Trolls

In order so far:

Stefano,

Exactly, exactly,exactly.

I'm in battle mode right now, so I'll save that question for a later time. Good one.

Renee,

Exactly. And this is why they are so destructive. Because there are always people who don't know what a Troll is or how to spot them or a Sock-puppet, ignoring cannot be a solution. In order for it to be a solution, everyone would have to do it at once, and since there are always people who don't know what it is, they won't ignore it and the Troll will have perpetual opportunity to do it's damage. Not biting is best, if you can manage it. Helping inform others who bite is helpful too. Be careful as sometimes people who bite are the same individual in disguise playing an opposing role so as to intensify the drama.

Charles,

I know, you're right, I know. I've played "The Victim" to that problem before too and it was unbelievably damaging and traumatizing.

I'm already blocking the individual here who I suspect is a Troll, but that doesn't stop him/her/it from moving to the other site and fucking with people there. The other site does not have this option. But they do have mods and admins who are more active. That's part of the purpose of the site. Blocking is a valid partial solution. Unfortunately it makes one a bit more vulnerable as the blocked person can read your text, but you can't read what they say about you. This is also traumatizing. The blocking function should ideally work both ways.

Durwin,

Yes, sortof. I did not accuse these people of being Trolls to her, only that they have been hurtful and disruptive. I've been waiting for decisive action for over a week. That may not seem like very long to some, but it is for someone like me who is trying to open and be more sensitive to the LL. That's the point of the site, imo.

Sean,

FUCKIN'-A-RIGHT!!!

OMG! Can I quote you? Better yet, can you help? It's okay if you're burnt out. I would totally understand. But JEEEEEZUS, this is sad! Doubtless the mods there need some help and support, and I don't want to play into the divide and conquer thing here by openly declaring my boycott, but movement needs to happen. It has already destroyed so much of the fragile trust that is required to experience what is possible with a community like that.

Membership at iEvolve is free.

Wow and good for you for building a support community for ppl with Mental Illness. Fan-freaking-tastic. Thank you - indirectly because I don't have Bipolar, but I benefit regardless. I've got friends in those high and low places! LOL

If there is anything you can and are willing to do, I would be so grateful. I feel like I'm doing this alone and this is triggering my trauma reactions horribly. I am awake to them, so it's not as bad as usual, but this is no reason to dismiss my concern.

Now, hopefully, they won't try to make me out as a "Concern Troll"!

Thank you all. Now, I'm off to see what happened since I posted last night about the boycott.

--

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I found this today. Pretty amusing. I've adapted it for our use... 

1 - We admitted we were powerless over our identities and that our aliases had become unmanageable

2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to civility

3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of iEvolve's admins and mods as we understood those admins and mods

4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of aliases

5 - Admitted to iEvolve admins and mods, to ourselves and to another iEvolve profile the exact nature of our wrongs

6 - Were entirely ready to have iEvolve's admins and mods remove all these defects of character

7 - Humbly asked Kelly and other admins and mods to remove our shortcomings

8 - Made a list of all iEvolve posters we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all

9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would violate the iEvolve TOS

10 - Continued to take alias inventory and when they were multiplying promptly deleted one

11 - Sought through research and concentration to improve intelligent content on iEvolve as we understood iEvolve, asking only for knowledge of the admins' and mods' will for us and the power to carry that out without violating the TOS

12- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other Trolls, and to practice these principles in all social networking sites

--

I'm guessing the TOS is the Terms of Service agreement.

--

For just $14.95 a month, YOU TOO can offset your Karma Footprint by becoming a Member of Integral Life!

[has that already been done?]

Today, I was asked who I thought the Troll was by someone on another site. They shall remain nameless. This person sincerely desired to know what to do about them. So, let us begin to think about this in earnest.

---oOo---

What to do about Trolls. I just read a few pages of info and they are incredibly vague about details. I have a feeling that techniques that work are pounced upon by Trolls and they integrate the "intelligence of the enemy" as fast as it is collected. So, there will be little clear information about this available for the casual Googler.

The most useful method of detection I've seen so far on the web is the check the IP address method. Which is why skilled and experienced Trolls keep more than one computer occupied.

So, I have another idea.

Ask questions from each of the 4 Quadrants. I can't find my cheat-sheet at the moment, or I would post these...

If the intention of a Troll is an interior that cannot be quantified, it will tetra-arise on an exterior as a behavior that can be quantified. Numerous behavior clusters have been collected and examined and analyzed. In fact, anyone who has gotten upset on the Interweb and blasted someone will qualify as a Troll no matter what their intent because "hate-speech" can be quantified. However, forbidding hate-speech usually succeeds in ham-stringing and punishing people who have been provoked, not the people who take pleasure in provoking.

So forget the upper Quads for now and focus on the lower Quads. What has been the effect of the behavior of the suspect on the community? We know what a Troll wants. We know what it feeds on. It feeds on the lower Quads. It feeds on the misery of the other and the many. So, check in with the many. Gather the feedback of the many. Independently. Check in with old-tymers whom you trust and ask them what the effect of the suspect's behavior has been on them. Look at the whole community and map the path of destruction. Has the Troll-goal been achieved? Follow it back to the origin and see who started it. It could be as simple and innocent looking as a "Congratulations.".

At that point, the individual can be confronted and asked to apologize or withdraw their remarks and, if necessary, their presence. Or they can simply be booted outright. If a less excluding method of dealing is desired, the individual can be counseled privately by a qualified mod/admin. But who signs up to do that as a mod/admin? If you want to - go for it! Those who make such standards should be ready to deliver them. Teach them rules of engagement. Teach them NVC. Hold them to that. And be ready to help them re-engage with their opponents once they learn. But, this overly inclusive Green-weanie solution will take up too much valuable resource - another Troll-goal - and may not work. Just tell the person, to cool their jets for 6 months and come back and try again if they wish. If not, then say goodbye.

By doing it this way, the label needn't be used since the interior cannot be quantified. But perhaps the behavior can be stopped. It's perfectly fine to label the effects as a known Troll-goal. This will identify them as suspect since they are standing on Ground-Zero. Continuing the behavior will only make their defense weaker. It has to stop.

The danger of prosecuting the innocent is always present. Sometimes the provokee gets nailed instead of the provoker. This discernment needs to be a skill that the admin/mod needs to have to do this work. They need to have a group of people to consult about this and get feedback from. But if their community is worth this kind of protection, that's what is called for.

Often a Troll will be known by reliable members and will have a history. Learn who these people are and consult them. Value them. Keep records. Store complaints. Map the mess. That's the job.

---oOo---

Sean,

Any suggestions?

--

For just $14.95 a month, YOU TOO can offset your Karma Footprint by becoming a Member of Integral Life!

[has that already been done?]