Anatomy of Trolls and How to Deal with Them

[Chery Amore]

1 hour ago, Aethelwine said:

There is perhaps another type of Troll that are funny and make themselves the target of their humour.

I used to have a gallery of art I had bought in SL. One day when I was there moving pictures around a couple arrived dressed in Second world war Nazi costumes. In my conversation with them it became apparent they meant no harm and were actually quite funny and well observed. They talked about their collection of art picked up in Europe and then they spotted the culprit pilot trainer and had a lot of fun with that.

I had been close to banning them on sight because of their appearance, but gave them a chance and had an enjoyable and memorable experience.

I had a woman avatar wander into my house sometime this week.  She... was very malformed, so I assumed she was a troll but just talked to her nicely. Personally I don't care if people come into my house as long as it's not at a bad time 😆.  Can always eject and ban if needed.  Anyway we talked on and off for awhile. She kept saying your so nice...  then finally left. I'm guessing it's because I didn't start screaming at her for daring to wander in?

They just want to get under your skin and don't usually bother me, they can be pretty funny to me at times.  Guess it depends on how malicious they seem? 

[BilliJo Aldrin]

3 hours ago, belindacarson said:

What never ceases to amaze me, is when somebody cries that someone is a "troll" because they have a different opinion to them.

Yes that is SOP here in the forums

”You seriously can’t believe what you just posted, you must be a troll”

Unfortunatly, for some people, truth itself is the troll 😬

[Charlemagne Allen]

4 hours ago, Chery Amore said:

I had a woman avatar wander into my house sometime this week.  She... was very malformed, so I assumed she was a troll but just talked to her nicely. Personally I don't care if people come into my house as long as it's not at a bad time 😆.  Can always eject and ban if needed.  Anyway we talked on and off for awhile. She kept saying your so nice...  then finally left. I'm guessing it's because I didn't start screaming at her for daring to wander in?

They just want to get under your skin and don't usually bother me, they can be pretty funny to me at times.  Guess it depends on how malicious they seem? 

Yes, a lot of them just want a reaction. They are just bored and no one talks to them normally, so they go for silly shock value. They can be cool otherwise.

[Miyoko01]

7 hours ago, Aethelwine said:

I used to have a gallery of art I had bought in SL. One day when I was there moving pictures around a couple arrived dressed in Second world war Nazi costumes. In my conversation with them it became apparent they meant no harm and were actually quite funny and well observed. They talked about their collection of art picked up in Europe and then they spotted the culprit pilot trainer and had a lot of fun with that.

Hold on a sec. They were dressed as Nazi's and talked with you about their art collection they picked up in Europe? Are you sure they weren't trolling you?

[Aethelwine]

39 minutes ago, Miyoko01 said:

Hold on a sec. They were dressed as Nazi's and talked with you about their art collection they picked up in Europe? Are you sure they weren't trolling you?

Yes, why I brought it up in this thread they were having good natured fun, aware, and self deprecating, at their own expense. Not negative and targeted to get cheap laughs at any one else's.

They looked like Trolls, certainly dressed to get a reaction. But their conduct harmless and good natured. Their Trolling benign. Maybe without any malice calling them Trolls is incorrect? But I see definitions that include the possibility of benign behaviour and they would fit that category.

Edited May 22 by Aethelwine

[BilliJo Aldrin]

1 hour ago, Miyoko01 said:

Hold on a sec. They were dressed as Nazi's and talked with you about their art collection they picked up in Europe? Are you sure they weren't trolling you?

 I think  they were rping in charactor. 😬

 

[Miyoko01]

2 hours ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

 I think  they were rping in charactor. 😬

 

Ah yes could be that.

[Codex Alpha]

One person's 'troll' is another person's entertainment. In all my years on the internet on a variety of platforms, forums and gaming communities, I don't think I've ever got upset with a 'troll' or a 'griefer'.

I also take someone's opinion about 'who is a troll' with a big bag of salt these days, as most people are so sensitive, and impatient of anything, ANYONE or any occasion is now a 'troll'.

Who cares if someone leaves their mic open. Listen or mute them. Who cares if they're acting like a complete jack***, that is what used to make SL SL!
The same freedom people scream about here on the forums that they are losing, is a culmination of years of them wanting to bring real-world rules, real-world issues and even real-world consequences or bans to perfectly normal people having fun.

