The Trolls Among US

[Theo]

The New York Times embedded a journalist with some Internet trolls and this interesting article was the result: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/m...ner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=all

An excerpt:

Does free speech tend to move toward the truth or away from it? When does it evolve into a better collective understanding? When does it collapse into the Babel of trolling, the pointless and eristic game of talking the other guy into crying “uncle”? Is the effort to control what’s said always a form of censorship, or might certain rules be compatible with our notions of free speech?

One promising answer comes from the computer scientist Jon Postel, now known as “god of the Internet” for the influence he exercised over the emerging network. In 1981, he formulated what’s known as Postel’s Law: “Be conservative in what you do; be liberal in what you accept from others.” Originally intended to foster “interoperability,” the ability of multiple computer systems to understand one another, Postel’s Law is now recognized as having wider applications. To build a robust global network with no central authority, engineers were encouraged to write code that could “speak” as clearly as possible yet “listen” to the widest possible range of other speakers, including those who do not conform perfectly to the rules of the road. The human equivalent of this robustness is a combination of eloquence and tolerance — the spirit of good conversation. Trolls embody the opposite principle. They are liberal in what they do and conservative in what they construe as acceptable behavior from others. You, the troll says, are not worthy of my understanding; I, therefore, will do everything I can to confound you.

Why inflict anguish on a helpless stranger? It’s tempting to blame technology, which increases the range of our communications while dehumanizing the recipients. Cases like An Hero and Megan Meier presumably wouldn’t happen if the perpetrators had to deliver their messages in person. But while technology reduces the social barriers that keep us from bedeviling strangers, it does not explain the initial trolling impulse. This seems to spring from something ugly — a destructive human urge that many feel but few act upon, the ambient misanthropy that’s a frequent ingredient of art, politics and, most of all, jokes. There’s a lot of hate out there, and a lot to hate as well.

So far, despite all this discord, the Internet’s system of civil machines has proved more resilient than anyone imagined. As early as 1994, the head of the Internet Society warned that spam “will destroy the network.” The news media continually present the online world as a Wild West infested with villainous hackers, spammers and pedophiles. And yet the Internet is doing very well for a frontier town on the brink of anarchy. Its traffic is expected to quadruple by 2012. To say that trolls pose a threat to the Internet at this point is like saying that crows pose a threat to farming.

But read the whole thing. It's a good article.

And it's helpful in understanding the psychology of these sociopathic and amoral trolls. We've had a bunch of second-rate versions (the Belligerent Ghouls, Pauls, and so forth) of the trolls described in this article infesting SoLow for years. I think the article has them pegged: Liberal in what they do and conservative in what they accept from others.

Any thoughts on trolls? We've had some pretty cruel ones on SoLow, and some pretty funny ones.

(Sidenote: I'm aware that a certain moderator has engaged in a whispering campaign against me, defaming me as a "troll". Of course she's closer to a troll than I've ever been, and I've been fighting the trolls of SoLow long before she knew SoLow existed and long before SoLow decided to hire moderators to crack down on them. Please ignore these defamations and let us discuss these strange creatures, the Internet trolls, some of whom have made SoLow a very harsh web site. Or, perhaps you don't wanna, and that's fine too. Just thought this was a good article worth passing along.)

 

[Dave]

Theo, nobody is whispering about you as far as I know. It seems like it's out in the open.

based on the article, I agree that the more anonymous people feel the worse the traits of some of them will become. It's why people act totally differently sometimes when they are driving than if they were facing the person.

 

[EPbabe]

The New York Times embedded a journalist with some Internet trolls and this interesting article was the result: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/m...ner=permalink&exprod=permalink&pagewanted=all

An excerpt:




But read the whole thing. It's a good article.

And it's helpful in understanding the psychology of these sociopathic and amoral trolls. We've had a bunch of second-rate versions (the Belligerent Ghouls, Pauls, and so forth) of the trolls described in this article infesting SoLow for years. I think the article has them pegged: Liberal in what they do and conservative in what they accept from others.

Any thoughts on trolls? We've had some pretty cruel ones on SoLow, and some pretty funny ones.

(Sidenote: I'm aware that a certain moderator has engaged in a whispering campaign against me, defaming me as a "troll". Of course she's closer to a troll than I've ever been, and I've been fighting the trolls of SoLow long before she knew SoLow existed and long before SoLow decided to hire moderators to crack down on them. Please ignore these defamations and let us discuss these strange creatures, the Internet trolls, some of whom have made SoLow a very harsh web site. Or, perhaps you don't wanna, and that's fine too. Just thought this was a good article worth passing along.)

It's an amazing article, thanks for posting it. And it's always exciting to read something about the early days of the internet. I myself hiss and moan when photobucket removes my saucier pics but I agree some control is needed. And I don't mind if the control is stricter, cause I have no problems with following rules. Freedom of speech is something very delicate, and even though I appreciate it a lot, coming from a post-communist country, sometimes I think it should have its limits. I just don't know where the limits could/should be and who the authority to enforce them.

I hadn't even heard the word troll until a few months ago when I got into a conversation with someone on here. By the time I noticed it was a troll and reported their posts, the moderators had already banned them and deleted their posts. Oh and there was somebody else on here suggesting that I should try buttsex cause I obviously needed some, lol! He/she was banned too.

It would be intersting to see if trolls are mainly men or women.

Ps. I never thought you were a troll.

 

[Dow Jones]

Oh for the love of the Bowie, I wish articles on 4chan would stop being published. Ruins the place for the rest of us.

