An interesting article here on the psychology of internet trolls. The group mentality, perceptions of “free-speech” and the nature on anonymity that allows for bile and rage to be perpetuated unchecked. Also some insights into forum and blog moderation:
guardian.co.uk/technology/20 … -tim-adams
DB, feel free to move this to “Technology” if you think it’s more appropriate there.
A thought-provoking article. The vitriol that anonymity provides on the internet started alarming me a while back.
I’m not innocent myself, though - I don’t always think of the person on the other side of the computer when I post. While it is important to voice one’s own opinion and often good for a whole bunch of people to chime in if somebody has posted something off the mark, it could be done with a little more compassion.
I’ve stated this before: one of the things I noticed when I came on forumosa was that’s it’s reasonably cleaner than other places on the internet. It’s why I am still here - a site for information, debate, and fun, but with little of the hate read elsewhere. maoman’s pretty good at getting rid of crackpot assholes.
“Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking.”
I think that we’re getting a good idea of ‘the character’ of people in our society.
It’s not a pretty picture.
Good article, Jimi!
Except the article stresses the anonymity angle. None of the regular posters here are anonymous. Enough of us know exactly who we are – we drink together, eat together, visit each others’ homes, dandle each others’ kids on our knees, hike, party, dive, etc., together that anonymity has long gone out the window. Therefore when I call maoman a pure bastard, its absolutely not anonymous poison but just a simple statement of fact.
On this topic…
A few years ago I Mod’d a graphic designer/coding forum. A few thousand people and a few hundred regulars over about 5-7 year time span. It was wonderful even though most of us were teens.
So then I started Mod’ing a traveller’s forum but it quickly got out of hand. The anonymity was kind of a reason, but mostly we knew eachother. I stopped even checking the forum for months at a time. But a few days ago I had a question on safety and demographics. The responses were so ridiculous that this is one of the posts I had to reply with:
(The astericks are the u/ns of people that I was responding to in this ONE post)
[quote]
Hmmm… I think people need a time out.
*******: You are absolutely right in pointing out that crazy shit happens at home too. There is a huge amount of disgusting and unfounded intolerance toward many races and beliefs in this country.
I am quite aware of this. However, I am also aware that aroudn the world, there is a huge amount of intolerance toward my way of life as well.
******: I believe you’ve touched upon exactly as I intended my message to be. It is unfortunate that she didn’t understand it in the manner I did. But oh well, so is the way of seperate minds and intentions.
*******: There are plenty of ridiculous threads on this forum. To end it now would be against the open nature of this group and the diverse views shared in it. I just wish more people would be more tolerant of others’ views and more willing to recognize the fact that they have created their belief system based on experience and knowledge (******** is a good example of this. I believe ******* has much to offer to a discussion if people would simply shut the fuck up and respect the fact that he too has valid, pertinent information and knowledge. You may not agree with his end arguments and reasonings -I sure don’t lmao-, but one thing is for sure: He has knowledge and a lot to offer.)
*******: You’re right. People are often tarred and feathered for having a different view point. This forum tends to be patronized by liberal-minded people who, in my opinion and experience, tend to equate what they consider a conservative view point as invalid. This is unfortunate.
******: That was an unnecessarily boorish comment and not relevant to this discussion.
*******: Thank you, you make a good point. My wording may have come across as too strong. As many in this community know, I tend to have a pretty strong way of getting things across.
Just… please calm down people. This is a serious topic that requires serious analysis. [/quote]
As you can tell, my post was in response to some pretty heated replies (and not just one or two!). And one would think my Ok, calm down now peoples would have resulted in some fairly “Sorry for coming across as so bitchy”, but no it just got WORSE.
This is incredibly unfortunate because the said forum is a very important tool for travellers and widely used/known. These trolls are keeping the regulars/locals from posting useful information for those genuinely seeking it.
Since Forumosa is basically built on the same value system and intentions as the one I’m talking about, could you guys give me some tips on how to deal with these trolls that come through?
Closing paragraph from the article:
I agree. I only take posters seriously when they have disclosed some things about themselves. This doesn’t mean that I need to know their names, but if someone is going to comment, I’ll take them a lot more seriously if I know something about them.
First of all, be the boss. You trust your own judgment, right? If you see someone is making a ruckus, and you think that their intentions are not good, send them a message. If they respond positively, or change their evil ways, then no action needs to be taken. If they’re being jackasses, suspend them. If they are beyond rehabilitation, ban them. You have to balance the fact that you want people to visit your site with the need to set a tone.
Why is this? Does this mean that you take newcomers less seriously than people who have been here for a while? Surely everybody’s comment counts until they show themselves up to be an ass? I haven’t disclosed anything about myself, does this mean that you don’t take what I say seriously? Or are you talking about a passive disclosure through the content and character of their posts?
Not being critical or anything, but I’m trying to get my head around why you would take this approach being the owner/moderator of a community forum such as F.com.
Why is this? Does this mean that you take newcomers less seriously than people who have been here for a while? Surely everybody’s comment counts until they show themselves up to be an ass? I haven’t disclosed anything about myself, does this mean that you don’t take what I say seriously? Or are you talking about a passive disclosure through the content and character of their posts?[/quote]
This. 
This. [/quote]
It’s inevitable, is it not? There are simply too many posts out there under anonymous handles, some of which are sure to be in bad faith, and others of little value. It doesn’t make sense for readers of a forum to give them all equal weight. Over time, contributors (and I use that word loosely) do demonstrate their value, or lack thereof, to a reader (and to the online community) through the content and character of their posts. A little skepticism about what you read and the people you meet is healthy, even moreso when people interact anonymously. The more people have disclosed about themselves, the less anonymous they are, in a sense, which explains the decreased need for such a heightened level of skepticism.
Hmmm…
I think that I’m being convinced to change my signature…
Hi! Yep, one can actually see you’re a bunch of friends / acquaintances hanging out here. A few years ago forumosa was a very lively site with like pah-lenty people on every night. Now it seems almost deserted. What happened? Or were most of those people booted off? Did they leave? Or what? :eh: