# The Science behind internet trolls.



## TheMailMan78 (Apr 17, 2015)

Apparently internet trolls are sadists and psychopaths according to the study below.



> Internet "trolls" — people who intentionally incite discord in online communities — may have a lot in common with real-life sadists, new research suggests.
> In two studies conducted online, researchers examined personality traits and the online commenting styles of 1,215 people. The investigators found that Internet trolls tended to have personality traits related to sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – a term used by psychologists to describe a person's tendency to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain. The link between trolling and sadism was the strongest out of all three traits, the researchers said.
> So what could explain the links between trolling and sadism? Simply put, some people seem to enjoy being argumentative and purposefully disruptive, according to the researchers.



http://www.livescience.com/48128-internet-trolls-sadistic-personalities.html

Sounds to me whoever wrote this story and did this study got seriously butt hurt online. lol


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

This is true.

Talking about yourself there, mm?


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 17, 2015)

qubit said:


> This is true.
> 
> Talking about yourself there, mm?


Its far from true. Stop being a troll.


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

It's on a science website and it describes your behaviour on this forum perfectly, as everyone knows. Try not to be in denial about it, tsk.

And who the fuck are you to accuse anyone of being a troll?! You're the laughing stock of this place.


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 17, 2015)

qubit said:


> It's on a science website and it describes your behaviour on this forum perfectly, as everyone knows. Try not to be in denial about it, tsk.
> 
> And who the fuck are you to accuse anyone of being a troll?!


You are derailing my thread and calling me names. You are trolling. Please stop.


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

tsk, trying to turn it round ain't gonna work. You're the one with trolling issues here and everyone knows it. I see that little three month vacation you were given has once more not reformed you at all, tsk. Oh my, maybe there's another in order, hmmm?


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## dorsetknob (Apr 17, 2015)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Its far from true. Stop being a troll.



Pot call Kettle Black

saw this thread and thought 

""Thats the Mailman"" 

confirmed it when i viewed it


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

dorsetknob said:


> Pot call Kettle Black


I was thinking of that exact phrase!


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## Ferrum Master (Apr 17, 2015)

Troll mode.

Holy... New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie 

He's so fat, he should stop teaching others about living and look upon himself lol


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## dorsetknob (Apr 17, 2015)

Perhaps one of our illustrious Mods can move this to general nonsense


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 17, 2015)

qubit said:


> tsk, trying to turn it round ain't gonna work. You're the one with trolling issues here and everyone knows it. I see that little three month vacation you were given has once more not reformed you at all, tsk. Oh my, maybe there's another in order, hmmm?





dorsetknob said:


> Pot call Kettle Black
> 
> saw this thread and thought
> 
> ...



Wow I didn't realize TPU was full of so many sadist and psychopaths. I mean in the article I posted you guys are falling right into the description. Maybe you guys should get some help.



dorsetknob said:


> Perhaps one of our illustrious Mods can move this to general nonsense


Why? This is as relevant as most the other threads in the Science section. Its you guys who are derailing it.

Can we please stay on topic?


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## Ferrum Master (Apr 17, 2015)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Wow I didn't realize TPU was full of so many sadist and psychopaths. I mean the article I posted you guys are falling right into the description. Maybe you guys should get some help.



I am European still... so it looks reasonable to me...


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

Alas, he's still in denial, dorset. I can see another vacation coming his way sooner rather than later.


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## rtwjunkie (Apr 17, 2015)

I can't believe how many gullible people there are on TPU!  Don't you know TMM saw the humor in this, and even his answers are tounge in cheek?  I think it's very clever how well he has baited a number of you into "trolling."


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## dorsetknob (Apr 17, 2015)

rtwjunkie said:


> I think it's very clever how well he has baited a number of you into "trolling."



Is that not good enough reason to move it to the General nonsense thread


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## BiggieShady (Apr 17, 2015)

When I think about sociopath who is trolling this is what comes to mind:


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## 64K (Apr 17, 2015)

rtwjunkie said:


> I can't believe how many gullible people there are on TPU!  Don't you know TMM saw the humor in this, and even his answers are tounge in cheek?  I think it's very clever how well he has baited a number of you into "trolling."



TheMailMan posts and a shitstorm of drama ensues. It's an art.


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

rtwjunkie said:


> I can't believe how many gullible people there are on TPU!  Don't you know TMM saw the humor in this, and even his answers are tounge in cheek?  I think it's very clever how well he has baited a number of you into "trolling."


Yes, it would be nice to think it's all said in jest, but one can tell when it is - and I'm all for self-deprecating humour when it is, but this isn't.

Think about it, why would he get multiple 3 month bans if it was really all said in good humour? No some people are just pathetic trolls and get the punishment and humiliation that they deserve. There are a handful of others like this on this forum and it beggars belief how they don't get permabanned, just longish vacations.


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## erocker (Apr 17, 2015)

This clearly fits under the "other" category in terms of sciences that is briefly described under the title of the Science and Technology forum. On a personal note, I find the article to be fascinating and relevant to my interests being an internet forum moderator. Being acceptable according to the scope of this sub-forum, I ask that everyone stay on topic.

