 From: http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=printArticleBasic&articleId=9017938
..it’s clear that anyone who enters the blogosphere needs to be aware of the types of people who get satisfaction out of online harassment. According to Derek Wood, vice president of clinical operations at PsychTracker Inc., a journaling site for people with mental illness, the harassment comes in two general forms: trolls and cyberstalkers. It’s important for blog participants to understand the psychological makeup of both types so that if they encounter any type of online abuse, they’ll have some idea of what they’re facing and how to respond to it.
Trolls
Essentially, a troll is a person who posts with the intent to insult and provoke others, Wood explains. The goal is to disrupt the normal traffic of a discussion group beyond repair. “A group is considered to be cohesively destroyed when two-thirds to three-quarters of the messages are a result of [trolls'] comments,” Wood explains. They often target new users, who are more likely to take offense, hence the term “troll“ (as in “trolling” for newbies).
Many trolls are characterized by having an excess of free time and are probably lonely and seeking attention, Wood says. “They often see their own self-worth in relation to how much reaction they can provoke,” he says.
Woods categorizes trolls in the following ways:
- Spamming troll: Posts to many newsgroups with the same verbatim post.
- Kooks: A regular member of a forum who habitually drops comments that have no basis on the topic or even in reality.
- Flamer: Does not contribute to the group except by making inflammatory comments.
- Hit-and-runner: Stops in, make one or two posts and move on.
- Psycho trolls: Has a psychological need to feel good by making others feel bad.
1. Know the trolls’ tactics
According to Wood, the first rule for dealing with trolls is to avoid being deceived by them in the first place. Don’t trust anything you receive or read without verifying the poster through known, reliable sources, he says. Also, ignore postings or private e-mails that are suspicious, such as those that praise, flatter or evoke a sympathetic response.
2. DFTT
This is one of the more important acronyms in the blog world, meaning, “Don’t feed the trolls.” “Just like in-person bullies, trolls feed off your reaction,” Tim says. “Under no circumstances should you acknowledge the behavior or repay it with anger or defensiveness. If you don’t react, they’ll get bored and go away.”
Even if ignoring the harasser doesn’t get him to stop, at least you won’t fan his flames, Wood says. “The more a person responds, the more they teach the stalker about themselves or divulge information they shouldn’t,” he says.
3. Maintain your privacy
Don’t publish any personal information, such as your address or phone number. (Bob: I would go further to say not to give out your emails freely if it’s an account you are unwilling to delete or deactivate if necessary. This advice also protects you from spambots).
43 responses so far ↓
1
Siskin (A*#1)
// Jan 22, 2008 at 9:29 amFIRST!!!! YEAH! trolls are bad and you should ignore them…
2
sharingan leader (Anti-Rebellion Dictator)
// Feb 2, 2008 at 6:29 pmI AM 2ND!! we should kill all the trolls
3
Jak (Genin)
// Feb 3, 2008 at 9:30 pmi am third…. !!!
!!!
4
J-sama (Shichibukai)
// Feb 5, 2008 at 2:37 pmHmmm…. I’ve never even noticed this section before! Anyway, I bet I know the Anti-Troll manual by heart by now, I’ve dealt with so many of them…
5
NSS7 (Sanin)
// Feb 5, 2008 at 2:42 pmWELL im a troll (joking)
6
naruto abarai (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Feb 17, 2008 at 7:11 pmI’ll crap on trolls
7
naruto abarai (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Feb 17, 2008 at 7:11 pmas long as they don’t kill me
8
nine@tailed@girl (Jonin)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 12:32 pmi wish i never meet another one
9
eli987 (Examiner)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 12:37 pmyea. awful!
10
Iruka (#16 Hockey Dude)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 2:19 pmI hate trolls
11
eighthHokage (Jonin)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 3:52 pmYea.I also hate trolls!Bob you shouldnt allow guest to comment in ShoutBox cuz if they want to com. they must first to sign in.I think that will decrease number of trolls(but again I saw only two-yesterday and long ago when lady p curse that poor gay):-D
12
Kakashi0114 (Copy Ninja)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 3:55 pmKill the trolls
13
Iruka (#16 Hockey Dude)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 4:07 pmTo use the shout box you have to gain a rank to sign in like a rank of genin. that way people know your serios and not a lousy good for nothing troll
14
eighthHokage (Jonin)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 4:21 pmGood idea Iruka.Only genin and upper rank can use shout box!You have my vote Iruka:-)
15
J-sama (Shichibukai)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 4:32 pmyay1!! i\m higjer than a grnin!
16
guruku (Shannaro's Punching Bag)
// Feb 20, 2008 at 5:06 pmi concur.
17
somersaultclouds (Genin)
// Feb 23, 2008 at 10:13 pmomigod! I’m a troll! …a hit-n-run troll!
sorry for appearing like one. Don’t have much time to comment more often…but I hope to reach genin level soon. tnx guys for your updates, especially to Mr. Bob! 
