Blue Like You

Archive for the ‘Don't feed the trolls’ Category

Jonathan Kay’s column in today’s National Post bemoaning the decline of print media is a story in itself, but his example of what we would be missing without it is equally fascinating (You’ll miss us when we’re gone ).

Having always been interested in psychology I was intrigued to read the NY Times article to which he was referring - The Rise of Malwebolence by Mattathias Schwartz.

Kay argues that without the financial resources of a strong print media and old-fashioned "shoe-leather reporting", great stories like Schwartz’s will be missing.

Since I already touched on the future of MSM a few months ago, I’d like to focus on Schwartz’s column.

What is a troll?

Kay provides the following definition, borrowed heavily from Schwartz’s piece:

They are the juvenile cretins who infest Internet message boards, taunting the earnest types chatting away about Gossip Girl, or Barack Obama, or Scientology. Their method is to post willfully ignorant, insulting messages, then sit back and enjoy the righteous, impotent fury aroused among the true believers.

Trolling is an inherently nihilistic activity — which is why most trolls tend to be adolescent males, the sort of specimens who would otherwise entertain themselves by using bathroom graffiti to libel the sexual habits of high-school classmates. But there is a small elite that has turned trolling into a full-time calling. They congregate on anonymous Web sites such as 4chan.org, and informally tally the "lulz" they’ve earned by humiliating others.

One of the ‘trolls’ that Schwartz interviewed explained:

"Lulz is watching someone lose their mind at their computer 2,000 miles away while you chat with friends and laugh…"

Nice.

Kay admires Schwartz for being able to acquire the confidence and trust of the "cynical, nihilistic misanthropes who, by their own professed creed, don’t trust anyone. They met him, in the flesh, showed him where they live and even let him watch as they went about their trolling."

Kay interprets Schwartz’s investigation of what makes a troll tick with the following observations:

…As they warmed to Schwartz, the trolls dropped their macho facade and revealed themselves as damaged souls. One troll prince Schwartz met had been molested by his grandfather and had shut off communication with his mother by sending her a letter instructing her to kill herself. Another is an apocalyptic hatemonger, who fantasizes about putting the Web’s "retards" "in the oven." These are sad, sad people, trying desperately to medicate their self-loathing by imposing it on others …

Well, self-loathing may indeed be part of it, but I think the real key can be found at the end of Schwartz’ piece:

…Weeks later, after talking to his longtime friend Zach, Fortuny began considering the deeper emotional forces that drove him to troll. His mind-set, he said, "allows me to find people who do stupid things and turn them around. Zach asked if I thought I could turn my parents around. I almost broke down. The idea of them learning from their mistakes and becoming people that I could actually be proud of … it was overwhelming." He continued: "It’s not that I do this because I hate them. I do this because I’m trying to save them."

The way I see it, the more aggressive trolls believe that they have far superior intelligence compared to the rest of us and feel compelled to save us from ourselves. In their minds, they are doing us a favour. They are pointing out our stupidity with the hope that we may someday see the light.

And they will keep trying until they succeed - which is to say, until we agree with them.

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Update: Sandy has a great column up at Jack’s Newswatch - A follow-up to trolls & Canadian Cynic.

Yesterday Jack posted this story as it appeared in the final version of the NY Times. The link I provided above is obviously an earlier, shorter version. Check out Jack’s Newswatch for the whole story. (Kinda catchy, don’t ya think Jack?)

Big City Lib addresses Jonathan Kay’s concerns about the future of MSM. And related to that, Lawrence Martin muses on the fate of the National Post. A Liberal Senator wants to buy it? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Can you do it? Boycott CC.

Just don’t go there. Gerry is right.

And while you’re at it, boycott all the trolls.