Doc James Hammond
Very Strong User
The Internet Troll:
As many of you will know, I have been the victim of a trio of Internet Trolls in the last year. Since I quickly found that my mind does not work in the same way as these unfortunate people, I made it my business to do a study - as I always do when I find myself facing something I don't understand.
So, here is a collation of Internet troll studies, shamelessly lifted from various academic publications - with a few added portions by myself that are based on actual experience.
What is it?
Let's start by getting our definitions straight: An Internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, in fact, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved.
In Internet slang, a troll (/troÊŠl, trÉ’l/) is a person often with a high Dark Tetrad* score who sows discord on the Internet. This is acheived by purposely starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll's amusement.
Trolls of myth and legend:
The mythological troll is known to be an ugly, filthy, mindlessly angry creature that lives in dark stinking places, like caves or underneath bridges, waiting to snatch up anything that passed by for a quick meal.
Like the mythological troll, the internet troll is angry and disruptive in every possible way - often for no real reason at all. The internet troll is a modern version of the mythological version. Real-life Jekyll and Hyde personalities, Trolls are also by definition moral cowards who if you met them face to face, you would probably list as a "nice guy"; but safely in their dens, hiding behind their computer screens, the real persona emerges and they actively go out of their way to cause trouble on the internet.
Modus Operandi:
This sense of both the noun and the verb "troll" is associated with Internet discourse, but also has been used more widely. Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. If seriously challenged the troll will often back down and try to appear to be a "Good Guy" while he/she waits out the negative opinion, and also frequently tries to indicate that the victim is actually the troll, especially if the victim's response to the trolling is over emotional. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.
Why do they do it:
An unfortunate by-product of our cyber society, Internet Trolls, by the very definition of what they do, are needy people. Something is missing from their lives, something is perceived to be unfair, often they are jealous, or in the worst cases actually psychopathic. Because there is little or no accountability, the Internet allows trolls to do the things that they really want to do in real life - but without the possibility of a police officer, or in fact anyone to appear on their doorsteps to call them to account.
Trolls feed on feelings of superiority, victory and dominance:
Winning a reaction; this is the crack cocaine of the internet troll; the adrenaline flushing high that they get when someone actually does get upset and does react to their attacks. The reaction of the victim - the more extreme the more effect- gives the troll a sense of importance and awards them a warped sense of validation for what they do.
According to some extensive studies, often when conducting their disruptive, inflammatory, or downright insulting forays, trolls go to the dark side, mentally imagining the victim sometimes beaten, tortured, or even killed by the ever victorious and invincible troll. Not unlike certain known sexual deviations, the imaginary plots vary, but one scenario is always present where the victim is imagined to be completely vanquished, dominated and smashed into abject submission by his mighty troll oppressor.
"I'm not a troll, I'm only..."
Internet trolls will always have an excuse for this "grudge" against their intended or actual victims, ranging from feelings of superiority leading to apparent contempt for what they see as the victim's stupidity, to a perceived slight against them, made at some undetermined time; in fact a whole gamut of "reasons" - but whatever the excuse, all in all they are always disturbed individuals, and whether they realize it or not, they need therapy. Some badly.
Trolls on Forums:
Great Internet troll playgrounds, forums are made for discussing topics with like-minded people, but every once in a while, a troll will come in and start spewing negative words and psuedo-implications all over the place.
If forum moderators don't ban them, other members will often respond and before you know it, the thread gets thrown completely off topic and becomes nothing but one big pointless argument.
Parting shot:
Now, after making this study, I do understand what these people do, at least as far as the evidence can allow me to. But, the actual working of their minds thankfully remains a mystery, as despite this now wider view, I will never understand one person's motivation to persecute another person that more often than not they do not know, nor have ever met.
* Dark Tetrad score:
This is now an accepted way to gauge a person's mental malignancy, and based on the responses to certain specific questions can assess a subject's tendencies towards the four parts of the tetrad:
Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others)
Narcissism (egotism and self-obsession)
Psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy)
Sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others)
Doc James.
