefing,” the act of intentionally causing distress to other players in an online game, since the days of Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) in the late 1980s and “flaming,” the act of instigating hostility or unpleasant exchanges in online forums, which also emerged through Usenet newsgroup discussions.
The Rules of the Internet
The Rules of the Internet a list of protocols and conventions, originally written to serve as a guide for those who identified themselves with the Internet group Anonymous. By looking at the Rules of the Internet, one can understand the patterns of behaviors behind anonymous trolls:
- Rules 8 and 9 describe the free-for-all environment of anonymous interactions on 4chan:
8.There are no real rules about posting.
9.There are no real rules about moderation either – enjoy your ban.
- Rules 11-15 describe exactly what one can expect when confronting a troll:
11.All your carefully picked arguments can easily be ignored.
12.Anything you say can and will be used against you.
13.Anything you say can be turned into something else – fixed.
14.Do not argue with trolls – it means that they win.
15.The harder you try the harder you will fail.
- Rules 18 and 19 reinforce the presence of trolls and the nihilism behind the trolling behavior:
18.Everything that can be labeled can be hated.
19.The more you hate it the stronger it gets.
- Rule 20 is perhaps the most important rule of all and best defense against trolls:
Rule 20. Nothing is to be taken seriously!
- Rule 39 is an example of some good-natured trolling. The annoyance caused byCAPSLOCK is widely recognized, so to say that it is “cruise control for cool” is one of the few instances that sarcasm is able to carry over to text without much effort:
39. CAPSLOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL
- Rule 42 and 43 are statements that apply not only to the motivation behind trolls, but also to a warped sense of catharsis that some have experienced through observing trolls:
42.Nothing is Sacred
43.The more beautiful and pure a thing is – the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
Trollface
Trollface is a black and white drawing of a face with a large mischievous grin that is meant to portray the expression someone makes while trolling. Posting a Trollface image into a forum thread is often used to claim that someone was being fooled or intentionally angered. The face commonly appears in rage comic indicating that the character is being mischievous in some way. The original drawing was created by deviantArt[1] user Whynne on September 19th, 2008 to illustrate the pointless nature of trolling on 4chan’s /v/ (videogames) board.
Online Usage
Trolling is most commonly associated with online discussions where users are subjected to offensive or superfluous posts and messages in order to provoke a response. Numerous forums and Usenet boards are dedicated to the fine art of what the New York Times[10] called “manipulating other people’s emotional equilibrium.” Trolling can be considered a form ofcyberbullying and. For more information, Wikipedia[2] offers a consistently updated summary of research[5] behind the human motivation to troll.
Griefing
Griefing is the act of intentionally causing distress to other players in an online game. The tactics used to cause grief vary depending on which game is being played. Griefers sometimes record their victim’s reactions and upload the videos onto YouTube.
Flaming
Flaming, though not strictly limited to intentional acts of trolling, is another popular method of instigating hostility or unpleasant exchanges in online discussions by bringing up incendiary subject topics like the September 11th attacks, Religion, Politics and Sexism. Early incidents of trolling were considered to be the same as flaming, but this has changed with modern usage by the news media to refer to the creation of any content that targets another person.
Raiding
Raiding, or the act of coordinating a group assault on a massive scale, is a popular choice of method for Internet trolls, especially those associated with Anonymous on 4chan. Prime examples include Tom Green’s Call-in Talk Show Raid, Habbo Hotel Raid, Operation YouTube, Club Penguin Raid, Put Shoe On Head and Ventrillo Harassment among others.
Shock Trolling
Shock trolling is a common tactic practiced by exposing the targeted victim to disturbing or shocking content, such as materials from shock sites, horror or pornographic images, in order to provoke a strong reaction. To an extent, shock value trolling has been demonstrated in real life as practical jokes like The Scary Maze Game and Scary Prank Reaction Videos.
Bait and Switching
Bait-and-Switch is a common tactic associated with online fraud and practical humor that involves falsely advertising a hyperlink as a destination of interest, when in fact, it leads to something that is irrelevant or undesirable.