18
Iruka (#16 Hockey Dude)
// Feb 26, 2008 at 7:19 pmthis is a heads up for everyone. If you see Zirotecha on the shout box, stay awy from him. Dude is a troll. He has been on numerious times. Wish new people would read this so they don’t get caught up with trolls
19
WhiteFangofkonaha (ANBU Agent)
// Feb 26, 2008 at 7:26 pmcoughs* yeah we found our first troll Zirotecha hes a douuche trool
20
Sharingansasuke (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Feb 26, 2008 at 7:53 pmi hear ya with Zirotecha im login off soon as i see him
21
sharingan leader (Anti-Rebellion Dictator)
// Mar 1, 2008 at 10:07 pmwho is that guy? never seen him
22
eli987 (Examiner)
// Mar 2, 2008 at 3:11 amMe neither. What do you know about him?
23
naruto abarai (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Mar 9, 2008 at 3:57 pmtrolls rule ………………………….. ha you just got punked iruka. Because they don’t which means I was bein sarcastic with ya
24
Anaujiram^ (Jonin)
// Mar 13, 2008 at 5:43 amI am a troll
haha xD
25
SEPHIROTH13 (ANBU Elite)
// Mar 13, 2008 at 6:01 amKill trols!!!Cut of their heads put their eyes out.(Am i too cruel)?
26
WhiteFangofkonaha (ANBU Agent)
// Mar 20, 2008 at 4:28 pmomfg is our newest troll
27
silver_uchiha (Tsunami-hime)
// Mar 25, 2008 at 8:07 amFinally i get the meaning of Trolls- I hate them to. Particulary those who insult
28
SEPHIROTH13 (ANBU Elite)
// May 23, 2008 at 3:09 amDo we have any new trolls?
29
We Are Hawk (Chunin)
// Jul 15, 2008 at 4:11 amkill the trolls
30
RiVaL DeaThWiSh (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Aug 2, 2008 at 5:16 pmif TroLLs Appear… Bada Bing Bada Boom!.. Nice Info on This.. Trolls huh.. Honestly Speaking.. I just Like Learned Something.. ^^ trolls.. Death Come For yeh!
31
Suna no Ken (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Aug 17, 2008 at 7:19 pmDamn this has been here for so long and so little people have comented on it some how i see that as sad.
32
10tailedbeast (Newbie)
// Aug 31, 2008 at 2:48 amHow do the ranking work? How do you go up levels?
33
fan boy (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Sep 14, 2008 at 12:55 pm10tailedbeast i doubt you will read this , but just write interesting and positive comments also chat with the other members in the shoutout box .you will or may rank up,for more information go on the ranking fag locate on the topleft of the screen
i am a dead man ,well bring it on 
ps o my god i am troll that means these guys want me dead
34
ians091 (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Sep 21, 2008 at 5:06 amthen i will bury u fan boy just like shikamaru bury hidan in a deep hole…like that…u troll..!!hahah…
35
fan boy (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Sep 24, 2008 at 10:16 amouch!!! that was mean man . But you forget i am a chunin and read the current naruto chaps.
counter:gather all the natural energy from the ground before my body is toast , and then use a nature power up EARTH STYLE HEAD HUNTER JUSTU!!! on ians091.
you like that ians091, it will take more than pure hatred to get rid off me ha ha ha (joking)
36
ians091 (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Sep 30, 2008 at 8:00 pmkuku…nice one on that technique!!KEWL DUDE!
37
fan boy (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Oct 4, 2008 at 8:37 amGee thanks
38
Kawaii.Cherry (Newbie)
// Oct 4, 2008 at 9:46 amso this is what trolls are …… wow they are pretty bad
39
Chaos (ANBU Elite)
// Oct 4, 2008 at 10:02 amObviously, If there aren’t any trolls, You’re doing IT wrong… That’s why the trolls exist, that’s why the haters exist… It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there… and there needs to be the balance, between the lame good people… and hardcore badasses (4 life, daaaawg, 4 LIFE)
xD
Sorry for the double post… sorta’ … I don’t know how that happened… feel free to delete (the previous one), lads….
40
SEPHIROTH13 (ANBU Elite)
// Oct 7, 2008 at 10:43 amOh yes we have new trolls.Man and just in time i was getting hungry!
41
fan boy (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Oct 16, 2008 at 11:17 ami am glad to see people final posting on this page
42
Mizudrop (Rookie)
// Nov 13, 2008 at 10:22 amI most definitely am not a troll. Trolls stink, as some have witnessed in the Harry Potter universe.
43
fan boy (Chunin Squad Leader)
// Nov 30, 2008 at 1:14 pmwhy member stop posting all of a sudden?
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