Toolkit: Trolls

[BloomInWinter]

I have been on the web since...well, let's just say a LONG time.

I've had more than my share of Trolls...and have learned to not get sucked in so easily as I used to.

Rule number 1 - "Don't feed the trolls!'

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5854053/how-to-stop-caring-about-trolls-and-get-on-with-your-life

I've also made the mistake of picking my battles poorly....firing off responses in the heat of the moment....if there's a mistake to be made, I've done it.

But....I'm still on my feet. :)

 

[Deaf Global Nomad]

Thank you for keeping us all safe, Troll!

This was not an issue of which I was aware.

Here's a picture from your link I liked:

​

 

[anthony]

I really emphasise this part, especially for those with PTSD:

In a nutshell, you only have so much emotion to go around. It should be spent on people who value it, who value you, not some douchenozzle that just finished a 36-hour bender on World of Warcraft and is pissed his wizard lost an epic battle on the island of Corinthian. There are way too many incredible people in this world, and Twitter especially that are worth your time.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Hunting down trolls is easier with some web skills.

Here's one skill...looking up an IP address...and other interesting info.

"What is an IP address?

Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses consist of four numbers separated by periods (also called a 'dotted-quad') and look something like 127.0.0.1. "

Source: http://whatismyipaddress.com/

Once you know an IP, you can do a 'Whois' lookup.

http://www.ip-address.org/tracer/ip-whois.php

 

[BloomInWinter]

Tracing someone's email.

With a tip....most trolls are too lazy or unskilled to thwart this. But some do. When sending a complaint, it's best to lead with... 'It appears this email address was used to send.....'

That way, if the email belongs to an innocent person who has been duped, their trauma isn't compounded by our response.

http://www.ip-address.org/verify/email-checker.php

Also, this is why you should keep any harassing/threatening emails, and when complaining to the troll's 'Internet Service Provider' (ISP) use the 'forward as inline attachment' option so the web guru can trace the header info.

 

[anthony]

IP's are fairly useless actually for anything, because the majority change constantly every time you logon to the www.

This is why you use tools like traceroute, which doesn't rely on an IP and instead of names, ie. domain or email to find the real location and real ISP or host.

Even that can be covered, but that is far more professional than your everyday amateur hacker trying to cloak or hide their electronic signature.

If you can get to the source host or ISP, then sending them the information you have will usually obtain more accurate results, as they have the experts who know far more about advanced techniques and can usually get past them to track all but the most minute experts in the world.

 

[BloomInWinter]

IP's are fairly useless actually for anything...

Well...not totally. They still are used as part of 'evidence collection' and the time stamp can be cross matched to alibi's, cameras in the surrounding area, etc. sometimes...especially in a setting where they may be logged into another app that can be checked.

But that's for the real trolls who won't back down once they know they've been identified, I think.

Though domain names & traceroute, much preferred.

 

[BloomInWinter]

Basic traceroute example...

[Litz and Keane, 1989]

 

[BloomInWinter]

What I find tragic is the amount of mental suffering people will endure before finally contacting the authorities. ...and often, trolls have a trail of victims. Better to err on the side of being cautious than to put up with it hoping we're 'not making too much out of it...'

A visit from the cops tells many lesser trolls to move along to an easier victim.

 

[BloomInWinter]

More on Internet Trolls...

"In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4] The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: "That was an excellent troll you posted".
While the word troll and its associated verb trolling are associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels subjective, with trolling describing intentionally provocative actions outside of an online context. For example, mass media uses troll to describe "a person who defaces Internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families."[5][6]"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

 

[BloomInWinter]

Of interest to those of us on the forum...

"A concern troll is a false flag pseudonym created by a user whose actual point of view is opposed to the one that the user claims to hold. The concern troll posts in Web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed "concerns". The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the group.[22]"

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

 

[BloomInWinter]

Here's a great tidbit I'm adding to my 'in real life' toolkit...

"Question your tendency to pity too easily.
Respect should be reserved for the kind and the morally courageous. Pity is another socially valuable response, and should be reserved for innocent people who are in genuine pain or who have fallen on misfortune. If, instead, you find yourself often pitying someone who consistently hurts you or other people, and who actively campaigns for your sympathy, the chances are close to one hundred percent that you are dealing with a sociopath.

Related to this -- I recommend that you severely challenge your need to be polite in absolutely all situations. For normal adults in our culture, being what we think of as "civilized" is like a reflex, and often we find ourselves being automatically decorous even when someone has enraged us, repeatedly lied to us, or figuratively stabbed us in the back. Sociopaths take huge advantage of this automatic courtesy in exploitive situations.

Do not be afraid to be unsmiling and calmly to the point.". Source: [DLMURL]http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm?author_number=1097[/DLMURL]