Misleading Hyperlinks
Some of the most commonly linked destinations in bait-and-switch trolling include The Hampster Dance, Duckroll, Rickroll, Trololol, Nigel Thornberry Remix and Epic Sax Guy. The method is also widely used as an online prank wherein links to shock sites and media are falsely advertised as news or information that is in high demand.
An Example of a Rickroll Hyperlink (click through for more info)
Copypasta Stories
On 4chan, bait-and-switch trolling has also demonstrated its use as a plot device in greentext stories, copypastas and creepypastas, in which the OP begins by telling a story that seems believable enough to be autobiographical or confessional, but as the narrative progresses, it is brought to a sudden and anti-climactic end with an excerpt of a widely recognized quote or pop song lyrics. Some of the most notable examples include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Spaghetti Stories, Tree Fiddy and Burst into Treats among others.
Advice Trolling
Advice Trolling is yet another common method used to mislead people by offering dubious or sometimes malicious advices, especially to newbies who are less experienced and more gullible than others. Prime examples include Download More RAM, Delete System 32 and Alt + F4.
Newbie Trolling
As its name suggests, newbie trolling, is the act of instilling hostility and annoyance by posing as an inexperienced newcomer and posting redundant questions to solicit reactions from those who’re more experienced and genuinely willing to help. The tried-and-true practice of “playing dumb” has been also observed in the form of grammar trolling, which entails intentionally misspelling a word or a phrase in order to solicit reactions or corrections from those unable to tolerate faulty grammar, sometimes known as Grammar Nazis.
Snipe Hunting
- Snipe Hunting, also known as “a fool’s errand,” is yet another popular type of trolling that involves tricking newbies into go on a search for something that does not exist. Some examples include Headlight Fluid, Gold Membership Trolling, Battletoads Preorder andDownload More RAM among others.
Concern Trolling
- Concern trolling is the practice of initiating a false flag debate by assuming the exact opposite point of view as the one actually held by the speaker. The purpose of concern trolling is to instill confusion and doubt within the targeted group by raising issues under the pretext that the speaker empathizes with the said group.
Related Controversies
PairGain Speculation
On April 8th, 1999, several investors were tipped off by trolls in Yahoo Finance chat rooms that the California-based telephone equipment company PairGain was soon to be acquired by an Israeli telecom company. As a result, PairGain’s stock jumped by 31% at one point, though it promptly crashed after the initial reports were identified as a hoax started by a former PairGain employee.
Oklahoma Bombing T-shirt
On April 25th, 1995, six days after the Oklahoma City bombing, anonymous Internet users began posting advertisements for t-shirts and merchandises glorifying the bombing of the federal building onto AOL’s Michigan Military Movement bulletin board. The messages instructed the readers to call Kenneth M. Zeran, a man who had nothing to do with the ads or the merchandise aside from the fact that his phone number was included in the message. Shortly after the posting of the messages, Zeran began receiving a barrage of threatening calls.
The Case of Jessi Slaughter
Jessi Slaughter, real name Jessica Leonhardt and formerly known as KerliGirl13[1] on YouTube, is a Florida teenager whose attention-seeking behaviors in her YouTube videos caused her to become the target of a 4chan raid, resulting in a rage-fueled and ill-advised retort from her father that became the subject of image macros and remix videos. As a result, a police investigation was initiated by the local sheriff’s department to supposedly track down the pranksters.
The Case of Natasha MacBryde (UK)
On September 14th, 2011, Sean Duffy, a 25 year old British man from Reading, Berkshire was sentenced to eighteen weeks in jail after pleading guilty to “two counts of sending a communication of an indecent or offensive nature.” Months earlier, Duffy had left inappropriate videos and messages on the Facebook memorial page for Natasha MacBryde, a 15 year old girl who committed suicide after receiving anonymous messages on her Formspring page and having an argument with a friend via Facebook[7], similar to the plot of the ABC Family movieCyberbully.
