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by dobbsbob 4255 days ago
Media has distorted the meaning of trolling. You would never outright threaten or ad hominem attack somebody while trolling them because that would be too obvious. This is what trolling actually is (well, was) http://youtu.be/AHqGV5WjS4w

Doxing, also now totally misused. Hackers would drop dox on each other to expose them to all the secret service agents and FBI agents watching. If somebody is not wanted by the feds and using their real name on social media there's no point in telling the world their information, considering there are eleventy billion personal data mining services to find out anybody's complete personal info for under $10. We're all already doxxed.

The worst thing you can possibly do when a horde of e-cretins is trying to bait you into losing face in public is to acknowledge them by writing "I'm a victim" posts and articles. That's exactly what they want. If you get death threats sue their asses or call the police. Otherwise that horde is just a bunch of meaningless text on a screen you can safely ignore that will quickly move on to a more responsive target.
2 comments
kevingadd 4254 days ago
Ignoring them doesn't work anymore because modern social media and communication tools have given them power that doesn't depend on whether you're paying attention.

They can send shopped nudes with your face on them to your parents, they can call & email your boss at work to try and get you fired, they can threaten to rape & murder your sister. Sure, ignore that, it'll go away.

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dobbsbob 4254 days ago
It does go away, nobody remembers Boxxy/Katie of youtube/4chan fame? The horde went after her worse than threats and calls yet she's still there making vids. She didn't write a big victim blog or appear on Oprah (Jessi Slaughter) and the lynch mob quickly lost interest when denied their reaction prize.

Threats of course should be handled by police and not ignored, but the moment you seek media attention or acknowledge how the horde has "ruined your life" you are throwing gasoline on the fire.

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abroncs 4254 days ago
On the other end of the spectrum are people ( teenage girls mostly) who actually kill themselves from the relentless online harassment.

Different people will react differently, just like in an offline setting. There isn't really a solution that works for everybody.

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anonbanker 4254 days ago
> The worst thing you can possibly do when a horde of e-cretins is trying to bait you into losing face in public is to acknowledge them by writing "I'm a victim" posts and articles.

So, Lennart Poettering's recent post [1] doing exactly that was a sign of a crack in his armor. I can't begin to tell you how that improves my outlook on life. Thank you.

1. https://plus.google.com/+LennartPoetteringTheOneAndOnly/post...

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