Anatomy of Trolls and How to Deal with Them

[Rowan Amore]

11 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Interesting definition, IMO it does not appear to "take sides" as it does not imply "harmful", "harmless", or anything in between!

 

If you're doing something purely to annoy or irritate people just for your own amusement, that's griefing.   It doesn't necessarily have to be some egregious act either.  All of the things she's mentioned, I find appalling.  Just because she thinks it's hilarious, she has no idea how someone else will feel about it.   Harmless fun?  I'll just add it to the growing list of things done and said by certain people that are down right disgusting.

 

[Arielle Popstar]

8 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

I wasn't directing that at you but at BJ and her griefing with her bees.

No, I realized that but meant it generally that the interpretation of griefing/trolling was a bit too liberal.

[Love Zhaoying]

1 minute ago, Rowan Amore said:

If you're doing something purely to annoy or irritate people just for your own amusement, that's griefing.   It doesn't necessarily have to be some egregious act either.  All of the things she's mentioned, I find appalling.  Just because she thinks it's hilarious, she has no idea how someone else will feel about it.   Harmless fun?  I'll just add it to the growing list of things done and said by certain people that are down right disgusting.

 

Apparently, from what we've seen, "Everything" is "harmless fun" EXCEPT for "Reporting" someone!

[Rowan Amore]

Just now, Arielle Popstar said:

No, I realized that but meant it generally that the interpretation of griefing/trolling was a bit too liberal.

I've always taken griefing to be an act and trolling to be words.  Attack bees are griefing.  Using words.to annoy or provoke a response is trolling.

[Arielle Popstar]

15 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

I've always taken griefing to be an act and trolling to be words.  Attack bees are griefing.  Using words.to annoy or provoke a response is trolling.

Griefing could also be done by words to someone's forum reputation, especially if one is projecting negative motivations for that persons behaviours.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 hour ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

It’s just a little harmless fun, chill Scylla

I'm perfectly chill, BJ.

I didn't suggest you were out traumatizing people -- the words I used were "annoying" and "discomforting."

That said, how "harmless" this "fun" is, is likely a bit subjective. You've decided, sort of unilaterally and without consulting the feelings of your targets, that it's "harmless." I'm assuming your aren't polling them first ("How, would it be ok if I cage you for a bit?") -- so you can't really know whether they will enjoy it or not until after you've done it, correct? You really don't get to decide how they "should feel" about it.

My initial post, however, was really quite genuine, and I'd love to hear a response. Why do you find actions that are quite likely, and maybe even intended, to cause annoyance, irritation, or upset "fun"? What is it about targeting others in ways that they might not choose to be targeted that appeals to you?

Edited May 26 by Scylla Rhiadra
Clarity

[Scylla Rhiadra]

6 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Griefing could also be done by words to someone's forum reputation, especially if one is projecting negative motivations for that persons behaviours.

Like defining it as "gaslighting," for instance?

[Persephone Emerald]

6 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Griefing could also be done by words to someone's forum reputation, especially if one is projecting negative motivations for that person's behaviours.

That's a good point, but there's a difference between potentially libelous words vs. just a negative opinion. I'm not sure where the line would fall between trolling vs. griefing with words. Projecting a motivation (such as is often done on these forums) seems to me to fall to the subjective opinion side of the libel vs. opinion side of the line. If one were to write a blog post ascribing negative motivations and behavior beyond psychological projection, on the other hand, this would more likely be libel.

[Persephone Emerald]

37 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

I've always taken griefing to be an act and trolling to be words.  Attack bees are griefing.  Using words.to annoy or provoke a response is trolling.

What if one creates an object that broadcasts or spaws words?

[Arielle Popstar]

6 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Like defining it as "gaslighting," for instance?

Sure. I have to go but this from the wiki defining Gaslighting:

Quote

 

Gaslighting is different from genuine relationship disagreement, which is both common and important in relationships. Gaslighting is distinct in that:

one partner is consistently listening and considering the other partner's perspective;

one partner is consistently negating the other's perception, insisting that they are wrong, or telling them that their emotional reaction is irrational or dysfunctional.

 

 

[BilliJo Aldrin]

1 minute ago, Persephone Emerald said:

That's a good point, but there's a difference between potentially libelous words vs. just a negative opinion. I'm not sure where the line would fall between trolling vs. griefing with words. Projecting a motivation (such as is often done on these forums) seems to me to fall to the subjective opinion side of the libel vs. opinion side of the line. If one were to write a blog post ascribing negative motivations and behavior beyond psychological projection, on the other hand, this would more likely be libel.

Scylla is picking on me, I think I’ll report her

[Persephone Emerald]

10 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Like defining it as "gaslighting," for instance?

Nah. That's just misunderstanding or misusing the meaning of words, either ignorance or foolishness.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Scylla is picking on me, I think I’ll report her

Scylla has been asking you a simple question.

