We Asked, You Answered: Dealing with Trolls
Ah, online debating. Sometimes it’s a great way to strong-man the opposition, change hearts and minds, and even spare someone from death by abortion. And other times, you’re rudely insulted and asked how many rape-conceived babies with Down Syndrome trapped in a burning IVF lab have YOU adopted, HUH???!? It can get a little exhausting. So we asked our followers on social media:
Without further ado, here are a few of our favorite responses, edited for clarity and length.
Derek B.: “(1) Generally, a person who derives joy and entertainment value from making others angry, unhappy, or otherwise upset. (2) Yes, but the categorizations are probably nebulous and fuzzy at the borders. I think at least broadly I might differentiate them between people who believe their own arguments and those who will take any position just to make people angry. The former are more limited in their scope, if you avoid that topic, but also more dogmatic and tenacious when the subject does come up. The latter are more widespread but will also give up easier when they could have more fun elsewhere. (3) The general rule is to not interact, as it will ruin their fun and make them seek targets elsewhere. But you can’t always immediately tell who is a troll vs who is legitimately debating (even if heatedly).”
Lucy F.: “Someone who uses every brand of dodgy rhetoric. Constantly asks you to repeat yourself. Restates what you’ve said, getting it completely wrong, forcing you to try again. Repeats exploded mantras. True trolls are hard to pin down – they seem to have no agenda apart from infuriating you and engaging you in an unending non-debate.”
Amy B.: “There’s no point responding to them, but responding to their comment with other people in mind who might be reading is appropriate.”
Craig F.: “I’ve a clearer idea of common overbroad misuse of the concept of trolling to include cases of people merely sincerely disagreeing with the prevailing view of a community than of how it should actually be defined.”
Kelly F.: “I recently made a pact with myself on pages that represent an organization that helps women. I will donate $2 for every response that makes accusations against those organizations. Let Them Live got $20 from me today.”
Testing 123: “[A troll is] someone who presents no logical argument, refuses to cite evidence for their claims, and seems to argue for the sake of arguing. Extra points for ad hominem and other logical fallacies.”
Michael S.: “A troll is someone who comments for reasons other than a good faith comment / discussion. They’re either intentionally trying to simply provoke emotional reactions, or they’re trying to derail threads and conversations by asking repetitive questions they have no interest in the answers to. I respond by exposing them as trolls and mocking them.”
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