The Schwartz article 'The Trolls Among Us' should be re-named 'The Sad, Sad Souls Among Us.' Every time that my confidence in the human population has been restored somewhat I read an article like this. Seriously. Perhaps what is mystifying to me can be summed up in this quote from the reading, "But while technology reduces the social barriers that keep us from bedeviling strangers, it does not explain the initial trolling impulse." This is a mystery to me. Maybe we need psychiatrists for these people to realize the root problem. But that's another story, so I'll head into more discussion worthy points.
I have to say, we had it coming to us. Just because we have created this new virtual space that is the Internet, we are going to have the same problems we have in the meat space. People that have no regard for other humans and and have WAY too much time on their hands can now wreak havoc in on the Internet.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2008/08/03/trolling-exists-everywhere-not-just-on-the-internet/4583
What is extremely problematic is the lack of consequences.
Of the multiple scenario's written about by Schwartz, most include the end result of death threats and physical harm foreshadowed in the meat space. That we as a society have let the trolls and hackers get this far in the virtual world and then let them come back over into the meat space with no punishment is appalling. I actually took a break from my mountains of work and watched 'Enemy of the State' last night. For those of you that haven't seen it, it stars Will Smith as a lawyer that gets himself caught in a web of survellience, hackers, and the government. His privacy is invaded and they can tell where he is at all times, shut off his bank accounts--basically ruin his life. And, I was watching it on VHS which means that we've certainly come even farther since then. You mean to tell me that we have that capability as a government, yet we can't get ahold of these Trollers that have the potential to ruin people's lives? Watch this movie and then think about how pathetic it is that we can't catch and prosecute these people. The government could if they really wanted to.
But that poses another question...is it really worth the government's time to do so? Even those these sad souls are threatening people in real life they don't really amount to much physical harm. The government is spending their time tracking down people that really might do something....a word that starts with a t and ends in a t...if I write it they might just start surveying our blog! But you know who I mean. I actually would prefer that they spend their time tracking those people that are more of a threat to the population at large...but I wonder if someday there will be a division of security like the 'Troll Patrol' or something clever like that that is devoted to tracking these guys down.
Also, if more people would intake everything on the Internet the way that they should intake the media(double-check the facts, don't believe everything they read at face-value, etc.) then perhaps we wouldn't have such a problem. I love what the guy from the Center for Citizen media said about anonymous comments especially, "They shouldn't start off with a credibility rating of, say, 0. It should be more like -30."
Really, how are forums and blogs where anyone can say anything any different from the National Enquirer? So, don't read them the same.
This is just a small excerpt that I found on-line about the different methods of trolling so we can all be "in the know."
Trolling Methods:
The Repulsive Troll - this troll will use words or images to attempt to shock and anger users; if shock or anger is expressed then he wins.
The Argumentive Troll - this troll is looking for an argument, and can usually win it. Any disagreement can turn into a major victory for this troll, the only way you can win is to agree with him.
The Personal Attack Troll - This troll has the mind of an elephant and never forgets; he or she files away any info you have posted about yourself to possibly use against you later often with embarrassing results. The more personal information you reveal about yourself the worse this troll will abuse you with it later.
The Disinformation Troll - This troll loves to disinform people; he might go edit wikipedia or post fake articles on message boards sites to see how many people take the bait.
The Joke Troll - If you bite into this trolls bait the joke is probably going to be on you.
The Character Troll - Plays upon stereotypes etc. such as pretending to be a member of the opposite race, or the opposite sex to make their point.
The Long Troll - This is a longer drawn out troll over an extended period of time; long trolls can range from a few days to months. Most long trolls require gaining the trust of other members before baiting them. Our forum member Oldlurp recently faked his death resulting in a couple of users calling an ambulance for him. It took about a week for Oldlurp to be reborn and come back to the boards.
Here’s a couple great examples of funny trolling supplied by a couple members of our board…
And, I would like to add that when we talk about trolling all I can think about is those little plastic dolls from my youth with the stringy, magenta hair on my computer screen in place of the pointer...just fyi!!!
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