“I know you are but what am I?”
People love to shout, tease, and make fun of each other on the web. If you going to travel around the web, you must know about trolls and flame wars.
What are Trolls?
Trolls are people who post nothing but negative /ad-hominem style comments on blogs, videos, and forum posts.
Here is a better definition from Wikipedia:
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2] In addition to the offending poster, the noun troll can also refer to the provocative message itself, as in "that was an excellent troll you posted". While the term troll and its associated action trolling are primarily associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels highly subjective, with trolling being used to describe intentionally provocative actions outside of an online context. For example, recent media accounts have used the term troll to describe "a person who defaces internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."
Give Me Some Examples…
Ok, here is an example of a troll commenting on a fictitious video entitled “Jane’s Video”:
Joe: “Hey Jane, I loved your video”
Troll: “I didn’t, I hated it, it sucked, just like you and your whole family…cause you are a whore Jane”
Joe: “Hey troll, what’s your problem?”
Troll: “Your mom is my problem Joe, she keeps calling me late at night and talks dirty”
As you can see, this troll has taken the focus off of the video Jane made and put it on himself (or herself).
What Are Flame Wars?
Flame Wars (or flaming) are wars of words that are usually started by trolls or troll like behavior. Look at the example above between Joe and Troll. If Joe were to retort back to Troll and Troll back to Joe…that would be a flame war.
Once again, we pull from Wikipedia for a good overview of the term:
Flaming (also known as bashing) is hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users. Flaming usually occurs in the social context of a discussion board, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), Usenet, by e-mail, game servers such as Xbox Live or Playstation Network, and on Video-sharing websites. It is usually the result of the discussion of heated real-world issues like politics, sports, religion, and philosophy, or of issues that polarise subpopulations. Internet trolls frequently set out to incite flame wars for the sole purpose of offending or irritating other posters.
Again, notice how this pulls the conversation away from the original topic or any honest, academic debate and into an all out, unproductive attack.
Why Should I Care?
You, like most people, use the internet. You may or may not put out videos or comment on posts made by other web users. Understanding that there are people out there who intentionally seek to anger you and derail your conversations will hopefully help you in a myriad of ways, such as not taking attacks by trolls personally and not engaging in troll like behavior with other trolls (which would only lead to a flame war).
What Should I Do If I Encounter a Troll?
Don’t feed them after midnight…wait, that’s gremlins. If you encounter a troll, the best thing to do is ignore them and if you are able, simply delete their comments.
All they want to do is evoke a response and are not worried about actually engaging in meaningful dialogue, so any response would be nothing more than a waste of words.
In Conclusion
Sadly the anonymity of the internet offers trolls a wide open canvas for hate and amusement. If you are on the internet long enough, you will surely encounter a troll or two, no need to get upset. Just move past them and you will be fine.
Until Next Time…
