Readers Behaving Badly – The Attack of the Troll
By Ronald Huereca on Sep 14, 2007.
Nobody likes trolls. Well, except maybe masochistic bloggers. Trolls are the sludge at the bottom of a trash can. Trolls are the tar that pollutes a smoker’s lungs. And trolls just plain suck.
This article (based on a real attack) will delve into an attack of a troll and how a troll can infect all around it.
Trolls are a Virus
Trolls outside of a community are harmless. But trolls are on the prowl, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to infect the host.
The host may have done nothing wrong. But the host opened itself up to attack and at the most vulnerable moment, the troll crept in.
The Troll Attacks
The troll may not attack the host from the beginning. It may lay dormant for a while, perhaps going after some of the community members. The incidents are isolated, and hardly anybody takes notice.
But then, out of nowhere, the troll strikes, and strikes hard. It leaves that damaging comment that is intended to arouse anger. You do your best to quickly delete the comment, but it’s too late. The troll has left the impression on the community.
The Troll Mutates
Having blocked the IP of the troll and deleted his comment, the troll is forced to mutate into some other form, even harder to repulse. The troll gathers friends, who strike at numerous posts throughout the site. Community members are targeted personally, and the community starts to fight back with their own comments of anger.
The Site Gets a Fever
As the trolls make comments faster than you can delete them, the site suffers. You are forced to turn off comments. You disable your contact box. Your readers are fed up because they are being targeted on their own sites. The infection has spread elsewhere. You’re on your own in this battle, and the only thing you can do is wait it out.
The Trolls Eventually Leave
You have survived your first troll attack. And your readers have too. You turn back on your comments and apologize for the incident. You now know what to look for when the next troll tries to infect your community.
Conclusion
There should be a special place in hell reserved just for trolls. But trolls are a fact of life. One must recognize the troll and quickly extinguish the threat. But even eliminating the threat early does not guarantee the troll won’t make a harsher attack in the future.
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