Troll in the basement!

[inverarity]

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.

Comments

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Luckily, if it's right now that it's happening, that means it isn't me. But that does bring up the question - a lot of people do see me as a troll. I see myself as a person with a hot temper and certain principles (and to make a long story far too short, hot temper = bad, principles = good) who sometimes goes off the deep end and has to apologize. There are people whom I think look for trouble for its own sake - I remember an unbelievable individual in a Catholic blog, now defunct; I would suggest - if that does not sound too self-serving - that a willingness to apologize for insults and withdraw statements that are wrong in point of fact is probably the dividing line. The people I see as trolls never, for any reason, apologize or accept they are wrong.