What I call mischievious, you might call harassment. What I call having fun, you may call 'offensive', 'annoying' bla bla bla bla bla.

For people like this, they need that Dong Gun right in the forehead, or the Swimmy White Things right in the face, or the "Do you give permissions to animate your avatar" and get molested by a simulated plastic doll. All of those items used to be in Second  Life, and fearlessly used against anyone visting a freebie store, hub and public sandbox - and people didn't snitch and cry about it.  Someone make you upset, cry to momma. Have some fun, ffs.

Oh, and by the way.. Griefers are made, not born. So many 'griefers' on SL were actually players in the past, having fun - who just got AR'd too many times, who got kicked out of lands too many times, got mistreated by the 'good' citizens of SL too many times, and so they turned to the Dark Side. Most of them leave after doing so, as it really isn't their base nature to be that way, they do it out of frustration.

Also the block button is 0.0001 seconds away... but guess what? No one ever uses them. They'd rather try to ban that person instead...or they actually love the drama and the fighting occuring, or probably even enjoy the 'trolling' they say they're so against. People are nuts.. don't listen to them complain about trolls.

I say bring on more trolls, bring them all, let's liven the place up a little. If you dont like it, go retreat to your ban-lines sexual hideout on Public Mainland and you won't be bothered again.

Make Trolling in Second LIfe Great Again.

Fun Fact #9004: Sansar died because everyone got banned for being a 'troll'.

 

14 hours ago, belindacarson said:

What never ceases to amaze me, is when somebody cries that someone is a "troll" because they have a different opinion to them.

You beat me to it.

Edited May 22 by Codex Alpha

[Scylla Rhiadra]

A fun thing we used to do at a place I hung out (same place I mentioned above, actually) was push avis that had gone AFK into the pond adjoining the social area of region.

It was a totally harmless prank, clearly not deserving the title of "griefing." It was done to everyone, regardless of how new, or old, or popular they were. It was, actually, even sort of an affectionate thing: it showed you had been "accepted." It happened to me occasionally. I found it a bit puerile and very mildly annoying sometimes, but I accepted it as part of the culture, and understood that it was certainly not in any sense "malicious."

There was one person there who really hated it. She felt it was a kind of violation, I guess? And she'd get quite upset about it when it happened.

Silly, right? It wasn't "hurting" her in any way, and wasn't being done in a mean-spirited way. It was really, objectively, mostly a very small inconvenience. And yes, of course there were countermeasures she could have taken to prevent it from happening.

But we stopped doing it to her because, regardless of how silly we felt her objections were, it was bothering her. The "fun" we got out of it was incommensurate to the upset and discomfort it seemed to cause her. Our "fun" didn't depend upon making someone else upset, however irrational we might feel that reaction might be. We didn't mean it to cause harm -- but clearly it was doing that, to some extent, and that made it "not fun" anymore, because that fun was based on how we all responded to it, perpetrators and "victims."

We stopped doing it because we cared about how our actions were impacting on her.

In other words, because we weren't frickin' sociopaths.

Edited May 22 by Scylla Rhiadra
Typo

[Cristiano Midnight]

I have dealt with many trolls over the years. They all crave one thing….attention. When you cut off their oxygen they go away most of the time. Life is way too short to deal with the many toxic personalities online. I block and move on.

[Love Zhaoying]

The most tender part of a troll's anatomy is the butt.

You know this is true, because they get butthurt so easily.

[Charlemagne Allen]

Creative trolls are fun. Most are not.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

11 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

A fun thing we used to do at a place I hung out (same place I mentioned above, actually) was push avis that had gone AFK into the pond adjoining the social area of region.

It was a totally harmless prank, clearly not deserving the title of "griefing." It was done to everyone, regardless of how new, or old, or popular they were. It was, actually, even sort of an affectionate thing: it showed you had been "accepted." It happened to me occasionally. I found it a bit puerile and very mildly annoying sometimes, but I accepted it as part of the culture, and understood that it was certainly not in any sense "malicious."

There was one person there who really hated it. She felt it was a kind of violation, I guess? And she'd get quite upset about it when it happened.

Silly, right? It wasn't "hurting" her in any way, and wasn't being done in a mean-spirited way. It was really, objectively, mostly a very small inconvenience. And yes, of course there were countermeasures she could have taken to prevent it from happening.

But we stopped doing it to her because, regardless of how silly we felt her objections were, it was bothering her. The "fun" we got out of it was incommensurate to the upset and discomfort it seemed to cause her. Our "fun" didn't depend upon making someone else upset, however irrational we might feel that reaction might be. We didn't mean it to cause harm -- but clearly it was doing that, to some extent, and that made it "not fun" anymore, because that fun was based on how we all responded to it, perpetrators and "victims."

We stopped doing it because we cared about how our actions were impacting on her.

In other words, because we weren't frickin' sociopaths.

I friend of mine claimed she was raped one time because she fell asleep on a couples pose and another friend hopped on and used her, AND took pictures .

She was totally pissed, I thought it was funny as hell

[BilliJo Aldrin]

I have this thing that is a giant pokemon, if you wear it to gets on your back and starts doing you while shouting “you fu***** love it doncha b****.
It is called “$600L mens gold ring”

Id go to anyplace noobs hung out and start going on in local about this ring i bought, but it was a mens ring, so it was the wrong size and and I couldn’t use it.

I’d ask if anyone would like it.

Usually a noob would say sure, ill take, and I’d give it to them.

Watching then get usedby a giant pokemon never got old

I was kinda doing them a favor though, isnt that what every noob is here for?

😂

[BilliJo Aldrin]

11 hours ago, Cristiano Midnight said:

I have dealt with many trolls over the years. They all crave one thing….attention. When you cut off their oxygen they go away most of the time. Life is way too short to deal with the many toxic personalities online. I block and move on.

good idea 😂

[Roxy Couturier]

On 5/20/2024 at 4:25 PM, Rowan Amore said:

I keep voice off and avoid all those busy places that trolls hang out.  Haven't had to deal with one in probably 10 yrs.  

I agree, it's the best way to deal with trolls... Don't go to infohubs.

[Lindal Kidd]

On 5/23/2024 at 6:25 AM, BilliJo Aldrin said:

I was kinda doing them a favor though, isnt that what every noob is here for?

I suppose noobs do need to learn there are utter jerks in SL.

Jerk.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

I suppose noobs do need to learn there are utter jerks in SL.

Jerk.

its obvious that some people don’t have a sense of humor .

If thats the worst thing that ever happens to them is SL they should consider themselves blessed.

Its copy/transfer, so they can share it with others 😁

p.s. I thought you were leaving.

Edited May 26 by BilliJo Aldrin
added a line

[BilliJo Aldrin]

On 5/22/2024 at 7:05 PM, Scylla Rhiadra said:

A fun thing we used to do at a place I hung out (same place I mentioned above, actually) was push avis that had gone AFK into the pond adjoining the social area of region.

It was a totally harmless prank, clearly not deserving the title of "griefing." It was done to everyone, regardless of how new, or old, or popular they were. It was, actually, even sort of an affectionate thing: it showed you had been "accepted." It happened to me occasionally. I found it a bit puerile and very mildly annoying sometimes, but I accepted it as part of the culture, and understood that it was certainly not in any sense "malicious."

There was one person there who really hated it. She felt it was a kind of violation, I guess? And she'd get quite upset about it when it happened.

Silly, right? It wasn't "hurting" her in any way, and wasn't being done in a mean-spirited way. It was really, objectively, mostly a very small inconvenience. And yes, of course there were countermeasures she could have taken to prevent it from happening.

But we stopped doing it to her because, regardless of how silly we felt her objections were, it was bothering her. The "fun" we got out of it was incommensurate to the upset and discomfort it seemed to cause her. Our "fun" didn't depend upon making someone else upset, however irrational we might feel that reaction might be. We didn't mean it to cause harm -- but clearly it was doing that, to some extent, and that made it "not fun" anymore, because that fun was based on how we all responded to it, perpetrators and "victims."

We stopped doing it because we cared about how our actions were impacting on her.

In other words, because we weren't frickin' sociopaths.

