[LINK] Trolls online and communication behaviour

[Kim Holburn]

While I generally like the idea that there is no conspiracy and no-one  
is actually in control, in this case I tend to the view that it's paid  
astro-turfing from one of that company's (extremely wealthy)  
competitors.

On 2010/Feb/03, at 11:02 AM, Ivan Trundle wrote:

> Of possible interest to Linkers...
>
> Sitting here in a break from a meeting, I reflected on the past week.
>
> An interesting thing happened this week: a number of websites that  
> talk technology have had a lot of work in dealing with user  
> comments. It seems that a number of people feel seriously threatened  
> by the launch of a certain piece of hardware from a computer company.
>
> Some, like Whirlpool, had moderators working overtime to deal with  
> the inanity (which it mostly was) and this in spite of regular  
> pundits (like me) staying away because of the pointless 'me-too- 
> isms' and 'you are wrong/I am right' or the usual bigoted zealotry  
> that surfaces when someone suggests a new way of doing something.
>
> Others, like Engadget, have closed their comment system entirely:
>
> "Hey guys, we know you like to have your fun, voice your opinions,  
> and argue over your favorite gear, but over the past few days the  
> tone in comments has really gotten out of hand. What is normally a  
> charged -- but fun -- environment for our users and editors has  
> become mean, ugly, pointless, and frankly threatening in some  
> situations... and that's just not acceptable. Some of you out there  
> in the world of anonymous grandstanding have gotten the impression  
> that you run the place, but that's simply not the case."
>
> There's something about overworking the communication channels - too  
> much communication and the quality of the communication dips, and  
> the type of people who comment changes.
>
> Another interesting side-effect is that there is a type of online  
> commenter who relishes in this kind of engagement, and skims over  
> ALL the comments and then adds their own interpretation (mostly a  
> waste of time and space, since it is a re-iteration of what was said  
> before) - these people are bordering on the troll behaviour so  
> abhorred by online content managers and decent people alike.
>
> What's more fascinating is that it seems to affect web behaviour  
> more than e-list behaviour: on the web, the level of anonymity is  
> perceived to be greater - people can lob in and make a comment and  
> never return (existential trolling), whereas there is a greater  
> sense of commitment to an e-list, where relationships between  
> subscribers is better defined (so people are more civil/more  
> supportive).
>
> Something to think about in the brave new world of simplified online  
> communication...
>
> Warmly
>
> iT
>
> --
> Ivan Trundle
> http://itrundle.com ivan at itrundle.com
> ph: +61 (0)418 244 259 fx: +61 (0)2 6286 8742 skype: callto://ivanovitchk
>
>
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-- 
Kim Holburn
IT Network & Security Consultant
T: +61 2 61402408  M: +61 404072753
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