As you may note, we’re currently under attack by yet another troll/asshole.
Just a few things I’ve learned:
1.) Do not feed the trolls. They want attention- stating “You’re an asshole!” is just validating them. Their mommies didn’t give them enough love, so they’ve learned to feed off hate, and they enjoy being hated by us. Better to just be indifferent and callous.
2.) Always check post counts before you reply. Our current spate of trolls love to impersonate other posters, so before you say, “Hey, Ayesha, why are you doing this thing which is so bizzare?” double-check to make sure it really is Ayesha.
3.) Do not feed the trolls.
Personally, I think even announcing trolls is feeding them; just e-mail the mods (I have them practically on fucking quick-dial at this point) and go about business. But I’m trying to give advice, not state “Here is what you must do.”
And, if I may add, when you find a troll has replied to a long-dead thread, please don’t reply to it. That way, if you’re in the know, you can scan the “Last Post” column and ignore old threads. I hate opening one up, thinking, “Gee, this sounds kind of familiar…D’oh!”
Of course, this madness is not limited to the Pit. I recently stepped in troll shit over in IMHO. It’s a sad day when dopers must be cautious when posting, but, under the circumstances, a bit of vigilance is strongly recommended.
If this recent troll infestation is all one gerbil squicker, is there a way to backtrack to his first incarnation where it may have actually had correct information in his profile?
I do agree with those who suspect the troll is probably doing this all to get attention, and I’d bet it was neglected as a child. And probabloy still is, seeing as it is probably not yet a high school grad, if it ever will be a HS grad. Though I understand it isn’t that uncommon to get a GED while in prison, so it might still have hope for that.
And yes, the appropriate pronoun for a troll is “it.”
And I still maintain that the troll’s ISP should be contacted, and they should be warned that if they don’t pull the account immediately, the entire domain will be banned.
Perhaps I’m a bit hard concerning this, but I just like to solve problems with one swift stroke.
