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
     Resources

      What is a Troll? Top
     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.

     Perhaps this sounds inconceivable. You may think, "Surely there is
something I can write that will change them." But a true troll can not be
changed by mere words.

      Why Does it Matter? Top
     Some people - particularly those who have been online for years - are
not upset by trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using the net.
As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic without ants."

     It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the sad fact is
that trolls do discourage people. Established posters may leave a message
board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who
read but do not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves
to abuse and thus never get involved.

     Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred up by trolls
leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter
after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this
can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.

     Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual
criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate
backlash.

     The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers
and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of
this beautiful forum for ideas.

      What Can be Done about Trolls? Top
     When you suspect that somebody is a troll, you might try responding
with a polite, mild message to see if it's just somebody in a bad mood.
Internet users sometimes let their passions get away from them when seated
safely behind their keyboard. If you ignore their bluster and respond in a
pleasant manner, they usually calm down.

     However, if the person persists in being beastly, and seems to enjoy
being unpleasant, the only effective position is summed up as follows:

     The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to
reminding others not to respond to trolls.

     When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll,
he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls
can't handle is being ignored.

      What Not to Do Top
     As already stated, it is futile to try to "cure" a troll of his
obsession. But perhaps you simply cannot bear the hostile environment that
the troll is creating and want to go away for a while.

     If you do that, then for the sake of the others on the system, please
do not post a dramatic "Goodbye!" message. This convinces the troll that he
is winning the battle. There is, perhaps, no message you can write on a
message system that is as damaging as an announcement that you are leaving
because of the hostility that the troll has kindled.

     If you feel you must say something, a discreet message to the system
operator (and some of the others users, if you have their email addresses)
is the best course of action. Incidentally, if you are writing the letter in
an agitated state, it is a good idea to wait an hour and then give it one
last review before you actually send it. That might spare you the pain of
saying things that you don't really mean to people you like.

      Impersonation Top
     One technique used by trolls to generate chaos is to pretend to be a
well-liked person. On some systems there is nothing to prevent somebody from
signing your name to a distasteful message. On other systems the troll may
have to be a bit more wiley, perhaps by replacing one character with
another. Here are some examples of various spoofing gimmicks that could be
used against a person named Brenda Q. O'Really:

           Brenda Q. O"Really Brenda Q. 0'Really Brenda Q  O'Really
           Brenda Q. O'Rea11y Bredna Q. O'Really 8renda Q. O'Really

     Note: "Brenda Q. O'Really" is a made-up name used to illustrate
spoofing and is not intended to refer to a particular person.

     If you react with anger, the troll wins. So if you see a message
impersonating you on a message board, simply write a follow-up reply
entitled "That Wasn't Me" and type only this:

     I did not write that message; it is a fake.

     Of course, sometimes you will find that people who know you well have
already identified the message as a fake and have tagged it as such. After
all, one of the troll's goals is to make you look bad. If you have a good
reputation, people will be tipped off if a message that you apparently wrote
is completely out of character.

     Trolls have been known to become so irritated at having their spoofs
identified that they have learned to write in another person's style. They
may end up writing an intelligent message that is indistinguishable from
your own golden words. If that happens, you can always just let the post
stand and take credit for it!

     Trolls will also sometimes write a "That Wasn't Me" message after a
genuine one, attempting to elicit a denial. There really is no reason to
give him what he wants, since a "That Wasn't Me" warning merely reminds
people to be skeptical. That is to say, it is of no real consequence if
somebody isn't sure that you wrote a normal message, since in the long run
it is the ideas that are important.

      The Webmaster's Challenge Top
     When trolls are ignored they step up their attacks, desperately
seeking the attention they crave. Their messages become more and more foul,
and they post ever more of them. Alternatively, they may protest that their
right to free speech is being curtailed - more on this later.

     The moderator of a message board may not be able to delete a troll's
messages right away, but their job is made much harder if they also have to
read numerous replies to trolls. They are also forced to decide whether or
not to delete posts from well-meaning folks which have the unintended effect
of encouraging the troll.

     Some webmasters have to endure conscientious users telling them that
they are "acting like dictators" and should never delete a single message.
These people may be misinformed: they may have arrived at their opinion
about a troll based on the messages they see, never realizing that the
webmaster has already deleted his most horrific material. Please remember
that a troll does have an alternative if he has something of value to say:
there are services on the net that provide messaging systems free of charge.
So the troll can set up his own message board, where he can make his own
decisions about the kind of content he will tolerate.

     Just how much can we expect of a webmaster when it comes to preserving
the principles of free speech? Some trolls find sport in determining what
the breaking point is for a particular message board operator. They might
post a dozen messages, each of which contains 400 lines of the letter "J".
That is a form of expression, to be sure, but would you consider it your
duty to play host to such a person?

     Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a webmaster is deciding
whether to take steps against a troll that a few people find entertaining.
Some trolls do have a creative spark and have chosen to squander it on being
disruptive. There is a certain perverse pleasure in watching some of them.
Ultimately, though, the webmaster has to decide if the troll actually cares
about putting on a good show for the regular participants, or is simply
playing to an audience of one - himself.

      What about Free Speech? Top
     When trolls find that their efforts are being successfully resisted,
they often complain that their right to free speech is being infringed. Let
us examine that claim.

     While most people on the Internet are ardent defenders of free speech,
it is not an absolute right; there are practical limitations. For example,
you may not scream out "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, and you may not make
jokes about bombs while waiting to board an airplane. We accept these
limitations because we recognize that they serve a greater good.

     Another useful example is the control of the radio frequency spectrum.
You might wish to set up a powerful radio station to broadcast your ideas,
but you cannot do so without applying for a license. Again, this is a
practical limitation: if everybody broadcasted without restriction, the
repercussions would be annoying at best and life-threatening at worst.

     The radio example is helpful for another reason: with countless people
having a legitimate need to use radio communications, it is important to
ensure that nobody is 'monopolizing the channel'. There are only so many
clear channels available in each frequency band and these must be shared.

     When a troll attacks a message board, he generally posts a lot of
messages. Even if his messages are not particularly inflammatory, they can
be so numerous that they drown out the regular conversations (this is known
as 'flooding'). Needless to say, no one person's opinions can be allowed to
monopolize a channel.

     The ultimate response to the 'free speech' argument is this: while we
may have the right to say more or less whatever we want, we do not have the
right to say it wherever we want. You may feel strongly about the fact that
your neighbour has not mowed his lawn for two months, but you do not have
the right to berate him in his own living room. Similarly, if a webmaster
tells a troll that he is not welcome, the troll has no "right" to remain.
This is particularly true on the numerous free communications services
offered on the net. (On pay systems, the troll might be justified in asking
for a refund.)

      Why Do They Do It? Top
     Affirmation.

     Regular net users know how delightful it is when somebody responds to
something they have written. It is a meeting of the minds, which is an
intellectual thrill, but it is also an acknowledgement of one's value - and
that can be a very satisfying emotional reward.

     Trolls crave attention, and they care not whether it is positive or
negative. They see the Internet as a mirror into which they can gaze in
narcissistic rapture.

     If you want a deeper analysis than that, perhaps a psychologist can
shed some additional light on the matter.

      Conclusion Top
     Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody
whom you think is a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write a
follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only this:

     The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to
reminding others not to respond to trolls.

     By posting such a message, you let the troll know that you know what
he is, and that you are not going to get dragged into his twisted little
hobby.