As many of you will know, I have been the victim of a trio of Internet Trolls in the last year. Since I quickly found that my mind does not work in the same way as these unfortunate people, I made it my business to do a study - as I always do when I find myself facing something I don't understand.
So, here is a collation of Internet troll studies, shamelessly lifted from various academic publications - with a few added portions by myself that are based on actual experience.
What is it?
Let's start by getting our definitions straight: An Internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, in fact, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved.
In Internet slang, a troll (/troÊŠl, trÉ’l/) is a person often with a high Dark Tetrad* score who sows discord on the Internet. This is acheived by purposely starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll's amusement.
Trolls of myth and legend:
The mythological troll is known to be an ugly, filthy, mindlessly angry creature that lives in dark stinking places, like caves or underneath bridges, waiting to snatch up anything that passed by for a quick meal.
Like the mythological troll, the internet troll is angry and disruptive in every possible way - often for no real reason at all. The internet troll is a modern version of the mythological version. Real-life Jekyll and Hyde personalities, Trolls are also by definition moral cowards who if you met them face to face, you would probably list as a "nice guy"; but safely in their dens, hiding behind their computer screens, the real persona emerges and they actively go out of their way to cause trouble on the internet.
Modus Operandi:
This sense of both the noun and the verb "troll" is associated with Internet discourse, but also has been used more widely. Media attention in recent years has equated trolling with online harassment. If seriously challenged the troll will often back down and try to appear to be a "Good Guy" while he/she waits out the negative opinion, and also frequently tries to indicate that the victim is actually the troll, especially if the victim's response to the trolling is over emotional. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.
Why do they do it:
An unfortunate by-product of our cyber society, Internet Trolls, by the very definition of what they do, are needy people. Something is missing from their lives, something is perceived to be unfair, often they are jealous, or in the worst cases actually psychopathic. Because there is little or no accountability, the Internet allows trolls to do the things that they really want to do in real life - but without the possibility of a police officer, or in fact anyone to appear on their doorsteps to call them to account.
Trolls feed on feelings of superiority, victory and dominance:
Winning a reaction; this is the crack cocaine of the internet troll; the adrenaline flushing high that they get when someone actually does get upset and does react to their attacks. The reaction of the victim - the more extreme the more effect- gives the troll a sense of importance and awards them a warped sense of validation for what they do.
According to some extensive studies, often when conducting their disruptive, inflammatory, or downright insulting forays, trolls go to the dark side, mentally imagining the victim sometimes beaten, tortured, or even killed by the ever victorious and invincible troll. Not unlike certain known sexual deviations, the imaginary plots vary, but one scenario is always present where the victim is imagined to be completely vanquished, dominated and smashed into abject submission by his mighty troll oppressor.
"I'm not a troll, I'm only..."
Internet trolls will always have an excuse for this "grudge" against their intended or actual victims, ranging from feelings of superiority leading to apparent contempt for what they see as the victim's stupidity, to a perceived slight against them, made at some undetermined time; in fact a whole gamut of "reasons" - but whatever the excuse, all in all they are always disturbed individuals, and whether they realize it or not, they need therapy. Some badly.
Trolls on Forums:
Great Internet troll playgrounds, forums are made for discussing topics with like-minded people, but every once in a while, a troll will come in and start spewing negative words and psuedo-implications all over the place.
If forum moderators don't ban them, other members will often respond and before you know it, the thread gets thrown completely off topic and becomes nothing but one big pointless argument.
Parting shot:
Now, after making this study, I do understand what these people do, at least as far as the evidence can allow me to. But, the actual working of their minds thankfully remains a mystery, as despite this now wider view, I will never understand one person's motivation to persecute another person that more often than not they do not know, nor have ever met.
* Dark Tetrad score:
This is now an accepted way to gauge a person's mental malignancy, and based on the responses to certain specific questions can assess a subject's tendencies towards the four parts of the tetrad:
Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others)
Narcissism (egotism and self-obsession)
Psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy)
Sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others)
Doc James.
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