Handling Trolls for Fun and Profit

[Abd]

This is my process, it's very simple.

1. comment routinely about what interests me, on Reddit, here, or on my blog or wikis. Respect topics. Normally put comments with extensive detail on the blog or a wiki.

2. Ignore trolls, once identified as such. Do respond to "regulars."

3. Major trolls (The ViliGnat or Smith brothers), document. Respond to the Gnat on Reddit with a one-word link to a generic reply that points out that over 70 specific issues have been addressed already, so further responses will only be as issues are raised by non-trolls. "Non-troll" is assumed unless otherwise demonstrated. As an example, Etherman on Reddit is not a troll, but an opinionated asshole. So I do respond to him, within limits.

4. If I am accused in a post of using the blog as a "honey pot," respond with a link to archive.is that addresses this lie. Otherwise ignore that claim and link directly to the blog with any Gnatpost that doesn't mention that claim.

5. Copy all comments on the WPO topic to my user space in wikitop.cc. Do not respond to those claims there (except very briefly on attached Talk.) Here and in the generic Replies, offer to address any issue raised in good faith, as will be assumed.

6. Occasionally comment here on Sucks, on the situation with the Gnatsite, AKA Wikipedocracy, the home of wikipediots, occasionally visited by people with an ounce or more of sense, who soon learn what a waste of time it is. Suckers suck.

7. Limit trolling to comments here, and avoid filling Active Topics with it. Troll only trolls for expository purpose.

The discipline of this has been qilluminating. Trolls design their posts to irritate and anger, knowing that displaying irritation and anger will make the target look bad to casual observers. It certainly worked with Jeff Merkey. Recent comments on the WPO Sucks thread demonstrated beyond doubt how Vilignat will lie if he thinks it will "wind up" his target. I can think of many examples. So it is not at all surprising that when I read the vilignat shitposts, I am immediately impelled to reply with snark. We learned to respond like this as teenage males. So I recognize this and don't.

Adult trolling is assessed by impact, actual effect, such as the desysopping of William M. Connolley. He invited it, in fact. Trolling is not my preference. An example of adult trolling would be a defiance of a sniper, inducing him to fire and reveal his position with fatal effect.

The Gnat is proud of his alleged thrashing of his targets. He's a wannabe sadist, narcissistic, as he accuses others. His "thrashing" causes this target, at least, no pain, but he has an image of me that he stomps on, throws darts at, sticks pins in, and masturbates to. It's not me. All he is accomplishing is making himself completely visible.

Ah, one result of his attacks on Reddit was a short ban from the Sudoku subreddit. And that led me to create a new subreddit, designed for meta issues and longer comments. In spite of his claim that it is "dying," it is thriving, with responses. For a short time, the moderator of r/sudoku disabled cross-posting, without which simply led me to create new topics citing the questions from r/sudoku. And then that disabling was lifted without comment. I don't know what he will do when the ban expires, and it really doesn't matter. What I'm doing now is superior, because there were users on r/sudoku who disliked long comments, so, now, they don't need to look at them. Unless they follow the new sub, r/sudoku_meta (it now has four followers . . . . more than one is, for me, a victory.)

In other words, not only no harm, but benefit. If I want to write for a large audience, I'll use Quora, where I have over two thousand followers who are notified of my activity, and over five million page views. All the Gnat is accomplishing is making WPO look like a the trollsite that it often is, Kiwi Farms Light. Except I doubt that Kiwi Farms would put up with the Gnat.

The punishment for the Gnat is that he has to live with himself and what he creates, unless he turns. Worse than death.