inverarity: (Default)
inverarity ([personal profile] inverarity) wrote2010-10-09 07:36 pm
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Troll in the basement!

We all know the ancient wisdom of the internet: "Do not feed the troll." I.e., don't respond to trolls, don't let them bait you, don't give them the attention they so desperately want. If everyone just ignored a troll, it would eventually get bored and go away disappointed.

And this never, ever works.

In all my years on the internet, I've never seen a dedicated and persistent troll actually fade away by being ignored. Why? Because there will always be someone who just can't ignore it. It's just not realistic to think that on a newsgroup or email list or forum with dozens if not hundreds of people, every single one of them will be able to refrain from responding.

I withdraw increasingly from online interactions because the urge to want to punch people through the internet is too strong.