06-24-2012, 01:57 PM
Trolls and bullies are not the same and the difference matters.
A classic troll is someone who is fishing (trolling with bait), looking to create conflict and disruption and to take conversations off topic by dropping in with an inflammatory remark.
To say that they do it for attention is not the whole story. That implies it is simply a needy person with an empty life. It is more than that. They seem to thrive on the negativity they generate. They enjoy discord, and enjoy feeling that they created it. It is a sort of personality disorder.
There was an original Star Trek episode called "Day of the Dove" about an entity that fed on discord, grew stronger from it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dove
Trolls are rarely personally engaged with the people. It is all a game and a lot of the time they don't care which forum they are on or who rises to the bait. They troll around the net looking for good times ...
They may stick around one website for a long time, but they are not productive members. Trolling is all that they do if they are a real troll. There's a difference between a troll and a community member who has strong opinions that often garnish disagreement. With the latter, the opinions are genuine, just extreme. A troll doesn't necessarily care about what position he or she takes; it's all about provoking an argument and not about the issue.
A cyber bully, like an IRL bully, a playground bully, has a fixation on particular targets. Usually there is an imbalance of power or there is some perceived weakness, but sometimes it is just a fixation on someone for who they are or something about them.
A bully's fixation doesn't necessarily stop if it is not fed. The bully enjoys being able to inflict pain, and has a good idea when something will inflict pain, even if the target doesn't respond. Bullies have sadistic qualities, and they often attract lieutenants who act as helpers.
Bullies feel empowered when they are able to continue without intervention, in fact they seek places where they can do their thing and know no one will interfere.
While a bully might also be a troll, they really have different qualities. You can starve a troll with indifference, but to be indifferent while a bully goes after one person or a small group or persons is not at all helpful. It's like standing around on the playground watching a big mean kid beat another kid to a pulp. Doing nothing about it doesn't help in any fashion.
Of course, if you decide to get involved, you run the risk of becoming a target and getting beat on yourself, and a lot of people aren't up to helping someone else at their own expense.
There are other people who are not trolls and not exactly bullies, but they are really passive aggressive and just feel compelled to behave that way ... but I think they believe it is all justified.
A troll knows the whole game is BS, but there are other people who generate conflict because they feel righteous about it or just really bothered by people who don't share their beliefs, stuff like that. Those people also tend to nitpick at the same people repeatedly and become obsessive about it, or they become obsessive about particular issues and anyone who holds diverging thoughts on them.
A classic troll is someone who is fishing (trolling with bait), looking to create conflict and disruption and to take conversations off topic by dropping in with an inflammatory remark.
To say that they do it for attention is not the whole story. That implies it is simply a needy person with an empty life. It is more than that. They seem to thrive on the negativity they generate. They enjoy discord, and enjoy feeling that they created it. It is a sort of personality disorder.
There was an original Star Trek episode called "Day of the Dove" about an entity that fed on discord, grew stronger from it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dove
Trolls are rarely personally engaged with the people. It is all a game and a lot of the time they don't care which forum they are on or who rises to the bait. They troll around the net looking for good times ...
They may stick around one website for a long time, but they are not productive members. Trolling is all that they do if they are a real troll. There's a difference between a troll and a community member who has strong opinions that often garnish disagreement. With the latter, the opinions are genuine, just extreme. A troll doesn't necessarily care about what position he or she takes; it's all about provoking an argument and not about the issue.
A cyber bully, like an IRL bully, a playground bully, has a fixation on particular targets. Usually there is an imbalance of power or there is some perceived weakness, but sometimes it is just a fixation on someone for who they are or something about them.
A bully's fixation doesn't necessarily stop if it is not fed. The bully enjoys being able to inflict pain, and has a good idea when something will inflict pain, even if the target doesn't respond. Bullies have sadistic qualities, and they often attract lieutenants who act as helpers.
Bullies feel empowered when they are able to continue without intervention, in fact they seek places where they can do their thing and know no one will interfere.
While a bully might also be a troll, they really have different qualities. You can starve a troll with indifference, but to be indifferent while a bully goes after one person or a small group or persons is not at all helpful. It's like standing around on the playground watching a big mean kid beat another kid to a pulp. Doing nothing about it doesn't help in any fashion.
Of course, if you decide to get involved, you run the risk of becoming a target and getting beat on yourself, and a lot of people aren't up to helping someone else at their own expense.
There are other people who are not trolls and not exactly bullies, but they are really passive aggressive and just feel compelled to behave that way ... but I think they believe it is all justified.
A troll knows the whole game is BS, but there are other people who generate conflict because they feel righteous about it or just really bothered by people who don't share their beliefs, stuff like that. Those people also tend to nitpick at the same people repeatedly and become obsessive about it, or they become obsessive about particular issues and anyone who holds diverging thoughts on them.