# What makes trolls tick? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738 "2002-10-31T19:41:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![typo\_mna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@typo\_mna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typo_mna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/1 "2002-10-31T19:41:58Z")
Has there ever been a study done of the motivations or personalities of hackers, trolls, vandals, and the like? I’m curious to know what the appeal is of annoying people. I suppose immaturity plays a part, but that doesn’t really tell me what makes it enjoyable for them. As much as I value the opinions of the SDMB community, I’m not interested in your hypotheses or speculations, only scientific studies, if any exist. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2002, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/2 "2002-10-31T21:31:16Z")
I _think_ there was a study some years ago, with reference to hackers rather than Internet trolls, that indicated that one common constituent was a feeling of his (or her, I suppose) existence not being meaningful to others – that the attention he got from the incident in some way validated his or her importance. I have no idea where I read this (it would have been ca. 1996) or to what extent you can place any trust in the results, but it’s one (tiny) step above IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![effac3d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@effac3d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/effac3d)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/3 "2002-11-01T09:28:42Z")
Lets remember that hackers have built the entire IT industry,without them you wouldn’t be posting on this board. Trolls on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/4 "2002-11-01T11:46:38Z")
I was going to say “What’s wrong with hackers?” but was beaten to the punch. Don’t confuse ankle-biters with hackers. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/5 "2002-11-01T12:11:11Z")
I don’t know what makes trolls tick but they really make me tick - I find them so funny! Maybe I’m the only person in the world who adores trolls for the sheer amusement value, but their antics make me laugh and laugh out loud in the office. Someone linked to an ancient troll called **bronzelion** in a thread a few days ago, it was so hilarious I emailed it round the office. The internet needs more talent like that, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![typo\_mna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eb8c5e/32.png) [@typo\_mna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typo_mna)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/6 "2002-11-01T15:24:42Z")
Ugh. Crackers! I meant crackers! Sorry. I’m always the guy who jumps on people when they say hackers are bad, and then I go do it myself. Next I’ll be switching “you’re” and “your” indiscriminately. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/7 "2002-11-01T15:28:21Z")
Well, you could cut one open and see what’s inside, but they regenerate three hit points per round, and you’d want to use fire or acid… ow! stop hitting! ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/8 "2002-11-01T17:59:30Z")
**Ino:** I have some trollish coworkers that you’d be welcome to try that technique out on. I especially like the part about using fire or acid 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/9 "2002-11-01T18:08:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Urban Ranger \* > \*\*Don’t confuse ankle-biters with hackers. \*\* What is an “ankle-biter” and why is it called that? ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2002, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/10 "2002-11-01T20:42:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Ino: I have some trollish coworkers (snip) You called him Ino. Your days are numbered, Diceman. ‘sbeen a pleasure knowin’ ya. 😃 (Okay, so I’m way too easily amused. Sue me. You’ll be fine, Diceman. Doctors can really work miracles nowadays…) ---
**Author:** ![Washte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/dc4da7/32.png) [@Washte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washte)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/11 "2002-11-02T15:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by typo mna \* > \*\*What makes trolls tick? \*\* Besides a few sticks of dynamite and a loud alarm clock? For crackers/hackers it may have something to do with the challenge set by the industry. ‘We have the most secure system of the millenium… yada yada yada’ Well guess what folks… you’re giving people a challenge to test that security. At university, a mate accidentally accessed a site’s secured area (sorry not a techno-geek so am not familiar with all the jargon). He was so thrilled he tried accessing other sites with his mistake and succeeded quite a few times. No, he never damaged the sites he accessed. Trolls, on the other hand, enjoy getting people to react in a way they want. A powertrip of the annoying kind. And until well into the trap do many realise just what is happening. By then though, the troll has gotten just what they wanted. I managed to find a paper called \*[Simple Vandals or a Unique Social Movement? A Psycho-Sociological Discourse on Internet Trolls](http://www.io.com/~zikzak/troll_thesis.html) \* that, though long, was rather interesting - if you like this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Cek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cek)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/12 "2002-11-02T16:13:02Z")
_wipes off some blood_ Well, it not a brain… I’ll keep looking… Hey! Get back here I’m not done dissecting you yet! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/13 "2002-11-02T17:16:17Z")
