• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Internet Trolls & Trolling (General; Miscellaneous)

I liked Frobush. IIRC he was my 'friend' when we had friends on the old board.

On a short lived UFO forum I joined years ago I remember Michael Horn rather robustly accusing me of having a sock puppet. Apparently Mr Horn doubted that two separate people might be equally sceptical about the Billy Meier contacts.

I think that was the same forum where the lady running it had a baffling obsession with Justin Haywood of The Moody Blues. She seemed to think she was in a psychic relationship with him.

Anyhow, I quite enjoy trolls who are simply mischievous. But the internet seems to have got much nastier in recent years.
 
Youtube comment trolls are the worst. Somehow it seems more personal, because many video makers put themselves in front of the camera so the trolls, if they do appear, know what they look like and sometimes even where they live. Some female Youtubers get absurdly graphically sexual comments directed at them. Oh, and there always seems to be someone going on about "the Jews"... :rolleyes:
 
Not FB but TikTok trolls..

With a huge online following behind him, the Great Londini is taking on the trolls - but isn't that TikTok's job?

"We are taking social media back from the bullies, paedophiles, scammers and trolls."
The masked man in the black hoodie speaks straight to the camera with an electronically distorted voice. He looks and sounds straight out of a horror movie.

But his aim isn't to scare, that is unless you are an anonymous troll or cyber bully. Then he could be your worst nightmare.

If you're a troll you may think you can safely hide behind an anonymous account name. But Londini works on the premise that he can discover your real identity within seven to eight clicks.

If you're a child, he'll try to tell your parents or your school that you're abusing people online.

If you're an adult - maybe one who has posted a sexually threatening comment on the video of a child - then he'll really tell on you. That may mean informing your employer or tipping off your local police department.

It's moderation vigilantism, in which a platform's users take it upon themselves to try to clean up the app.

But it's something TikTok isn't so happy about. The Great Londini has had nine accounts permanently deleted, and the tenth has been suspended several times.

Leo is just the public face of a movement of volunteers with mixed military, cyber security and ethical hacking experience.

The Great Londini's fans are so invested in their work that they tag the account under videos and comments all the time, hoping that Leo and his team will chase down yet another troll.

But this fandom comes at a price. There is a risk that the movement may on occasion become the thing that it despises.

Some supporters are so keen that they end up becoming bullies themselves, which breaks The Great Londini's rules - as well as TikTok's Community Guidelines.
1629043008877.png

More at link.
 
I realise that the comments sections in our right-wing leaning greasy tabloids are invariably swamped by “Mr angry”-style far right trolls & Russian troll-farm bots, but has anybody noticed what is happening with the comments sections on the Independent online website?

It is generally a very small community of commenters I think, perhaps a maximum of a few tens of people at any one time, even under the biggest stories.

However, far right astroturfing appears to totally dominate almost every headline story, from first thing in the morning until the wee hours.
More odd though, the pattern of posts, sock puppets, and general tone, suggest all the disruptive activity is down to one single, dementedly determined individual. It is truly bizarre. It clearly must involve an enormous effort and a huge commitment of time by said individual, if that is what is happening.
Yet writing to the Independent about their resident troll, they just shrug it off and claim they can do very little. As a result all the headline comments now tend to be held hostage by this troubled character, with genuine posters numbed to streams of offensive and racist quips. Pretty awful situation.
 
I realise that the comments sections in our right-wing leaning greasy tabloids are invariably swamped by “Mr angry”-style far right trolls & Russian troll-farm bots, but has anybody noticed what is happening with the comments sections on the Independent online website?

It is generally a very small community of commenters I think, perhaps a maximum of a few tens of people at any one time, even under the biggest stories.

However, far right astroturfing appears to totally dominate almost every headline story, from first thing in the morning until the wee hours.
More odd though, the pattern of posts, sock puppets, and general tone, suggest all the disruptive activity is down to one single, dementedly determined individual. It is truly bizarre. It clearly must involve an enormous effort and a huge commitment of time by said individual, if that is what is happening.
Yet writing to the Independent about their resident troll, they just shrug it off and claim they can do very little. As a result all the headline comments now tend to be held hostage by this troubled character, with genuine posters numbed to streams of offensive and racist quips. Pretty awful situation.
I wonder if the above Great Londini would be interested..

The Independent is Russian owned. Whether that’s pertinent I don’t know.
 
I wonder if the above Great Londini would be interested..

The Independent is Russian owned. Whether that’s pertinent I don’t know.

The idea that it is an “installed troll” has been floated numerous times by different commenters.

But that drifts into conspiratorial territory…
 
The idea that it is an “installed troll” has been floated numerous times by different commenters.

But that drifts into conspiratorial territory…
Maybe not ‘installed’ but they’re obviously not too bothered by it from your description. Another way of putting it could be ‘positively encouraging it’.
 
But today alone for example, the individual has popped up under different guises four or perhaps five times, trolling through the small hours of the morning until the profile got banned. Then another one immediately popped up, many tens of comments, banned again. And so on and do on, right through to this evening.
 
