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posted by janrinok on Saturday August 20 2016, @03:18AM   Printer-friendly
from the troll-on-trolling dept.

Paraphrasing an article by Time Magazine's Joel Stein:

The Internet's personality has changed -- once it was like a geek with lofty ideals about the free flow of information. Now the web is a sociopath with Asperger's. [ Submitter's note: the "Sociopath with Asperger's" comment is not my addition, but a verbatim phrase in the source article ]

The people who relish their online freedom to act under influence of the online disinhibition effect are called "trolls." Trolling is, overtly, a political fight; but it has become the main tool of the alt-right, an Internet-grown reactionary movement that works for men's rights and against immigration. They derisively call their adversaries "social justice warriors" and believe that liberal interest groups purposely exploit their weaknesses to gain pity, which allows them to control the leverage of political power.

When sites are overrun by trolls, they drown out the voices of women, ethic and religious minorities, gays -- anyone who might feel vulnerable. The alt-right argues that if you can't handle opprobrium, you should just turn off your computer. But that's arguing against self-expression, something antithetical to the original values of the Internet.

The article closes with a description of an exchange between Stein and a detractor. In meeting the detractor in real-life, he was surprised by her lack of bravado, to which she responds, "The Internet is the realm of the coward. These are people who are all sound and no fury."

Stein ruminates in response, "Maybe. But maybe, in the information age, sound is as destructive as fury."


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by jdavidb on Saturday August 20 2016, @03:59AM

    by jdavidb (5690) on Saturday August 20 2016, @03:59AM (#390426) Homepage Journal

    Trolling is, overtly, a political fight; but it has become the main tool of the alt-right

    Hmm, no, that's just what that particular writer is concerned with. Trolling online crosses all social boundaries. I'm sure leftists think right-wingers do it more, and vice versa.

    The real point of that paragraph is to troll the so-called "alt-right." Which I'm definitely not associated with, but I know a troll when I see it.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:07AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:07AM (#390431)

    > The real point of that paragraph is to troll the so-called "alt-right." Which I'm definitely not associated with, but I know a troll when I see it.

    Since the audience for that article is decidedly not the alt-right, it would be pretty misdirected to try trolling them in the middle of it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:19AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:19AM (#390442)

      Since the audience for that article is decidedly not the alt-right, it would be pretty misdirected to try trolling them in the middle of it.

      Seems to be working here on SoylentNews, though. We already have cc calling SJW and AC saying "idiot". Besides, the ultimate feat of trolling is to troll a troll. You just have to lure them out long enough that they turn to stone.

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:36AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:36AM (#390454)

    A real 'troll' is not playing the same game as you. They want to piss you off. Then when you are pissed off they will double down. It is what gets them off. Its what they like. Their actual views are not part of the discussion yours are.

    This article is nothing more than trying to remove the same tools that the 'alt-right' took up to fight against their 'enemy' (the alt-left?).

    Shouting someone down as racist is a good clue that you are dealing with someone who does not really want to change their view. They want to tell you their view and you just damn well better be happy with it. For anything else is 'trolling' and 'hate speech'.

    This article seems like SJWs thinking they are the only ones who can be hateful and shout down others. It keys into their ego of 'they are right and everyone else is unenlightened'. The literally can not see the irony of what they are doing. They are ego blind to it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:42AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:42AM (#390456)

      Maybe it's time to substitute "alt-left" for "SJWs".

    • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:51AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:51AM (#390462)

      > the 'alt-right' took up to fight against their 'enemy' (the alt-left?).

      The 'enemy' of the alt-right is everybody who is not the alt-right. The alt-right have at least as much animosity for the original right as they do for the left, they have at least two names for them - rinos and cucks. Its why Trump hired that breitbot and is working with Roger Ailes now that Ailes got booted from Fox -- Trump's looking past the election and hopes to cash in the alt-right by taking them from Fox news to a new Trump-Breitbart news network.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:58AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:58AM (#390466)

        > Trump's looking past the election and hopes to cash in the alt-right by taking them from Fox news to a new Trump-Breitbart news network.

        That... seems extremely plausible.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:48AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:48AM (#390512)

      A real 'troll' is not playing the same game as you. They want to piss you off. Then when you are pissed off they will double down. It is what gets them off. Its what they like.

      Ah....

      Their actual views are not part of the discussion yours are.

      You get this part right, yet you felt the need to use the phrase highlighted above in bold.....
      Oh, admittedly there are trolls out here who do get their jollies from trolling, However there are others who'll put up some outrageous trolling to lure their victims into spouting without filtering thereby revealing the egregiously asinine nonsense they truly believe..

      I was told as a child, not to mock the afflicted..a fine platitude to follow until you wake up one day and find that a sizeable percentage of the populace around you are hanging on the every word of said afflicted...sure, don't mock the afflicted, the best policy is that you get the afflicted to publicly 'mock' themselves in the hope that the 'brighter' sections of the populace realise the true 'majesty' of those they're listening to, and wake up.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:02PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @04:02PM (#390594)

        > into spouting without filtering thereby revealing the egregiously asinine nonsense they truly believe..

        Submitted for ironic post of the year.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:38PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 20 2016, @06:38PM (#390655)

        However there are others who'll put up some outrageous trolling to lure their victims into spouting without filtering thereby revealing the egregiously asinine nonsense they truly believe..

        Uh same thing. They are getting themselves 'off' by trying to get people to say things. My point was they are not playing the same game. Your views are up for review not theirs.

        I was told as a child, not to mock the afflicted..a fine platitude to follow until you wake up one day and find that a sizeable percentage of the populace around you are hanging on the every word of said afflicted...
        Is this your modus operandi of how you justify being a dick? That you are 'helping' others? Here is a life tip, people who are 'brutally honest' are more about the brutal than honesty. Trolling in many cases is a form of passive aggressive bullying.

        and wake up.
        Ah... you are the only one who is 'woke up' and spreading the good word huh? Being a jerk even when you are right is still being a jerk.