Trolls. An unfortunate and ever-present blight on the Internet, determined to turn friendly, adult exchanges of opinion in to something quite unpleasant. Their tactics vary from mild, patronizing disparagement of their target, to full-blown, often capitalized and even obscene insult. Regardless of the degree of abuse, the standard aim is to cause hurt, safely hidden behind the anonymity of the internet. Easily spotted, they will strive to introduce controversy into the most innocent of discussions, and inevitably, as the victim is both hooked and drawn in, the exchange always becomes personal, and descends into denigration. Why do they do it? There are many psychological studies into the phenomenon, but the conclusions always point to a degree of sociopathy, or in extreme cases, even psychopathy and sadism. In general, the advice is not to attempt to re-educate them, or to appeal to their better nature, as they don’t have one. Attention is their oxygen, so the recommended response is to simply ignore them, thus effectively starving them of what they seek. What say you? No accusations or naming names please…