I love the idea of a group of vigilantes sorting out the idiots and making it safer for everyone, if I had the skills I would do the same. You have to feel sorry for the trolls, they must be so unloved that they have time to do this, all alone in an attic, or maybe a cellar, probably sitting at a table in McDonalds using their wifi even, who knows, but they are so sad and pathetic.
 
I belong to a few online discussion forums devoted to my hobby.

One is by invitation only, and it is heavily and daily monitored. The results (or positively correlated attributes if not actual results :) ) are restraint, politeness, and a focus on differentiating between personal experience and scientifically proven results. A focus on helpful advice and links to evidence. I don’t always agree with the majority view, but it is very helpful within strictly defined boundaries. It is on facebook, and is the only facebook interaction I have. I post no personal info on facebook, have no friends, and had created a separate email and identity not connected to anything else to join this.

Still a second one is not heavily moderated, but instead has a few very long-time members who jump in to divert or delete trolls. The rest of us are, for the most part, grateful and polite. The results are a few trolls/dicks, but mostly good advice, evidential links, and thoughtful discussions.

Finally, a third one is advertised as moderated, but in fact is not. The trolls rule. Very confusing and disheartening for the newcomers who come seeking advice. Lots of just very bad advice with links to lunatics for the evidence.

Another interest I have (money management) has a dedicated online forum. Members are well educated, very polite and supportive, and everyone jumps in to deal with trolls. It has a few moderators, but the actual moderating is done by the many long-term members. It has a culture of civil discourse.

And finally there is the forums.forteana. Heaven. Home.

I suspect that some trolls do not know that they are trolls; I think these individuals have personality or cognitive problems. I do feel sympathy for them, but my god! the damage they do.
 
I belong to a few online discussion forums devoted to my hobby.

One is by invitation only, and it is heavily and daily monitored. The results (or positively correlated attributes if not actual results :) ) are restraint, politeness, and a focus on differentiating between personal experience and scientifically proven results. A focus on helpful advice and links to evidence. I don’t always agree with the majority view, but it is very helpful within strictly defined boundaries. It is on facebook, and is the only facebook interaction I have. I post no personal info on facebook, have no friends, and had created a separate email and identity not connected to anything else to join this.

Still a second one is not heavily moderated, but instead has a few very long-time members who jump in to divert or delete trolls. The rest of us are, for the most part, grateful and polite. The results are a few trolls/dicks, but mostly good advice, evidential links, and thoughtful discussions.

Finally, a third one is advertised as moderated, but in fact is not. The trolls rule. Very confusing and disheartening for the newcomers who come seeking advice. Lots of just very bad advice with links to lunatics for the evidence.

Another interest I have (money management) has a dedicated online forum. Members are well educated, very polite and supportive, and everyone jumps in to deal with trolls. It has a few moderators, but the actual moderating is done by the many long-term members. It has a culture of civil discourse.

And finally there is the forums.forteana. Heaven. Home.

I suspect that some trolls do not know that they are trolls; I think these individuals have personality or cognitive problems. I do feel sympathy for them, but my god! the damage they do.
My experience is exactly the same as yours. On one particular forum I dip into there are a couple of trolls who, although I' m no expert in this, display all the signs of what I would describe as sociopathic tendencies. Why they haven't been banned defeats me. It wouldn't be any surprise to find they display exactly the same tendencies in "real" life. I guess a proportion of trolls are simply sad pathetic individuals though.
 
Loosen your belt for a double helping of schadenfreude. This Australian man is headed toward major suffering because he (a) was acting as a troll on Facebook and (b) couldn't be bothered to use correct punctuation. It would seem he's getting his just deserts for both offenses.
This Is Why; You Should Always Properly—Punctuate Your Social Media Posts’

An incorrectly punctuated Facebook post has brought on a potentially high-priced defamation suit.

An Australian judge may make an example of sloppy punctuation, to the tune of over $117,000 USD in legal fees. Australia: the stone-cold schoolmarm of nations, once dubbed by a reporter the “defamation capital of the world.”

Several outlets have reported that real estate agent Anthony Zadravic is now being sued for defamation for typing “employees” rather than “employee’s” in a Facebook post last year. In the reported 12 hours before Zadravic deleted it, the post read:

“Oh Stuart Gan!! Selling multi million $ homes in Pearl Beach but can’t pay his employees superannuation,” meaning an employer-subsidized pension fund. “Shame on you Stuart!!! 2 yrs and still waiting!!!”

Last week, Judge Judith Gibson reportedly ruled that Zadravic’s employer Stuart Gan would be allowed to proceed with the suit because “employees” could suggest a “systematic pattern of conduct” of shortchanging staff, whereas Zadravic claimed he was only speaking for himself. Gibson also reportedly said that the suit might cost Zadravic up to $250,000 AUD, or roughly $180,000. ...
FULL STORY: https://gizmodo.com/this-is-why-you-should-always-properly-punctuate-your-1847841745
 
Back
Top