Trolls

A seminal work on trolls. I question the story though. Is the whole story one big troll? I think the guys in question are, in fact, trolls and rejoice in it. That doesn’t mean the rest of the article lines up. The bit about making $10 MM a year doesn’t pass the smell test. Identity thieves can be brazen but anyone jacking that kind of cash isn’t going to poke their head up like this. The Rolls Royce thing is a bit of theater too if you ask me. There are undoubtedly people online who are sociopaths who hurt others for fun. Hell, I went to high school with people like that. Fortuny’s claim of abuse could well be true and would explain his pathological need to lash out and hurt anyone he can. Anyone with deep seated issues like that is bound to react in the same way until they get some very serious help. (Forgive me for straying into club chair psychoanalyst mode)

I think the there are two things here that stand out as worthy of mention:

1. Trolls only go way when you ignore them. The one thing that takes the wind out of their sails is not getting a reaction. Hence the dictum “Do not feed the trolls.”
2. Anonymity (or pseudonmity) frequently allows people to say things they believe that they otherwise would not say.

Even in our little Delaware blogosphere we have a few that keep their readers at a distance. (I’m not sure I qualify any more as most of you have seen my resume and I’ve been more forthcoming about personal issues for good or for ill.) I think keeping people at a remove is a double edged sword. On one hand it allows you to speak freely without readers drawing inferences based on your age, sex, race, etc. On the other hand, if you meet the people commenting on your blog (or vice versa) you’ll find it harder to be rude to them (at least I do).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

For Gerard

 Many moons ago, I started reading blogs and shortly thereafter I started reading them.  I became discouraged because I read many writers, far more talented than me and the ease with which they elucidated the very points I wanted to make but so much more elegantly and completely that I just gave up.    Gerard of American Digest was one such writer.  His facility with prose and his ability to evoke emotion was remarkable.  I linked to him once with my nascent blog and he was kind enough to reach out to me and thank me for the link.  I literally had zero readers.  Just like now.  But that was the measure of the man.  He took the time to reach out to me and genuinely thank me for the link.   The closest I ever had to meeting the man was meeting Morgan in person.  Morgan and Gerard were friends.  They had an evident mutual respect for their respective works.   I never met Gerard, didn't know the man personally but having read his work I had a sense of the man.  He's dying now.  If
Read more

So....the autism thing

Since April is nearly over and it's autism awareness month, I suppose I should talk a bit about it. I guess the best way to start is to rehash the story of How I Got Here. My oldest was born in 1999. Healthy, happy and so on. One peculiar thing he did as an infant was to avoid eye contact. Our doctor assured us it was because he was so young and his eyesight was undeveloped and he was probably focusing on something in the background that was more interesting. Besides, babies don't recognize faces for a few months after birth. Only later did we find out that our doctor was an idiot. He was 16 mos. old when his little brother was born and he was walking and making wishes known by pulling me or my wife by the hand to whatever he wanted etc. He was fascinated with the wheels on toys. If you gave him a truck he'd turn it over and spin the wheels and smile. Only later would I find out this is a major warning sign. This was our first born and what the hell did I know?
Read more