If I take you out for a beer afterwards, will it be ok?

[BilliJo Aldrin]

40 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

I've always taken griefing to be an act and trolling to be words.  Attack bees are griefing.  Using words.to annoy or provoke a response is trolling.

if my attack HORNETS are griefing, then all zero second security orbs are griefing. 

Besides I gave visitors a sporting chance, one scan per minute, 10 m range, you could walk right under the nest and nothing would happen to you.😂

 

[BilliJo Aldrin]

Just now, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Scylla has been asking you a simple question.

If I take you out for a beer afterwards, will it be ok?

I’d love to get together inworld sometime, but you would probably turn me down, crushing my delicate sensitive feelings.

You do know that IF I am trolling in here YOU are feeding the troll.

Perhaps you should just block me 😬

[Scylla Rhiadra]

4 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Sure. I have to go but this from the wiki defining Gaslighting:

 

The key to that definition, which is fairly close to how I'd define it, is this part:

5 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

one partner is consistently negating the other's perception, insisting that they are wrong, or telling them that their emotional reaction is irrational or dysfunctional

In other words, not merely disagreeing, but trying to convince the other person that their actual understanding is irrational and dysfunctional.

A classic example would be someone asking a woman with whom he disagreed whether she was PMS. Another might be insisting that an opponent was simply imagining something that they can remember happening.

I'm not sure how this applies.

[Love Zhaoying]

3 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

7 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Scylla is picking on me, I think I’ll report her

Scylla has been asking you a simple question.

If I take you out for a beer afterwards, will it be ok?

If you challenge someone, and they turn it around on you, that is an example of "DARVO" gaslighting!

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Just now, BilliJo Aldrin said:

You do know that IF I am trolling in here YOU are feeding the troll.

I think you sometimes are a troll here, but not in this particular instance.

 

1 minute ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

I’d love to get together inworld sometime, but you would probably turn me down, crushing my delicate sensitive feelings.

I'm sure that will happen one day. I promise I'll be gentle. 😏

[Ceka Cianci]

Seen one troll you've seen'em all..

 

[Persephone Emerald]

5 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Sure. I have to go but this from the wiki defining Gaslighting:

Gaslighting is different from genuine relationship disagreement, which is both common and important in relationships. Gaslighting is distinct in that:

one partner is consistently listening and considering the other partner's perspective;

one partner is consistently negating the other's perception, insisting that they are wrong, or telling them that their emotional reaction is irrational or dysfunctional.

Yeah, but this definition assumes that the other person's perception isn't blatantly wrong. 

For instance (RL example), my friend insisted that he heard a man's voice coming from my bedroom while I was alone and sleeping in there. I said maybe I was talking in my sleep, but there was nobody else in there with me. If he continued to believe that I was hiding a man in my room and lying to him about it, and I say "This makes me worry that you're hearing voices" this is not gaslighting him. If there was actually a man in my room who had been speaking, but I said he was "hearing voices", then I would've been gaslighting him.

Saying that someone is mistaken or foolish isn't usually gaslighting. Other factors need to be determined to be sure if it is or not.

[Rowan Amore]

7 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

if my attack HORNETS are griefing, then all zero second security orbs are griefing. 

Besides I gave visitors a sporting chance, one scan per minute, 10 m range, you could walk right under the nest and nothing would happen to you.😂

 

People put up orbs to keep others out not for sh*it's and giggles.  But rationalize it however you'd like along with all your other behaviors.  

I have a 30 sec. orb out that warns people.  They have a choice to stay or be removed.  

[Persephone Emerald]

11 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

if my attack HORNETS are griefing, then all zero second security orbs are griefing. 

Besides I gave visitors a sporting chance, one scan per minute, 10 m range, you could walk right under the nest and nothing would happen to you.😂

I have to agree with this. Using an object to annoy someone on one's own property, push them off a parcel, or send them home is a property owner's right in SL - unless the land covenant says otherwise. It's antisocial behavior, but it's allowed antisocial behavior. 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

3 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said:

I have to agree with this. Using an object to annoy someone on one's own property, push them off a parcel, or send them home is a property owner's right in SL - unless the land covenant says otherwise. It's antisocial behavior, but it's allowed antisocial behavior. 

This assumes though that the definition of griefing is determined by the ToS. I'm not sure I'd agree.

Edited May 26 by Scylla Rhiadra
Autocorrect

[BilliJo Aldrin]

26 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I think you sometimes are a troll here, but not in this particular instance.

 

I'm sure that will happen one day. I promise I'll be gentle. 😏

I added you to my tracker, I'll call you sometime 😁

[Love Zhaoying]

35 minutes ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

Besides I gave visitors a sporting chance, one scan per minute, 10 m range, you could walk right under the nest and nothing would happen to you.😂

Do you WARN visitors? Or do they just get attacked?