I’ve written about this before, but it seems inevitable that the issue of trolls in forums will be forced upon me again and again. What is the motivation of these people who seem to be on every forum and message board all the time with a sarcastic comment for each and every poster ready to go? And where the heck do they get the time? And why do they care so much? It seems to me that a person would have to be leading a pathetically empty life if they are able to take the time and effort to “put everyone in their place” on a daily basis. And these people usually have more than one alias that they post under, often answering or agreeing with their own previous posts. What an absolute waste of time. And what a waste of my time and every other person’s too! On a board that I visit several times a week there is a prime example of this type of loser. This person posts under many different aliases, has no real website that I know of, and constantly discredits the expresses purpose and function of the forum. But there he is every day, smugly making his comments and bullying newbies. He never misses a post, and has hateful remarks in response to almost every topic. What is the problem with a person like this? I can only think that he was probably bullied as a child (or continues to be) and feels the need to compensate for some shortcomings of some sort. He is probably single, and most likely if he works at all he does so with children or the elderly, the better to enable himself to bully them. He is undoubtedly a frustrated know it all, afraid of real world confrontation or competition. For a person like this, a forum or message board is not a means to an end; it is the ultimate destination- a playground where everyone is the same size, a classroom where every student can get straight A’s, and a party where he actually has a chance with the girls. A guy like this probably never grows up; his mother’s basement is a perfect place to live and the bus stops right on the corner down the block so he has met his domestic needs, and the forums and message boards he frequents are a perfect fantasy playground for his false bravado and repressed anger over his stolen milk money. So what is the solution? How do we deal with these pathetic losers? Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to do. He is like the younger sibling that your mother always made you baby sit; or the hopelessly unskilled and lost co-worker (who happens to be the bosses son); or the despicable classmate that is the teacher’s pet with perfect grades (but you know for a fact that they cheat and lie). I am afraid that the internet is still such an open platform that the only thing that can really be done is to ignore them. After all, the web is a wonderful thing, and part of its charm is the fact that it is one giant, open forum for all to use, with little censorship and few limitations. The same freedom that allows us to participate freely in online discussions allows the trolls freedom too. So I’ve learned to accept the presence of these pitiful people, I skim over their posts, ignore their remarks, and continue on with my own business at hand. As much as I would like to “put him in his place”, I don’t have the time to waste or the inclination to make that effort. I have better things to do with my time, and I don’t want to end up being anything like him. So I say let him rant- the perfect response is no response at all. It has to be unsatisfying to him to get no response to his poisonous posts. Will he go away? I doubt it, at least not for a long while, but the fun could be taken out of it for him and that is progress. Related articles by Zemanta
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Image via Wikipedia Recently I got an email from a well known internet marketer, and when I read it something stuck in my mind that was said. I will paraphrase it here, and I know that you’ll be nodding to yourself in agreement as I do. Here it is: There are many hurdles for prospective marketers [...] Image via Wikipedia Today I was confronted (again) by another would be internet marketer about some statements that I have made many times and in many places on the web. I have been consistent on this issue for as long as I can remember, and I am honestly puzzled that so many people are adamant in [...] |
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