The Science of Why Comment Trolls Suck

[Sam1]

The online peanut gallery can get you so riled up that your ability to reason goes out the window, a new study finds.

Everybody who's written or blogged about climate change on a prominent website (or, even worse, spoken about it on YouTube) knows the drill. Shortly after you post, the menagerie of trolls arrives. They're predominantly climate deniers, and they start in immediately arguing over the content and attacking the science—sometimes by slinging insults and even occasional obscenities. To cite a recent example: "What part of "we haven't warmed any in 16 years" don't you understand? Heh. "Cherry-picking" as defined by you alarmists: any time period selected containing data that refutes your hysterical hypothesis. Can be any length of time from 4 billion years to one hour. Fuck off, little man!"

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/01/you-idiot-course-trolls-comments-make-you-believe-science-less

[hobbit709]

1. See a lot of that here

Some people know which buttons to push to get someone to respond with an over the line comment so they can get him PPR'd. And then brag about their successful "Troll Hunting"

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Kibitzing is a form of " Misery loves company " .

Kkkarl is a prime example .

[Berlum]

3. Same deal with corporate GMO trolls

Post anything at all about the profoundly dubious, free-will VIOLATING nature of the wholesale occult Big Ag onslaught of GMO 'food,' and the corporate trolls are all over it like scuzz flies on a hamburger.

[Coyotl]

4. Towards a Taxonomy of Political Trolls OR Filling a Neologism Vacuum.

Deja DU Sep-18-07: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1835214

The Taxonomy of Political Trolls.

Unlike Internet trolls generally, the political trolls, a distinct genera (Homoferus), remain poorly described.
The genus name derives from the combined form of:
homo hominis : human being, man + ferus : fierce, wild, savage, untamed.
It would be helpful to have clearer descriptions and nomenclature to deal with these pesky ratf**kers!

To start, we need to do more work to describe the Dem bashing species. They are not Homoferus blemmus (blemmings), the trolls that try to lead everyone off a cliff into irrelevancy. They are not Homoferus inundatus, the inundation troll, a recently described species that runs in packs and swamps fora with many posts, typically on an undesirable and negative topic that disrupts normal, productive discourse. However, trolls smearing Dems are a closely related species; they have similar intentions, including to exceed the normal tolerance level of rational people and drive them away.

Any other troll taxonomists have a good name for the Dem-bashing trolls. ....

.........

[farminator3000]

5. maybe they have been genetically engineered to be a-holes?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2184603

[nolabear]

6. A "good" troll is like an abusive partner. For example:

An emotional abuser will start an argument and then steamroll you with false claims, emotionally charged bullying rhetoric, false claims, and snide attacks. When called out they move the target, tell you they didn't say what you heard, challenge your sanity, repeat and rinse. The urge to argue is strong because you're in a different reality. You want to make them understand, they want to hurt you out of whatever sense of misguided (or rewarded) rage and self-inflation they're operating from.

There's no cure but walking away. And MIRT.

[L0oniX]

7. Progress for America = troll factory. n/t

[farminator3000]

8. and by genetically engineered to be a-holes, i mean

inbreeding...