The Art and Science of Trolling

This article is in conjunction with “Trolling the WoW Clone Meme”

The vast virtual world of the internet houses not only the greatest minds, but also the most cunning pranksters. These pranksters are those who deliberately stir up heated arguments for personal pleasure. Others would consider this attention-seeking method a lifestyle choice. We call them trolls, anonymous people geared toward inciting numerous reactions from the other readers.

The object of this article is to define the incidence of trolling. Many would recognize trolls as a nuisance to the virtual society. Many would consider trolling as a violent way to keep discussions alive, avert readers to a different topic or kill a certain thread altogether. But regardless of justifications, trolling is in itself an art and a science. Not everyone can be a successful troll. It takes the right response and audience to create a highly-flammable discussion and get away with it.

Definition:
Dictionary.com defines a troll as: “to utter a posting [on Usenet] designed to attract predictable responses or flames; an individual [who chronically trolls in sense] regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that the have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait.” Hence, trolling is the act of posting or replying to attract flames or arguments.  

The internet troll is not to be confused with the following: the Horde race of Trolls from World of Warcraft, the line of toys and figures with oversized rainbow hair and stubby body, the supernatural creature originating from Scandinavia, or the grumpy hobo living under a bridge. Many would contest that the common internet troll can be associated or is actually similar to the aforementioned entities, but this is not the case.

History:
Trolling began as early as the Usenet days (dated 1979 onwards), one of the oldest computer network communication systems. The word “trolling” was adopted from the manner of bait-luring for fish. For those unfamiliar with Usenet, this system is similar to the concept of BBS (Bulletin Board Systems) or the more common message boards / forum system. Each discussion on the Usenet is likewise threaded, enabling users to read out replies to the topic the same as our current message boards do. Since the establishment of such communication systems (not just Usenet), internet anonymity began to take shape as well. Many internet pioneers defined that one can act or speak freely without being reprimanded or caught in real life by being anonymous. Therefore, man’s mischievous mind created the troll.

The Art of Trolling:
Trolling is considered an art depending on many factors. Both successful and fail trolls are worthy of a taking a screenshot of, to eternally remember the humiliation the troll or the troll’s victim endured… or at least until the meme dies down to a 404 page. Being an art form, the success of a troll depends on its subtlety. The little hints of troll-worthy replies reels in a number of responses before dropping the bomb in its entirety. Perhaps another subtle manner is replying in metaphors or in a deep context. This makes the victims reply with no knowledge of what they’re talking about, only to find out they have been trolled. The result is a heated response showing that the troll has won. Fail trolls, although deliver the bomb, do not manage to reel in their victims and end up the prey instead. The target victims gang up on the failed troll as he exits to troll another day. This art form is expressed through the computer’s print screen function and the internet’s free image hosting site. As an option, a black-bordered frame is adorned on the screenshot along with a few motivational words, knowing that trolls are here to stay.

The Science of Trolling:
Trolling is not an exact science. There are many variables to consider in eliciting the most effective troll response. The greatest variable to focus on is the timing of the response. Usually, successful trolls reply in a certain topic when the discussion has led the participants deep in thought. The experienced troll often looks at numbers… numbers of the replies and views in a certain discussion. More often, the troll sees the topic just as important as the delivery. Other trolls who attempt to reply at a fresh topic often ends up being ignored or the topic closes prematurely. Knowing the target audience is a key aspect in making trolling a successful scientific endeavor. The troll psychologically analyzes the audience’s behavior before attacking. Experienced trolls do this strategy instinctively, able to reply mere moments after the topic has reached a climactic state.  
 

New postulates in trolling:
A recent trend is the immediate reply of the troll to a newly-opened topic. The troll earns a degree of success because of the inevitable replies from a certain percentage of the readers. Instead of replying about the topic at hand, the victims react against the troll’s underhanded statement. Many other trolls follow suit and run before more victims reply again in angst. In addition to this, the trolls post a meme. Despite the copypasta, many would still take the bait hook, line and sinker. This trend is often seen in MMOsite commentaries and 4chan threads.  

Effective troll-repelling strategies:
Many people swear by this acronym: DNFTT. This stands for “Do not feed the trolls.” Despite the validity of this statement, this strategy is still very much contested. Internet veterans say that in a community of any size, there will always be people responding to a troll’s bait. Regardless of irreconcilable differences, ignoring the troll has proven its effectiveness in avoiding further escalation of a heated argument. Ignorance of a troll post can be, but not limited to, the following: replying on-topic after a long period of time, staying on-topic without any credit for the troll post, immediate reporting to a moderator (privately) for sanction, closing the topic, post moderation, delayed editing/deletion of alleged troll post (to let the troll bait die down first before completely shutting down the operation) or banning without further discussion.

Knowing Troll Victories:
Any reply that credits a troll’s statement is considered a victory. Any dispute against the troll post’s veracity or the troll’s intellectual capacity is already a sign that the troll has won the battle. Your reply to the troll, no matter how factual or solid the proof, is already an attestation that you’ve lost. Remember that your gullibility, impulsivity and idiocy are means of entertainment for trolls. Whatever your reply will be does not matter, you’re already the laughing stock of trolls around because you did.

Conclusion:
The virtual world’s acceptance of a troll’s existence is very subjective. Many people detest their presence, while many consider them a means of entertainment. In a way, the internet represents a part of the real world’s society. For as long as there are gullible and impulsive people, there will always be pranksters taking advantage of them. Trolls are here to stay, if you let them stay…

References:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/troll
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
http://4chan.org

 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Only MMOsite has permission to redistribute or give minor edits to this article.