They say what brings out the best in people will probably bring out the worst as well. The Internet is no exception.
I’ll start by explaining what I mean by an Internet troll, since the term has been somewhat confused and diluted by others.
Actually, first I’ll start off by explaining what it doesn’t mean – an Internet troll isn’t someone who disagrees with you.
There is this fallacy in cyberspace that if two people are having a heated discussion online then at least one of them must be an Internet troll. Well, this isn’t true. The Internet has bought the whole world closer together, different cultures, different beliefs and different values. We’re going to disagree. It’s inevitable.
No, an Internet troll isn’t someone who disagrees with you. An Internet troll is a person who deliberately sets out to upset others. Not because they have a different outlook or a different opinion than you, but because they simply enjoy upsetting and irking others. Logical argument, debate or reasoning is simply deflected with argumentative drivel aimed at causing hate, disharmony and discord.
The Troll is both comforted with the anonymity the Internet has provided them and completely immune to any criticism and belligerence directed towards them.
Whether it’s hijacking threads, setting up sick social networking communities or commenting in others, or ranting nonsense in chatrooms, an Internet troll has one – and only one – objective – to upset other Internet users. Their actions cannot incite anything but contempt and disapproval from any morally sound person who comes across them, and the troll will sit back and enjoy the fallout of their actions.
The Internet trolls who set up a Facebook community Page celebrating the Munich Air Disaster certainly enjoyed plenty of fallout, with their actions reaching mainstream media and kicking off another debate about the limits of freedom of speech on Facebook. Other trolls preferred to barrage personal memorial websites with offensive comments.
I could speculate about the deep seated motivation for hours, but what is clear is that Internet trolls have acquired some psychological deficiency that motivates them to enjoy causing upset to others. Shielded by the “open forum” nature of the Internet and the anonymity it provides, Trolls feel justified, even vindicated as they post their offensive slurs.
It is worth remembering that Trolls feed off the consequences of their actions which fuel their behaviour. The bigger the audience and the more angry and upset they become the more energy and motivation is given to the Troll.
Thus dealing with Trolls can be both easy and difficult at the same time. Taking away both their power and audience is the most effective way of dealing with an Internet Troll because there lies the motivation. If their words fall upon deaf ears, and they only hear the echoes of their mindless drivel bounce back across the walls of cyberspace, then they have no power and no audience, and thus no reason to continue.
So to deal with an Internet Troll
1. Never respond to them. Ignoring them is the best policy, since doing so takes away their audience.
2. Report them to a moderator who can take away their power to post.
3. If you are a moderator, simply delete their posts and block their accounts or IP addresses. Muting is also an option on some platforms, where a moderator can prevent the Trolls posts from being seen by others, but the Troll is not aware so continues to post, wasting their time as they do so.
Remember, before you think about engaging or directed a rant at an Internet Troll, think about what they want and crave. And then do exactly what the Internet Troll doesn’t want you to do – ignore them.
