"INGELBIEN RAPHAEL"
wrote:
Frank (and
others, especially newcomers),
Some names on this list are just fronts for
Jerry Falwell and neo-cons of that ilk. No need to get all worked up when they
start ranting about the Middle East - just ignore.
Or, as noted earlier, some messages could be a TROLL
ALERT.
Internet Trolls
Copyright © 2001 by Timothy
Campbell
July 13 2001 Edition
Approximate Reading Time: 7
Minutes
Table of Contents
What is a Troll?
Why does it
Matter?
What can be Done about Trolls?
What Not to
Do
Impersonation
The Webmaster's Challenge
What about Free
Speech?
Why do They do It?
Conclusion
Note to
Webmasters
What is a Troll?
An Internet "troll" is a person
who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries
to start arguments and upset people.
Trolls see Internet communications
services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they
don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are
not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no
sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering
they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the
relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.
Trolls are utterly impervious to
criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you
cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They
cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are
bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.
(more)
*full text at the
hyperlink