 

[Dave]

I have a whispering campaign against Nugz but I guess the cat's out of the bag.

 

[nugz]

I have a whispering campaign against Nugz but I guess the cat's out of the bag.

wait. you have a what what?


davey baby, im drunk. what's wrong. you can tell me honey. *grabs davy's chin. makes poochey lip and bats eyes*

 

[Theo]

davey baby, im drunk. what's wrong. you can tell me honey. *grabs davy's chin. makes poochey lip and bats eyes*

Go have your cybersex in the Hussein Obama thread. You will not hijack this thread with this filth.

 

[EPbabe]

wait. you have a what what?


davey baby, im drunk. what's wrong. you can tell me honey. *grabs davy's chin. makes poochey lip and bats eyes*

No, no, sweetheart. *grabs nugzie by the shoulders, and guides her to bed* There you go, that's my girl. Go to sleep now.

 

[Theo]

Theo, nobody is whispering about you as far as I know. It seems like it's out in the open.

Dave, the first time I "met" you, you were someone who came by from MorrisseyMusic.com (where you'd been banned as a troll) and you started trolling me just because I was posting friendly messages about pop artist Regina Spektor (I'm still crushing on her) with someone you'd had conflicts with over on that web site that I had no knowledge of.

It seems you've reformed from your troll days to some extent. I'm glad. I've never been a troll and I don't appreciate stupid moderators calling me one. If I were a troll, they'd have banned me by now. They've got nothing on me.

 

[nugz]

Go have your cybersex in the Hussein Obama thread. You will not hijack this thread with this filth.

hahahaha. cybersex?

since when was grabbing someone's chin considered sex of any degree?

Theo baby, you know I love you. I never judge the naive misguided ones. its not their fault.

 

[Theo]

It's an amazing article, thanks for posting it.

You're welcome.

I myself hiss and moan when photobucket removes my saucier pics

I'd like to see those.

coming from a post-communist country

What country are you from?

Oh and there was somebody else on here suggesting that I should try buttsex cause I obviously needed some, lol! He/she was banned too.

Did you end up trying buttsex anyway, though?

Ps. I never thought you were a troll.

Thank you. I have gotten many private messages, but just a few public ones, expressing outrage at this rogue moderator who is defaming me and is out to get me banned. They all feel this moderator does more harm to SoLow than anyone else. I wish more people would be public about it and I appreciate the few who are. If I'm ever banned, you know in advance that it was an injustice.

 

[Dave]

No, no, sweetheart. *grabs nugzie by the shoulders, and guides her to bed* There you go, that's my girl. Go to sleep now.

hahaha, like I care if she's asleep.

sorry, nugzie

 

[Dave]

Dave, the first time I "met" you, you were someone who came by from MorrisseyMusic.com (where you'd been banned as a troll) and you started trolling me just because I was posting friendly messages about pop artist Regina Spektor (I'm still crushing on her) with someone you'd had conflicts with over on that web site that I had no knowledge of.

It seems you've reformed from your troll days to some extent. I'm glad. I've never been a troll and I don't appreciate stupid moderators calling me one. If I were a troll, they'd have banned me by now. They've got nothing on me.

oh theo, you said that you troll the boards, and you have posted about trolling other boards in really bizarre ways. anyone that tapes themselves "shitting and pissing" on the Holy Koran and posts it in Muslim chatrooms is a troll. Just a little bit, anyway.

 

[Dave]

all that happened is that Kewpie said what we've all been thinking. you're a troll, theo, face it. even your name is a troll name.

 

[Grim O'Grady]

wait. you have a what what?


davey baby, im drunk. what's wrong. you can tell me honey. *grabs davy's chin. makes poochey lip and bats eyes*

Did you use a cricket bat or whatever your American equivalent is?

& Theo woo now I know your achilles heel! **loud evil cackle**

love

Grim
P.s. fwiw I don't consider you a troll!

 

[Buzzetta]

(Sidenote: I'm aware that a certain moderator has engaged in a whispering campaign against me, defaming me as a "troll". Of course she's closer to a troll than I've ever been, and I've been fighting the trolls of SoLow long before she knew SoLow existed and long before SoLow decided to hire moderators to crack down on them. Please ignore these defamations and let us discuss these strange creatures, the Internet trolls, some of whom have made SoLow a very harsh web site. Or, perhaps you don't wanna, and that's fine too. Just thought this was a good article worth passing along.)

What he said
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Theo, nobody is whispering about you as far as I know. It seems like it's out in the open.

 

[Buzzetta]

did you use a cricket bat or whatever your american equivalent is?

& theo woo now i know your achilles heel! **loud evil cackle** :d

love

grim
p.s. Fwiw i don't consider you a troll!

Baseball.... Jesus Christ!!!! Baseball damnit!!! It has a name!!!!!

 

[Grim O'Grady]

Baseball.... Jesus Christ!!!! Baseball damnit!!! It has a name!!!!!

that's it thanks Buzz!

love

Grim

 

[vivabob]

oh theo, you said that you troll the boards, and you have posted about trolling other boards in really bizarre ways. anyone that tapes themselves "shitting and pissing" on the Holy Koran and posts it in Muslim chatrooms is a troll. Just a little bit, anyway.

WTF

 

[EPbabe]

I'd like to see those.

They are lost forever, "thanks" to photobucket. (Including my copy of the Your Arse'n'All pic...)

What country are you from?

Hungary

Did you end up trying buttsex anyway, though?

No.