What can be done about trolling?

Question

Trolling entails luring others into pointless and timeconsuming discussions ~ but it's more than that. if other leads to misogynist statements on this forum.

For background, see: http://rkcsi.indiana.edu/archive/CSI/WP/WP02-03B.html

http://michelemartin.typepad.com/thebambooprojectblog/2007/03/since_the_kathy.html

Some forums have tried shunning, banning, refuting and hurling insults back.

What do you think works? What else can be tried?

Answer 1

Maybe you can figure out a way to send an electric shock through the keyboard.

Answer 2

The best thing to do is to not allow yourself to become riled, no matter how offensive the question. If a person must answer, doing so in a calm, collected and polite manner(even if they don't deserve such considerations) will allow you to get your point across and let the questioner know that you aren't affected by them.
Though the trolls don't bother me, it is easy to see why they keep coming here, as one has said "I cannot believe the way feminists keep on being sucked into answering." Not to quote or anything. But he's right. I talk with everyone, from trolls to feminists or masculinists, am just trying to keep an open mind.
The trolls cannot be stopped, they will always find a way of coming here no matter what.

Answer 3

Given that you can't stop trolls, and that no method of banning them will actually prevent the more technically savvy - I would suggest that the block buttons functionality be extended so that

1) You cannot see any questions they post
2) You cannot see any answers they post
3) They cannot see or rate any answers you give
4) They cannot report you
5) They cannot e-mail you

Effectively deleting their presence from your reality.

Further helpful changes would include starting people at 0 points which would prevent new accounts being created to post 20 questions then disappear.

I would also advocate that questions which expire with no best answer result in a 50 point penalty unless the asker deliberately puts them to the vote within a day of expiry- thus neutralizing trolls who only want to post.

Answer 4

I must ask first that you excuse my simple minded response to what seem to be a very complex issue, at least at the point in time.
The meaning to the word trolling is the key. If the fish don't bite at the bait, they don't get hooked.
Just another quick thought. I believe if the statement "male chauvinist pig", was not use to describe males in general. Then the need to respond to the perceived attack would not manifest. "The fight or flight response".
I personally believe that the female and male, are just two parts of the wonderful puzzle we call humanity.
Might have gotten less bias answers, if this question was ask under the psychological category.

Answer 5

In the first place, the definition of "trolls" is not "those who disagree with feminism". Trolling has been sighted by both sides here, so trying to point out "misogynist" posts as the problem is an exercise in futility. It runs both ways.

Second, it takes TWO to carry on a dialog. If you do not want to participate in "pointless and timeconsuming (sic) discussions", don't. Your input is not required and only serves to continue whatever "discussion" in which you choose to involve yourself. No one is required to answer every "question" they deem improper or incorrect; no one is even required to read them.

Answer 6

Ahaha, Susan Herring was one of my professors my freshman year.

I like to make it not as fun for the trolls by not giving them what they want, which is an emotionally charged reply.

Answer 7

I worry in a way for kids who think trolling behavior is somehow "cute" or fun or whatever because they clearly are too immature and lack the sophistication to perceive the danger that they are putting themselves in. Even as reported here on Yahoo News a few days ago, corporations are rigorously screening for teamwork / cooperative "personalities" and healthy social behaviors in all job applicants. Background checks, costing very little in comparison to the enormous cost of attrition and wasting money on training employees who don't work out, are most certainly including every single word that people post on the Internet. I've seen it. I've paid for background checks myself.

I have a suspicion, because I have some insight into globalization and the extremely advanced sophistication of psychological science and the unbelieveable amount of money involved in these new intense screenings, that little is being done at the moment to address the problem of "trolls" in Internet communities because there is probably a deliberate form of "entrapment" in play. By allowing such people to expose themselves and their potentially costly pathological behaviors in this way, employers and security agencies who make a profit off identifying these people and selling that information to employers, including the military and universities, a larger percentage of potential "flakes" will be pre-identified and less errors will then occur in hiring or accepting college applicants and such. I mean, would YOU want to hire one of these weirdo trolls or would you want to send your daughter to the same University with any of them? Tens of thousands of organizations are trolling for trolls as we speak.

Remember quite awhile back those cases of U.S. soldiers raping local girls in Japan? The U.S. military at that time began much more sophisticated background screenings to reduce the incidence of that sort of diplomatic nightmare from happening anymore. And, Universities, feeling enormous pressure related to school massacres, are forking out the cash for such screenings prior to application reviews. These "can't get along with people" or misogynistic, racist, alpha male, angry, self-centered, self-serving, whiny, dishonest, dishonorable, "women want or deserve to be raped", " . . . but, but, but it's FUN to cause trouble and disrupt communities", "why can't I hit a girl?", "women are stupid", "what has a woman ever done better than a man?" type of behaviors once identified in even ONE background check will haunt these poor fools for the rest of their lives. THAT'S what being done about trolls. I'm not at all sure it's fair, because they're young and stupid. But, one thing's for sure, it's really happening.

Answer 8

just about every forum ive used gets paranoid about trolls.

if everyone ignored them, there would not be a problem.

the trouble is they are often more lively than the legits, and people just have to interact with them.

it's only a problem if people make it so.

Answer 9

Most people now have dynamic IP addresses, so blocking IPs won't work.

And besides, one can use tools like proxy chains to get around any such blocking.

Answer 10

Clearly, they get their tiny rocks off on hurling insults that carry the intellectual innovation and wit of a melon rind.

Even the slightly more creative and literate trolls have vacated at this point, leaving us with pre-pubescent, emotionally damaged morons who ask about farts, bad driving and LSD.

Men who cloak fear of women in aggression will always be drawn to this site. It's too tempting, and it's the only way they can get off.

I guess it's best to let them troll...the online venting might prevent escalation of their neuroses into real life.

I don't know what the answer is.