Troll Patrol: Anonymity in the virtual world of the internet

In the article entitled, "A Rape in Cyberspace," Village Voice writer Julian Dibbel describes users of a virtual world (referred to as LamdaMOO) as "Puppeteers." Dibbel points out that total anonymity has allowed heinous acts to take place in LamdaMOO that would otherwise not be committed by the puppeteers in the real world. The New York Times article called, "Anonymity Breeds Content," refers to the increase in unethical behavior caused by anonymity as the, "Online disinhibition effect." Just as the relative anonymity that our cars provide empowers road rage, the internet is a breeding ground for trolls that thrive on toying with other users emotions.

Trying to think of a video on YouTube that would have a wide range of comments, my first thought was to visit a Justin Bieber music video. Lo and behold, the first comment I saw underneath the video was one of a troll. Clearly this commenter had specifically visited this video with a premeditated goal of offending Bieber fans. This kind of trolling is not as destructive as the "pseudo-naive," tactic. The bullying trolling tactic was the case in a sad turn of events that cost one girl her life after being harassed by another girl that turned out to be another student's mother.

Looking at a Detroit Free Press article about the events in Egypt, I instantly found a comment full of troll ridden remarks.

Users with anonymity are less likely to be worried about being judged by others, so they can be more open and honest when discussing controversial topics. Certainly some users choose to operate under the alter ego of a troll. Trolls have become increasingly more common because of the newer generation's realization of the power that anonymity provides. These younger users intentionally disrupt online communities for the thrill of baiting and hooking a fish (those who fall for the bait). People say stuff online that they would never say in person because they know a physical altercation is nearly impossible to occur. Without any significant consequences in place, the internet acts as a virtual playground (or sandbox) that behaves like a video-game in many ways. Instead leveling up, like in World of Warcraft, trolls gain lulz (points) for each successful fish they hook.

Often times, trolls can be spotted easily because they generally like to start off by asking a stupid question that acts as bait. It's a tell tale sign that a commenter is trolling when they clearly try to offend the majority of other commenters.

Websites like Gizmodo have began testing a comment audition system. Users are told that they may become trusted commenters after a certain number of valuable posts. This is an excellent method of reducing the amount of trolls posting in comment sections. The Disqus comments platform for bloggers uses a "Clout," points system that gives the global consequence of being banned from commenting on all sites that use the platform. Another method of troll reduction is more basic, making the users photo and location information show up next to the comment. This replicates the real world by making users more accountable for their actions by taking away the anonymity. Of course the easiest method for reducing the amount of trolls is to not "Feed," the trolls. Don't respond to their posts, just report them and move on.