On September 15th, the British news agencies Telegraph[12] and BBC[13] reported that Duffy was accused of posting similar videos and messages on another Facebook memorial tributes page for Sophie Taylor, a 16 year old girl who was accidentally shot dead by her boyfriend.
Studies
Identity & Deception in Virtual Communities
The earliest known academic research on the practice of internet trolling was conducted byMIT media scholar Judith Donath in her 1996 paper “Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community.” From Wikipedia[2]:
“In the physical world there is an inherent unity to the self, for the body provides a compelling and convenient definition of identity. The norm is: one body, one identity … The virtual world is different. It is composed of information rather than matter.”
“Trolling is a game about identity deception, albeit one that is played without the consent of most of the players. The troll attempts to pass as a legitimate participant, sharing the group’s common interests and concerns; the newsgroups members, if they are cognizant of trolls and other identity deceptions, attempt to both distinguish real from trolling postings, and upon judging a poster a troll, make the offending poster leave the group. Their success at the former depends on how well they – and the troll – understand identity cues; their success at the latter depends on whether the troll’s enjoyment is sufficiently diminished or outweighed by the costs imposed by the group.”
Psychology Behind Trolling
From Wikipedia[2]:
Some psychologists have suggested that flaming would be caused by de-individuation, or decreased self-evaluation: the anonymity of online postings would lead to disinhibition amongst individuals. Others have suggested that although flaming and trolling is often unpleasant, it may be a form of normative behavior that expresses the social identity of a certain user group. According to Tom Postmes, a professor of social and organisational psychology at the universities of Exeter, England, and Groningen, The Netherlands, and the author of Individuality and the Group, who has studied online behavior for 20 years, “Trolls aspire to violence, to the level of trouble they can cause in an environment. They want it to kick off. They want to promote antipathetic emotions of disgust and outrage, which morbidly gives them a sense of pleasure.”
Understanding Trolls
On August 3rd, 2008, New York Times[10] explored the history behind the online phenomenon of trolling in an article titled “The Trolls Among Us.”
In the late 1980s, Internet users adopted the word “troll” to denote someone who intentionally disrupts online communities. Early trolling was relatively innocuous, taking place inside of small, single-topic Usenet groups. The trolls employed what the M.I.T. professor Judith Donath calls a “pseudo-naïve” tactic, asking stupid questions and seeing who would rise to the bait. The game was to find out who would see through this stereotypical newbie behavior, and who would fall for it. As one guide to trolldom puts it, “If you don’t fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.”
In the article, James Fortuny, a central figure behind Megan Meier’s posthumous trolling controversy, explained the concept of trolling and how it can be stopped:
Fortuny: “You have green hair. Did you know that?”
Mattathias: “No,”
Fortuny: “Why not?”
Mattathias: “I look in the mirror. I see my hair is black.”
Fortuny: “That’s uh, interesting. I guess you understand that you have green hair about as well as you understand that you’re a terrible reporter.”
Mattathias: “What do you mean? What did I do?”
Fortuny: “That’s a very interesting reaction. why didn’t you get so defensive when I said you had green hair?” If I were certain that I wasn’t a terrible reporter, he explained, I would have laughed the suggestion off just as easily. The willingness of trolling “victims” to be hurt by words, he argued, makes them complicit, and trolling will end as soon as we all get over it.
Trolls Just Want to Have Fun
On February 8th, 2014, University of Manitoba’s Erin Buckels and two of her colleagues published a psychology paper[15] on the personalities of trolls on the Internet. According to Slate’s summary[17] of the paper, Buckels tried to investigate whether people who are prone to engage in trolling can be characterized by certain personality traits that woud fall in what the researchers refer to as the “Dark Tetrad”: Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others), narcissism (egotism and self-obsession), psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy), and sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others). According to the paper, their study found significant correlations between exhibition of sadistic traits and trolling behavior.
JVB
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