How to deal with trolls...

[Niya]

Tech and Funky pretty much nailed it. People sometimes need to be brought down a few notches. No one says it has to be all serious and formal. And if someone can't take a hit and roll with and maybe have some fun with it, then that's their own fault. They choose to take offense.

Nevertheless, I want to address a couple things here:-

Where do we draw the line. You seem to be saying that you have the right (seems like you see it as your mission) to seek out people who espouse beliefs that you find silly or offensive and throw a grenade in the middle of their community even though they are not doing anything to you or anyone else.

You're making the same mistake troll victims make, taking things way too seriously. First of all, I'm not on any mission except for increasing dopamine levels in my brain. Don't think that just because I think Christians are loony that I won't troll Atheists if given the chance, even though I agree with them. Its not about championing any particular ideology. Its about the entertainment derived from the hilarity that ensues when you remind overly self-important people that...well...they're not really that important. If people stopped taking themselves so seriously online....Trolling would not be so entertaining and would thus lose its appeal.

The most perfect example of how to handle trolling I can think of is that whole Donald Trump/Barack Obama birther fiasco. Donald started trolling Barry hard about his birth certificate. Now Barry could have gotten all butt hurt and emotional, but he didn't. What did he do ? He waited for old Donald and utterly humiliated him at that dinner thing by showing him how petty he was through his own form of trolling. Barack Obama doesn't take himself too seriously. He knows he is only human and has limits. He knows that even though he is the most powerful man in the world that he is not above being a target for criticism and doubt.. He has the right frame of mind. That's why he is such an electric and charming public figure. Humility is the medicine for trolling.

I know people who think that "techies" are weird, immature, and even a bit of a pox on society. Are they justified in coming over here and trying to be as disruptive as possible in the cleverest way possible?

"Oh yea, I'm weird as hell. I count all my rice grains before I consume it and I like to eat dirt too. And I'm not a pox....I'm a SUPER-POX!!! This techie is the most incurable pox there is. And I come in different flavors too...oh my I think I'm a lil crazy too "

Now tell me just how is a troll going to derive entertainment from someone who not only agrees with him but amplifies his views as well. And on a good day, I might even sing him praises for being able to assess my character so well. Ain;t nothing more annoying to a troll than victims that don't bite his trollbait....at least not in the way he expects. If people wanna come here and troll, lol I say let em. Won't bother me one bit....It'll be fun.