Don't feed the trolls.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/20 ... -tim-adams

Excellent article - and one I am sure we can learn from here.

Another component are the 'murder simulators' especially first person shooters that allow people to feed their anger with primitive murderousness. There's plenty of studies showing how violent games desensitive people and blunt their caring emotions. This is why I don't think in term of trolls - because these are real angry, nasty people on the other side of the monitor. They should be considered 'really dangerous' not just as annoying. I fear the lesson will be learnt too late as organised violence is very likely through the adaptive secrecy of new social media like Google+. Peope know each other but that's a name, their anonymity will come through a badge, a party or a cause, hellbent on mayhem.

As they're utterly unlike doing the same thing in real life I sometimes question the results of those studies. There's an Ivy-covered Tower element in them.

[amused]

But, I LIKE being a troll. And we need to EAT.

[Mysturji]

[sandinista]

Don't like 'em, ignore them. If they don't think they're making somebody here angry, they'll go away. IF you simply can't not respond, make it something funny. Contempt, light regard and low esteem, that's how you make them go away, not by out arguing them.

There are a small number of trolls I pretty much completely ignore, but some are just too fun to play around with.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Q.E.D.

[sandinista]

Q.E.D.

right back at you

[Svartalf]

So that's it? you nasty poopieheads are so mean and stupid all you can find is to try and starve me to death?

I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL !!!

Seriously, unless it's some particularly notorious member of the seth or jonno genus, or maybe a mistermackus stinkus, it can be hard to notice at once that the troll is at work, and by the time you know for sure, it's already gotten far too much feed for ignoring him not also meaning killing the thread.

[Animavore]