Thank you for your cooperation.


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## TheMailMan78 (Apr 17, 2015)

erocker said:


> This clearly fits under the "other" category in terms of sciences that is briefly described under the title of the Science and Technology forum. Being acceptable according to the scope of this sub-forum, I ask that everyone stay on topic.
> 
> Thank you for your cooperation.


Thank you Erocker for bringing order.


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## Ferrum Master (Apr 17, 2015)

We shall just call it scientific TPU family drinking meeting then?


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## erocker (Apr 17, 2015)

Ferrum Master said:


> We shall just call it scientific TPU family drinking meeting then?


That may be better served for the "wine, health and you" thread.


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## the54thvoid (Apr 17, 2015)

The internet is just one big playing field for pretty much any falsehood.  The 'printed' anonymous word gives so many people the impression they can say what they want and it has no consequence - in that alone it is akin (but not really like) sadism or psychopathy.  People that intentionally hurt other peoples feelings i.e. in threads, are assholes plain and simple.  Sometimes people also go too far with what started as jest but don't know when to reel it back in.  
Problem here is that we're not all native English speaking and nuances get lost.  What I do know is that they way some people like to talk online would get them pretty much stabbed where I come from (we don't do guns - too impersonal).  I try to speak with respect to folks here but if i do lose my rag it does mean i'm pissed off.

As for MM being a troll.  He's not a troll, he's a mischievous little imp and like all written, toneless posts, is just misunderstood.  Here's a hug for you you big old furball. (Can't find a hug emoticon - have a  instead).


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## R-T-B (Apr 17, 2015)

In complete seriousness, I agree with this study.


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## qubit (Apr 17, 2015)

erocker said:


> This clearly fits under the "other" category in terms of sciences that is briefly described under the title of the Science and Technology forum. On a personal note, I find the article to be fascinating and relevant to my interests being an internet forum moderator. Being acceptable according to the scope of this sub-forum, I ask that everyone stay on topic.
> 
> Thank you for your cooperation.


This new thread title is much more appropriate than the previous trolly one. Thanks for changing it.

The irony here is that he posted this to get at me, but it is indeed is a valid subject to talk about, as I've noted above.

Yup, trolling is basically a form of bullying and says much more about the troller's deficiencies and issues than their targets / victims. I've also dealt with idiots like this on other forums as a mod, so know first hand the challenges involved.


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## Ferrum Master (Apr 17, 2015)

the54thvoid said:


> The internet is just one big playing field for pretty much any falsehood.



That's also false truth... it is kind of a zoo... there a monkeys, elephants, zebras and dinosaurs like me  pretty much the perception of truth, things is kind of mixed bag.  I consider TPU really a solid piece of community except of some personalities that should be spanked, so it is NOT the right field for experiments.  The most important thing is the balance of not becoming sold out, geek, fan boy, idiot etc trend... But here the faulty idiots got spanked fast, so I like here... less stressful reading...(that's the most important thing in my opinion) I I like dark humor really(especially British), like most of us... if it is timid and played well, I can take any kind of joke.


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## BiggieShady (Apr 18, 2015)

There is a huge difference between being a Troll and acting as one.
An acting troll walks the fine line made of dark humor and gets to be called an imp.
An actual troll is truly a kind of a sociopath that trolls in real life as much as online.
How to distinguish the two? Simple. The actual trolling situation can't be defused with humor.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Apr 18, 2015)

Twitter's top lawyer has admitted it has been ‘inexcusably slow’ in tackling online trolls who make the lives of others a misery.
Vijaya Gadde said the social network had let internet abuse go ‘unchecked’ because it did not recognise the scope and scale of the problem.
Miss Gadde said Twitter had tripled the size of the team that deals with online abuse – because it had to do better.
She made the announcement on the day a study found that 88 per cent of abusive behaviour on social media happens on Twitter.
Anti-bullying campaigners have also long complained that Twitter is a sanctuary for trolls who post hateful abuse behind the veil of anonymity.
In an article for the Washington Post, Miss Gadde said that running Twitter required constant vigilance but that the company had ‘failed to live up to’ this aim.
She admitted that ‘our response times have been inexcusably slow and the substance of our responses too meagre’.

Miss Gadde wrote: ‘This is, to put it mildly, not good enough.

‘Freedom of expression means little as our underlying philosophy if we continue to allow voices to be silenced because they are afraid to speak up. We need to do a better job combating abuse without chilling or silencing speech’.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...finds-88-abuse-social-media-happens-site.html


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## qubit (Apr 18, 2015)

@CAPSLOCKSTUCK Good find there, buddy.

I didn't know that trolling was so rampant on Twitter.  The platform has never really interested me, with its deliberately tiny character limit, so I've not seen any of this other than the odd quoted post in news articles or forum posts. Glad to be out of it, frankly.


