Don’t feed the trolls
What’s a troll?
In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who posts rude or offensive messages on the Internet, such as on online discussion forums, to disrupt discussion or to upset its participants. Link.
Individuals can also go trolling for dollars, and although their approach is different, they are still trolls in my book.
You are probably aware that there are people hired by companies to surf the internet, becoming members of blogs and forums and posting favorable information about their employer and the products they sell. Check out what this prospective employee disclosed:
I interviewed for a guerilla marketing business in San Francisco that targeted web forums.I was told that if I accepted the job, I was to have at LEAST 50 identities on as many forums as I could muster (they wanted 100 eventually), with a goal of 5 posts an hour. The posts had to be well thought out, and the idea was that I was to establish multiple identities with a history on the forums, so that when the timing was right a well written but subtly placed marketing post could be finessed in. And regular visitors would recognize the post as coming from a long time poster. Link-Language warning!
Similarly, individuals who are in competition with another’s product or service, may post unfavorable information about a competitor.
How do you recognize this kind of troll? You start by more closely examining the nature of the comments he or she leaves. Do they have a common theme? Is there a consistent positive or negative tone about a particular subject? Detection is often not easy.
“Trolling is a game about identity deception, albeit one that is played without the consent of most of the players. The troll attempts to pass as a legitimate participant, sharing the group’s common interests and concerns… Link.
Typically, a trolling-for-dollars troll may post a few innocuous comments in an attempt to blend in with the group. Then, when an opportunity arises, the troll will rise to the occasion, and comment favorably about something he/she has a financial interest in or disfavorably about a competitor’s product or service.
Trolls hopes that others jump on their bandwagon, and if that doesn’t happen, trolls tend to get upset and even verbally explode.
The recommended course of action when a troll is encountered is to ignore them, or simply alert other readers, “Don’t feed the troll.” The last thing you want to do is to respond to their comment.
In general, popular wisdom advises users to avoid feeding trolls, and to ignore temptations to respond. Responding to a troll inevitably drives discussion off-topic, to the dismay of bystanders, and supplies the troll with the craved attention. Link.
So, if you suspect a troll, don’t throw out any feed or negative strokes. That’s what trolls want, and if they don’t get it, they will make a mess, raise a little Hell, but eventually wander off to another blog or forum in search of food.
