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Trolls

 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 Comments »

  • Siskin said:

    FIRST!!!! YEAH! trolls are bad and you should ignore them…

    # 22 January 2008 at 9:29 am
  • sharingan leader said:

    I AM 2ND!! we should kill all the trolls

    # 2 February 2008 at 6:29 pm
  • Jak said:

    i am third…. !!! :P !!!

    # 3 February 2008 at 9:30 pm
  • J-sama said:

    Hmmm…. 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 February 2008 at 2:37 pm
  • NSS7 said:

    WELL im a troll (joking)

    # 5 February 2008 at 2:42 pm
  • naruto abarai said:

    I’ll crap on trolls

    # 17 February 2008 at 7:11 pm
  • naruto abarai said:

    as long as they don’t kill me

    # 17 February 2008 at 7:11 pm
  • nine@tailed@girl said:

    i wish i never meet another one

    # 20 February 2008 at 12:32 pm
  • eli987 said:

    yea. awful!

    # 20 February 2008 at 12:37 pm
  • Iruka said:

    I hate trolls

    # 20 February 2008 at 2:19 pm
  • eighthHokage said:

    Yea.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

    # 20 February 2008 at 3:52 pm
  • Kakashi0114 said:

    Kill the trolls

    # 20 February 2008 at 3:55 pm
  • Iruka said:

    To 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

    # 20 February 2008 at 4:07 pm
  • eighthHokage said:

    Good idea Iruka.Only genin and upper rank can use shout box!You have my vote Iruka:-)

    # 20 February 2008 at 4:21 pm
  • J-sama said:

    yay1!! i\m higjer than a grnin!

    # 20 February 2008 at 4:32 pm
  • guruku said:

    i concur.

    # 20 February 2008 at 5:06 pm
  • somersaultclouds said:

    omigod! I’m a troll! …a hit-n-run troll! :D 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! :)

    # 23 February 2008 at 10:13 pm
  • Iruka said:

    this 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

    # 26 February 2008 at 7:19 pm
  • WhiteFangofkonaha said:

    coughs* yeah we found our first troll Zirotecha hes a douuche trool

    # 26 February 2008 at 7:26 pm
  • Sharingansasuke said:

    i hear ya with Zirotecha im login off soon as i see him

    # 26 February 2008 at 7:53 pm
  • sharingan leader said:

    who is that guy? never seen him

    # 1 March 2008 at 10:07 pm
  • eli987 said:

    Me neither. What do you know about him?

    # 2 March 2008 at 3:11 am
  • naruto abarai said:

    trolls rule ………………………….. ha you just got punked iruka. Because they don’t which means I was bein sarcastic with ya

    # 9 March 2008 at 3:57 pm
  • Anaujiram^ said:

    I am a troll ;) haha xD

    # 13 March 2008 at 5:43 am
  • SEPHIROTH13 said:

    Kill trols!!!Cut of their heads put their eyes out.(Am i too cruel)?

    # 13 March 2008 at 6:01 am
  • WhiteFangofkonaha said:

    omfg is our newest troll

    # 20 March 2008 at 4:28 pm
  • silver_uchiha said:

    Finally i get the meaning of Trolls- I hate them to. Particulary those who insult

    # 25 March 2008 at 8:07 am
  • SEPHIROTH13 said:

    Do we have any new trolls?

    # 23 May 2008 at 3:09 am
  • We Are Hawk said:

    kill the trolls

    # 15 July 2008 at 4:11 am
  • RiVaL DeaThWiSh said:

    if TroLLs Appear… Bada Bing Bada Boom!.. Nice Info on This.. Trolls huh.. Honestly Speaking.. I just Like Learned Something.. ^^ trolls.. Death Come For yeh!

    # 2 August 2008 at 5:16 pm
  • Suna no Ken said:

    Damn this has been here for so long and so little people have comented on it some how i see that as sad.

    # 17 August 2008 at 7:19 pm
  • 10tailedbeast said:

    How do the ranking work? How do you go up levels?

    # 31 August 2008 at 2:48 am
  • fan boy said:

    10tailedbeast 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
    ps o my god i am troll that means these guys want me dead :cry: :cry: :cry: i am a dead man ,well bring it on :x

    # 14 September 2008 at 12:55 pm
  • ians091 said:

    then i will bury u fan boy just like shikamaru bury hidan in a deep hole…like that…u troll..!!hahah…

    # 21 September 2008 at 5:06 am
  • fan boy said:

    ouch!!! 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)

    # 24 September 2008 at 10:16 am
  • ians091 said:

    kuku…nice one on that technique!!KEWL DUDE!

    # 30 September 2008 at 8:00 pm
  • fan boy said:

    Gee thanks :oops:

    # 4 October 2008 at 8:37 am
  • Kawaii.Cherry said:

    so this is what trolls are …… wow they are pretty bad

    # 4 October 2008 at 9:46 am
  • Chaos said:

    Obviously, 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….

    # 4 October 2008 at 10:02 am
  • SEPHIROTH13 said:

    Oh yes we have new trolls.Man and just in time i was getting hungry!

    # 7 October 2008 at 10:43 am
  • fan boy said:

    i am glad to see people final posting on this page

    # 16 October 2008 at 11:17 am
  • Mizudrop said:

    I most definitely am not a troll. Trolls stink, as some have witnessed in the Harry Potter universe.

    # 13 November 2008 at 10:22 am
  • fan boy said:

    why member stop posting all of a sudden?

    # 30 November 2008 at 1:14 pm

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