Thursday, April 23, 2009

In Defense of Trolls

I like to web surf, particularly blogs. Often, I will chose a particular word or phrase (e.g., God, atheism, climate change, Taoism, etc.) and perform a search on Google, Technorati or some other search engine. When I read a post that speaks to me yea or nay, depending on my mood, I often post a response.

Sometimes, if no response has been left and I agree with the poster, I simply leave a comment to let the person know someone out there has taken the time to read and contemplate what they have written. At other times, I'll find a blog with a post that greatly annoys or irritates me. In such cases, the purpose of my comment is to offer a different perspective.

I've recently noticed on more and more conservative blogs that a) so many of them are moderated and b) there are explicit warnings against trolls and trolling. Why are people so worried about trolls? If someone visits your blog simply to stir up trouble, the easiest solution simply is to ignore them! If they continually try to rile you up but you refuse to take the bait, the vast majority of them will move on.

Beyond that, I don't view trolls and trolling as necessarily bad things. Almost anyone who has a blog desires to have their words and thoughts read by others. Unless you have an invitation-only blog, how do you suppose new folks will find yours? Often, they will arrive by trolling.

The term itself is built upon the edifice of fishing. To troll means to "fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat." So, if someone happens by TRT in a slow moving boat, I'm certainly not going to chase them away.

While it doesn't happen frequently, there have been times when folks have come here solely to harangue me and have ended up being welcome guests who end up offering cogent comments. Said comments tend to represent a different perspective, but a free flow of thought is something I encourage! Tye, for one example, has offered many comments from a Christian perspective -- a view that I don't share -- but his comments generally are very respectful and on topic. (Note: This is not to suggest that I consider Tye a troll -- far from it!)

So, if you're a troll, I say WELCOME. Take your shoes off and look around the place. It may not be to your liking, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like, nonetheless. When you grow weary of my hospitality, you are free to go on your merry way.

6 comments:

  1. Trolls hate the sunshine of acceptance. If you welcome them, and they are a troll, if they stay too long, they TURN TO STONE>

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yesterday, a Christian left a comment on my "Greg Laurie" post (I get a lot of hits on that one).

    He said that I was wrong. That his pastor and his church were NOT what I was saying they were.

    I was going to respond telling him not to call me a liar, when a thought came to mind.

    He may be defensive right now. But through the years, when he starts seeing things that smell fishy, he may remember what he read. So, I thought, I will just let it be, because if I insult him, the long-term effect may be lost.

    So, yeah, he is a troll, but that's OK. The purpose for writing the post has been fulfilled. Letting him write his opinion will help him in the long run, I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi R T

    Guilty, yup, guilty! I went to moderat after I was literally threatened at my blog - it was pretty awful. And I did exactly what you said feeds it -I responded and tried to 'make nice', oh boy, it got worse. I welcome challenge and different views for sure, but threats? It was very unsettling - I considered deleting my entire blog because of it? Can you even imagine?

    Gail
    peace....

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree with you. The welcome mat is out and the door is open to everyone. I don't moderate my blog and I do leave comments on the blog that do disagree with my thoughts, matter of fact I welcome them. Opposite thoughts make me and others think.
    The only thing I delete is SPAM. Good post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. CM,
    Could this explain all the rocks strewn around my yard? ;D)

    Lorena,
    What an excellent point! None of us can ever know how, when or why our words and thoughts may impact another person. It's a lesson I must continually relearn.

    Gail,
    How dreadful! That's one of the problems with the inherent anonymity of the internet. People can behave as such bullies and tyrants -- a manner in which one would NOT act if the conversation were face-to-face.

    I say keep your blog and if the threats persist or get worse, call the police.

    Mark,
    I agree re the spam. That's about the only thing I would ever consider deleting other than direct physical threats to me or any other person leaving comments.

    ReplyDelete
  6. R T-

    Once I went to 'moderate' and the bully knew I would not post their comments they stopped. They knew they no longer had a 'voice' so to speak. phew.

    Gail
    peace.....

    ReplyDelete

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