I had a little insight at the dog park today.
There's a small dog park and a big dog park, referring to the size of the canine visitors, not the area of the respective parks themselves.
My dogs, being small to middlin', use the small dog park.
Now Tucker LOVES to race along the dividing fence, barking furiously and taunting the big guys on the other side. He snarls, snaps and howls, enticing them into long chases back and forth.
But if one of those Great Danes, Labs, or Rottweilers should happen to visit the small dog park? Tucker would make a bee-line for me at full speed and either try to climb into my arms (if I was standing), or jump onto my lap (if I was sitting down).
Internet trolls behave exactly the same way! Hidden behind their supposed anonymity, they taunt, trash-talk, and insult. But if you smack 'em down, or track 'em down, they collapse like a fallen souffle or run crying for mommy.
Pathetic, really.
(No, I don't have a problem with trolls. I'm not popular enough! :))
13 comments:
Darn! You've found me out. Oh, the shame of it all.
I've just had one, and they went away as soon as my other readers rode to the defense, never to appear again.
Moderation helps, I think it keeps some of it away automatically.
I've got the best bunch of commenters. Seriously. The nicest group of men and women. It's a joy to come home at night and hear that little "hello, how you doing?" from the interweb.
Like you. I hope you and Rita and Lin and I can all meet up as a group some day.
I used to collect those wee troll dolls when I was young, you know, the ones with the wild hair? So when I learned that insulting, dung-filled bags of humanity that left annoying posts on forums/blogs were generally known as "trolls", it made me sad. Those wee dolls never brought me anything but joy!
I've banned a few who were really vile - not so much because they were vile - but because they were off topic. As far as I'm concerned, you can be as disgusting as you want. The more disgusting, the better. But do please stick to the point.
Edward...you're normally a LURKER, not the same as a troll at all. You're safe, my friend! :)
Brigid, you reap what you sow, so of course you're going to have excellent, wonderful commenters! And it's just as natural that they should drive off any troll that might happen upon your blog.
You, Rita, Lin, and I together? The earth would truly tremble at our passage...
Roismhaire, I remember those dolls fondly as well! Didn't they have really huge feet, too? Try not to associate your wonderful memories of your dolls with the wastes of space we call trolls on the internet.
Zelda, I have never fully unleashed my true vileness capabilities on your blog, on or off-topic! Maybe I should work on that...
Sheesh..... I never attract trolls. Shucks... I don't even attract readers (g).
I agree with your assessment. Trolls are basically cowardly bullies that vaporize when exposed to sunlight. I regard them as source of entertainment. Nobody is truly anonymous on the internet.
Trolls as little yippie dogs... I like that. What an astute observation, Christina!
I've been fortunate - I've only had a small handful of trolls bother with my blog. Wonder if it has something to do with the whole "shaved head biker gun nut" thing??? :)
Carteach, in a just world, you'd have about a million readers. Whereas my reader count wouldn't change on iota! ;)
Jay, appearance is EVERYTHING, right?! JUST KIDDING.
I'm sure it helps to be scary-looking when it comes to trolls. But you're just a big teddy bear. Who happens to have the whole "shaved-headed, gun nut, biker dude" thing down pat.
Absolutely true. I have no patience for anonymous creeps who leave insults as comments. If someone has an actual persona, a name, is willing to identify him/herself, fine. I may reply in kind, and perhaps not kindly, but at least I'll dignify the comment with a reply. Anonymous commenters who look to just rile things up? No respect whatsoever.
Suldog, I'd give my left nut, if I had one, to read/hear your replies to trolls. Epic, for sure.
I'm with Jim... it's the (supposed) anonymity that torques me. If you can't own up to your thoughts... i.e., with a NAME... then they aren't worth the time it takes to read them.
What Suldog and Buck said. At least put up a name, any name...
Good analogy, Christina!
Buck and Buckskins, I like the way both of you think!
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