trolls

Trolls

With the advent of the internet there has came a new arena where those that are insecure, jealous, envious and often a victim themselves wish to do battle. On the internet this comes in the form of an internet troll. There can be some very serious causes that have led to the troll becoming one, someone being abused is highly likely to abuse another for example. Being a bully or pointing out flaws or engaging with others face to face carries with it risk. The internet has therefore presented itself as being ‘risk free’, yet it simulates the same ‘rewards’ that bullies who physically and emotionally assault people face to face obtain. The troll will take great care to mask their identity whilst trolling, but may also lead a double internet life in a lot of cases. Whilst their bad experience(s) or whatever reason they may give could be a reason why they started doing it, it does not however justify it. Of course not all internet trolls have been a victim, there can be many reasons why they do it, I just believe that at it’s route there has to have been a significant factor in their personal life that is involved.

People have been emotionally distressed and physically harmed and indeed suffered social and financial ruin because of trolls and they have in most cases never even met the individual who has caused it. It is a very serious crime to cause others harm and loss, trolls do so wilfully and maliciously and in full knowledge that they could seriously harm their victim in many ways. In fact there are those that are so affected by trolls that they have seen no other way out than to end their life.

Why has the troll targeted you?

The reasons a troll may target you or your blog can be varied, it could be they just happened to be searching for a victim and picked you because of your beliefs, the content you put out or because they simply find something that they believe will get a response from you. It could be the way you look, the way you talk, your culture or your beliefs, your physical or emotional health. They will find something about you that is very personal to you and exploit it.

What can happen if you respond to the troll?

The troll wants one thing and one thing only! A response! Your response will be emotional, lengthy and an attempt to silence the troll, very often you will put information in your reply which the troll can make further use of in their attack on you and which they have spent no time in finding out, it may even be something you’ve never shared before. Trying to beat a Troll will NOT work. Trying to get a Troll to sympathise or empathise with you will NOT work.

There is an old saying “Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

The troll is extremely adept and accomplished and a master of their art, there is NO way that you are ever, ever, going to beat them at their own game or connect with them in an emotional way that would make them want to stop.

If you reply and interact with the troll and you have a large and loyal following then those that support you will naturally come to your aid and attempt to put down the troll. This then only justifies to the troll even further that you are a worthwhile target, they will and may partially succeed in dividing your audience and causing arguments amongst your followers. The more engagement from here on out the more that the troll can damage you and divide your following. They will also be hoping that those that are critical of you and your channel (no matter what platform it’s on) will notice and support the troll themselves in their attack on you. The troll doesn’t need this support though as they feel a sense of accomplishment if they wear you down single handedly. But depending on the level of support you have they may actively seek support from others that troll like they do. The troll will have multiple attacks happening simultaneously and the troll considers this an accomplishment of note, the more successful victims he has going at the same time can be a factor in being idolised by other trolls. Time is trolling and they want every word of trolling to count and they want the maximum amount of ‘tears’ from their victims. They want to see your content change, they want to see that they are having a very real effect on your channel, disabling comments for example, and indeed an affect on your life. Drawing attention and highlighting the trolls actions will only makes things worse.

So, what can you do?

You have two options really:

Option 1 - Ignore the troll

This carries some benefits and downsides. If you ignore the troll, one of your loyal followers may chime in and give the troll exactly what they want but with the added benefit that they didn’t have to spend any time in finding their next victim, the one that came to your aide. For ignoring the troll to work you’d need all your followers to do the same, anyone new to your outlet may not know this collaborative effort and engage the troll. Also, depending on the type of troll you may find that your media outlet becomes a breeding ground for more trolls and this may drive some of your audience away as your content and their engagement is drowned out amongst the trolls.

Option 2 - Thank the troll

Yes! This is the preferred way and I believe the most effective. The only way to beat the troll is to not play their game and instead turn their negative interaction with you on it’s head. If the troll posts something on your platform it is a positive thing! Thank the troll very much for their engagement, no matter what they’ve posted, no matter what negative thing they have said (unless it is unlawful, in this instance go straight to reporting it to the authorities) By interacting and posting on your platform they have given you more exposure and you have benefited from their comment. If the troll makes comment on your appearance, thank them very much for their keen observance. If the troll says you are doing something wrong that you are showing people how to do, thank them very much for paying such close attention and for spending so much of their time to your content. Make sure the troll knows that by pointing this out they have benefited not just you but your ENTIRE audience. Encourage your followers to thank the troll also.

For the above technique to work at it’s most effective then it’s ideal if you are the first to respond to them, this way you are informing your followers of what you will do when a troll posts and then this means they will either A) Leave any trolls for you to deal with or B) Simply do what you are doing and then instead of one heap of praise, they get multiple. This means that you may not even need to respond at all. Your audience will become a buffer and safety net against any current trolling, or any in the future.

Ensure in whatever reply you do to a troll you tell them that they are greatly appreciated and have contributed greatly to your platform, the development of your voice on the platform also and that you wish them nothing but the best and thank them for their support. (The YouTube algorithm for example does count interaction on channels and any comment is noticed by the algorithm and this counts towards rewards that channels receive through advertising and other means on YouTube). Just one example.

The other benefit to engaging positively with the troll is that your audience will see how mature you are when faced with those that would seek to put you down, this then also has an even greater benefit in that you will A) Have less chance of doing this with the same troll again, or any other troll, and B) Not give any ammunition to a future troll that sees you are an easy target. Trolls like to promote a worthy exchange online to others that do what they do. The more ‘tears’ you ‘cry’ the more they feed on these tears and make sure that other trolls know you are an easy target, encouraging them and in fact daring them to cause you more distress than they have. They may set ‘targets’ to hit, such as you not post anything for days on end, when you may be posting at least once per day, that you disable comments, harming the interaction you have with your genuine followers. Their ultimate satisfaction will come if you close down the channel on the platform they’ve targeted you on. They will then follow you to another and continue the cycle.

Remember

If you engage with one troll in their game you instantly give justification for other trolls and then you are faced with the prospect of spending so much time dealing with trolls that this has a severe and negative impact on your Media Outlet, your time, your health, those around you and in extreme cases financially and indeed potential lawsuits, either from the troll themselves or you towards the troll. It may lead to thoughts of closing your platform or online presence altogether and if this is a source of financial income that you have came to rely on then this can snowball and affect you further in ways that you may not expect or planned to face, with no protection against the potential consequences.

If you are targeted by a troll then talk to someone you trust and let them know how you feel and make sure to keep a copy of everything the troll and you post, backup the interactions and place in a secure place or with a Solicitor/Lawyer or other individual you trust. You may need it in court as evidence and to take to the Police initially, if the content of the trolls posts are serious enough that they can look to charge and or prosecute and take action immediately.

NEVER block the troll. The troll has dozens if not hundreds of other accounts across all the major platforms and will simply attack you from another. A lot of the time actually those that seem to support the troll are just the same troll but on another account they’ve made.

The troll is a very interesting creature for sure, here is a link to some different types you may encounter - https://www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894

I hope this has helped.

DON’T Feed the troll :-)
Or if you do make sure it’s something they can’t swallow and not what they are expecting.

A troll caught in the light turns to stone. Don't fight them in their dark place and existence.

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I haven't had to deal with many trolls myself, one or two years ago on YouTube. I can't guarantee that any of the above will work, but you have a right not to be harassed, intimidated or suffer harm or loss from anothers actions. If I do ever get a troll I'll be using the above. If I do ever deal with one I'll post what worked and what didn't.

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Be safe and be prepared
Geordie Prepper