Another fun thing you can do if you have rezz rights is rezz a cube, stretch it out , hollow it out then place it over the avatar so they are inside it. once they are inside, make it invisible.

When they come back you can offer all sorts of suggestions as to why they can’t move.

If you want to actually be mean, you can tell them you saw this once before and the only way to fix it is to log out , uninstall  your viewer and re install it, and that would fix it.

But Im not mean, id fess up before it got that far 😁

Edited May 26 by BilliJo Aldrin
added stuff

[Scylla Rhiadra]

24 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Another fun thing you can do if you have rezz rights is rezz a cube, stretch it out , hollow it out then place it over the avatar so they are inside it. once they are inside, make it invisible.

When they come back you can offer all sorts of suggestions as to why they can’t move.

If you want to actually be mean, you can tell them you saw this once before and the only way to fix it is to log out , uninstall  your viewer and re install it, and that would fix it.

But Im not mean, id fess up before it got that far 😁

Just out of curiosity, and for the insight it might provide into the mindset of a troll or griefers . . . how is it that so much of your idea of "fun" seems to rely upon being annoying or disruptive to other people?

I'm remembering too the bees with which you used to (and maybe still do?) ambush visitors whom you'd explicitly invited to visit with your parcel description.

I'm not getting the appeal myself.

[Lindal Kidd]

52 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

p.s. I thought you were leaving.

Well, I pretty much have. But I still check here every week or so, and log in maybe once a month.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Just out of curiosity, and for the insight it might provide into the mindset of a troll or griefers . . . how is it that so much of your idea of "fun" seems to rely upon being annoying or disruptive to other people?

I'm remembering too the bees with which you used to (and maybe still do?) ambush visitors whom you'd explicitly invited to visit with your parcel description.

I'm not getting the appeal myself.

 

Please dont make it sound like i run around griefing people. Ive not handed out the diamond ring in ages. And I never invited anyone to my parcel, but it was open access, anyone could enter. 

If i invited a friend over I’d turn the hive off or add them to the safe list. 

the only parcel with the hive now is my belli home, but the property is fenced and gated. With a sign that says watch out for the hornet swarm. You enter anyway, you deserve to get attacked.

p.s. How do you think I got the diamond ring? I was at a club I visited regularily, someone gave me the ring and said wear it, so I did. I wasnt traumatized or filed an AR, I thought it was funny, and couldnt wait to pass it on.

😂

Edited May 26 by BilliJo Aldrin
added stuff

[Scylla Rhiadra]

15 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

the only parcel with the hive now is my belli home, but the property is fenced and gated. With a sign that says watch out for the hornet swarm.

Don't be disingenuous. That was not the case initially, as you very well know. And at that time, the parcel with the bees in it was described in the land profile as a "Natural Area for everyone to enjoy." Indeed, you started an entire (and deliberately provocative) thread to ask if it should be considered griefing -- which given that you were explicitly telling people they could visit, and then attacking them, without warning, with a swarm of bees when they did, I'd have to say was the case.

In any case, you're not answering my question. Whether you wander around victimizing noobs on a 24/7 basis or not, you clearly find it a hoot to annoy or discomfort people.

You also enjoy creating deliberately stirring up drama here.

Why?

Edited May 26 by Scylla Rhiadra
Missing words

[BilliJo Aldrin]

19 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Don't be disingenuous. That was not the case initially, as you very well know. And at that time, the parcel with the bees in it was described in the land profile as a "Natural Area for everyone to enjoy." Indeed, you started an entire (and deliberately provocative) thread to ask if it should be considered griefing -- which given that you were explicitly telling people they could visit, and then attacking them, without warning, with a swarm of bees when they did, I'd have to say was the case.

In any case, you're not answering my question. Whether you wander around victimizing noobs on a 24/7 basis or not, you clearly find it a hoot to annoy or discomfort people.

You also enjoy creating deliberately stirring up drama here.

Why?

You take a great deal of interest in me Scylla, some might say its because you secretly like me and wish you could be more like me 😬

Edited May 26 by BilliJo Aldrin
left out a word

[Arielle Popstar]

Just now, BilliJo Aldrin said:

You take a great deal of interest me Scylla, some might say its because you secretly like me and wish you could be more like me 😬

Maybe because you're dangerous and need to be gaslit!🧨