Troll in the Dungeon!
Long but worthwhile read: The Trolls Among Us
Here's a sample:
But even if we had the resources to aggressively prosecute trolls, would we want to? Are we ready for an Internet where law enforcement keeps watch over every vituperative blog and backbiting comments section, ready to spring at the first hint of violence? Probably not. All vigorous debates shade into trolling at the perimeter; it is next to impossible to excise the trolling without snuffing out the debate.
ETA: Of course, I don't endorse trolling, and I find the examples in the article pretty disgusting. But how and why trolling occurs in this frontier land called the Internet is a topic that fascinates me. The article also brought to mind The Msscribe Story. I half expected her to be one of the examples used in the article, but I suppose she didn't quite rate The New York Times.
Joie
Here's a sample:
But even if we had the resources to aggressively prosecute trolls, would we want to? Are we ready for an Internet where law enforcement keeps watch over every vituperative blog and backbiting comments section, ready to spring at the first hint of violence? Probably not. All vigorous debates shade into trolling at the perimeter; it is next to impossible to excise the trolling without snuffing out the debate.
ETA: Of course, I don't endorse trolling, and I find the examples in the article pretty disgusting. But how and why trolling occurs in this frontier land called the Internet is a topic that fascinates me. The article also brought to mind The Msscribe Story. I half expected her to be one of the examples used in the article, but I suppose she didn't quite rate The New York Times.
Joie