Yeah, I was aware of the “crackers” vs. “hackers” thing too, and used the wrong word. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/14 "2002-11-03T01:18:14Z")
Well, hackers are mainly motivated by a love of learning and the desire to make complex machines do really, really neat things. Well, that and the caffeine. 😃 Hackers tend towards wanting to be in complete control over their machines, but even that out with a generally laid-back view of controlling humans. Political libertarianism is common, as is a total lack of religious zealotry. On that note, hackers aren’t tolerant of bigotry at all. (Seriously, thanks, guys. This is like a good dream. :)) [ESR’s ‘Profile of J. Random Hacker’](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/Appendix-B.html) – Appendix B of the Jargon File. Vandals in general (crackers, trolls, and other lusers) are motivated by a more sinister form of control: Control through coercion. Lusers want to make you do what they want by harming your property if you don’t. It’s highly immature, but there it is. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/15 "2002-11-03T02:54:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Washte \* > \*\*I managed to find a paper called \*[Simple Vandals or a Unique Social Movement? A Psycho-Sociological Discourse on Internet Trolls](http://www.io.com/~zikzak/troll_thesis.html) \* that, though long, was rather interesting - if you like this sort of thing. \*\* I’m not sure if this paper is legitimate - it may be an elaborate practical joke. While the first half of the paper uses a fair amount of convincing-sounding technical jargon (whether it actually is convincing is something I’m not qualified to judge), it goes off an a bizarre tangent in section 6, e.g. > [@](#): > > _Amy Dhala, Paper on Internet Trolls_ > **The number of trolls is undoubtedly growing along with the internet, yet the dominance of these groups over those that they troll is what will undoubtedly create the social movement. Their inherent superiority in intelligence, their greater wit, firmer grasp of technological issues, and of course sizable gun collections, will lead their socialist group from fringe element to dominant controller of society.[18]** In the above, the word “growing” is a link to [http://www.mediametrics.com/](http://www.mediametrics.com/), while “gun collections” is a link to [http://www.nra.org/](http://www.nra.org/). Reference 18 is legitimate: [http://www.nd.edu/~dmyers/cbsm/vol2/bgham99.pdf](http://www.nd.edu/%7Edmyers/cbsm/vol2/bgham99.pdf), which I will admit I merely skimmed, but appears to conclude that the Internet will make it easier for protest groups to organize. Later on, the paper degenerates, dropping any pretense of a scholarly tone: > [@](#): > > _Amy Dhala, Paper on Internet Trolls, Section 6.3_ > \*\*What the above quote represents, more than anything else, is that people are complete morons who will descend to levels of incredible knee-jerk stupidity at the slightest suggestion. They will bite at anything if given 1/2 a chance. Why is this the case? Well, I’ve got my own theories on that one. > > Here’s the deal: People are bored. Yes, bored. Bored bored bored bored bored. Most of us have plenty to eat, roof over our heads, etc. There’s no challenge in life, and as a result we search for something important because we need to have our causes.\*\* And, for what it’s worth, I can’t find any other internet reference to “Amy Dhala”. It’s too bad: I was hoping to find some credible information on the topic - and was considering posting a reference to this paper on a message board I administer (which has some trolls!). I may well be wrong, but my hypothesis at this point is that the paper is an elaborate practical joke … a troll, if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/16 "2002-11-03T03:05:08Z")
I don’t know that you will count [url=http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm]this as scientific but it is an interesting discussion of the different forms of trolling nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/17 "2002-11-03T03:06:18Z")
[Try here](http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/troll.htm) ---
**Author:** ![agiantdwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8c91f0/32.png) [@agiantdwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/agiantdwarf)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/18 "2002-11-03T03:14:02Z")
[http://home.ica.net/~leifb/aic/story/aic-history.htm](http://home.ica.net/~leifb/aic/story/aic-history.htm) Not really a study, but interesting nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/19 "2002-11-03T12:17:10Z")
**dwarven one** : 404 errors certainly aren’t funny, but how interesting are they? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2002, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738/20 "2002-11-03T12:18:20Z")
Aren’t _studies_. Damn. I’ve been up too long. And the siren-song of assembly language still calls… int 80h [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-trolls-tick/134738.md?page=2)