Trolls: Just Like Cockroaches But Much Easier To Control

This is the second part of what very much appears to be becoming a series on op/ed blogging.

“For bloggers, especially those who actually have an opinion about things, trolls are kind of like notches on the handle of your gun.”

Me

I have had a couple of trolls. I don’t know if they fit the classical definition of creepy monsters who live under the bridge, or even if that's the right name to call them, but they are creepy enough.
Trolls like to bitch. They like to poke little holes in intelligent commentary and see if they can make them into bigger holes.
Trolls are smart enough to attempt that. But probably not smart enough to do the kind of stuff that they are attracted to.
In other words, trolls are wannabes. They mask their frustration with sarcasm. And if you take them seriously, they can ruin a few minutes of your day.
Until you give yourself a Homer Simpson head slap and ‘D’oh’, when it occurs to you that they’re trolls and who really gives a shit.
Trolls don’t really care at all about whatever it is you are trying to communicate. They just want to find some awkwardness, or syntactical gaffe and jump on it. Which is kind of pathetic when you think about it.
It’s weird that there are people out there whose only reason for being on this site and many other social media sites is to attempt little bits and pieces of character assassination.
What they don’t realize is that intelligent content is generally read by intelligent people. These people look at a comment from a troll and chuckle. They don’t think OMG, is Jim really like that? Or OMG was that sentence really missing a comma?

Trolls Play Trivial Pursuit All Day

To a troll, this would seem to be some sort of a game. Let’s see if we can make Jim flinch or get him upset enough to fire one back at us. Then we can fire one back at him. And then it’s war.
That strategy may work in the beginning when the trolls start with something designed to disarm you…like a left-handed compliment. I have to admit I have fallen for that. But mostly because I’m in the habit of responding to all my comments where a response is appropriate.
Needless to say, I learned quickly what this was all about.
The best way to deal with a troll is do nothing. They are trying to goad you into a confrontation. If you don't let them, they invariably get bored and slink away.
You see this a lot in old westerns where the Quick Drawing Hombre is challenged by the Young Kid who has been practicing outside his barn with the hope of being able to take down the Quick Drawing Hombre. The usual result is one dead Young Kid.
It’s kinda useless and pointless when you think about it. I mean, whenever I see a comment from these creatures now, I just make it go away. Then I go look for them and if we are connected, I make them go away too.
They might still be able to see my posts and comment on them, but if they are not getting any response there’s no fun in it for them.
Basically trolls are sad creatures. Nobody loves them. Everybody is afraid of them but only for a minute or two.
But what’s saddest about them is that they are missing out on the best part of social media, because they’re not reading blogs for pleasure or to learn something that might help them improve their businesses, they’re reading to find fault.
Trolls are like spam. You know it’s there. But it’s not any sort of big deal in your life. Because troll comments and spam both can be very easily deleted.
As usual comments and shares are always welcome. This is social media after all.

If your business has reached the point where talking to a communication professional would be the preferred option to banging your head against the wall or whatever, lets talk.

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