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## krusha03 (Apr 18, 2015)

In today's world someone somewhere will always be offended by what someone else said or did


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## qubit (Apr 18, 2015)

@krusha03 While that's true in some ways, in this context it's the trolls who set out to deliberately offend and cause drama, but then accuse others of being "butthurt" to project their malicious activities onto their victims and deflect the blame away from themselves and have a laugh at those others' expense. It's just old fashioned bullying being done online. So no, it's not "butthurt", but their targets biting back and slapping them down just like they deserve.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Apr 18, 2015)

In the UK at least, more and more people are prosecuted for being abusive online.

The old adage  "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"  doesnt really hold true anymore.


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## krusha03 (Apr 18, 2015)

qubit said:


> @krusha03 While that's true in some ways, in this context it's the trolls who set out to deliberately offend and cause drama, but then accuse others of being "butthurt" to project their malicious activities onto their victims and deflect the blame away from themselves and have a laugh at those others' expense. It's just old fashioned bullying being done online. So no, it's not "butthurt", but their targets biting back and slapping them down just like they deserve.



Call me a troll but i think it's people being stupid. Why am I not a victim of this cyber bullying? There are ways to protect yourself and prevent it. Why do kids have facebook? Why to parents allow them to have "gaming streams" (look up twitch raid)? While i don't understand the people going out of their way to make these things, giving access to a complete stranger to your PC and getting it formatted is your own damn fault.

Finally wrt to having a laugh at others expense, well if you post stupid shit I can call you on it and laugh at you for being stupid. (i dont mean you @qubit specifically but in general because sometimes when i see things on my facebook news feed facepalm is not enough)


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## Caring1 (Apr 18, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> In today's world someone somewhere will always be offended by what someone else said or did


True, I think in some cases it's people speaking their mind and others being offended, intentional or not, other times it is inflammatory remarks meant to incite a reaction.


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## qubit (Apr 18, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> Call me a troll but i think it's people being stupid. Why am I not a victim of this cyber bullying? There are ways to protect yourself and prevent it. Why do kids have facebook? Why to parents allow them to have "gaming streams" (look up twitch raid)? While i don't understand the people going out of their way to make these things, giving access to a complete stranger to your PC and getting it formatted is your own damn fault.
> 
> Finally wrt to having a laugh at others expense, well if you post stupid shit I can call you on it and laugh at you for being stupid. (i dont mean you @qubit specifically but in general because sometimes when i see things on my facebook news feed facepalm is not enough)


Nah, you're not a troll. 

So, how and why do trolls/bullies pick their targets? I'm not sure there's a definitive answer to that one and I certainly don't have it. It's a bit like what makes people team up as friends or life partners I guess. It's just not a defnite answer, even for the people involved.

You say people can defend themselves against it. Well, that's only true in some scenarios like the one I mentioned above, but now take this example: a family loses a small child to some murderer who plucked them from the street eg toddler Jamie Bulger.

It's a really horrible crime with devastating consequences for that child and all their friends and family. The family then create a Facebook page to honour their dead child. Amongst all the well-wishers, you then get an undercurrent of spiteful, hateful, inflammatory comments from some sick people, designed to hurt those family, friends and other FB users of that page. What then? Is it somehow those victims' fault, or is it the complete fault of the assholes who make those nasty comments? The answer is obviously the blame rests with those trolls. How are the victims supposed to "defend" against it? Make a smartass reply back? That's not the answer is it? It's really best that those comments never showed up in the first place. Do you have an answer to this scenario?


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## BiggieShady (Apr 18, 2015)

Psychology is a bitch. 
Let me be blunt, implying that someone is "butthurt" is so obviously saying "I just fucked you in the ass and I know it hurts because I wasn't gentle" or "I just watched that other guy fuck you in the ass, that's gotta hurt, don't mind me masturbating"...
I know there was a point to all this, something homoerotic, but I lost it.


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## krusha03 (Apr 18, 2015)

qubit said:


> Nah, you're not a troll.
> 
> So, how and why do trolls/bullies pick their targets? I'm not sure there's a definitive answer to that one and I certainly don't have it. It's a bit like what makes people team up as friends or life partners I guess. It's just not a defnite answer, even for the people involved.
> 
> ...


Simple

Option 1: make the page a person profile then you can select who can post on it
Option 2 (and for me the more sensible one): Don't open a facebook page because these are things that should be shared with close friends and family and not random strangers. You will get a lot of "that's tragic. RIP. He is in a better place" messages. So what? It's not gonna bring the kid back and in reality not many people care anyway. How did we honor the dead before facebook again?



BiggieShady said:


> Psychology is a bitch.
> Let me be blunt, implying that someone is "butthurt" is so obviously saying "I just fucked you in the ass and I know it hurts because I wasn't gentle" or "I just watched that other guy fuck you in the ass, that's gotta hurt, don't mind me masturbating"...
> I know there was a point to all this, something homoerotic, but I lost it.



This is an example of what i meant by butthurt. Some people deserve a high five.... to their face.... with a chair
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices...-a-saviour-complex-to-rescue-me-10182308.html

Also to continue with your analogy what where you doing spreading your ass infront of a stranger anyway?


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## BiggieShady (Apr 18, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> Also to continue with your analogy what where you doing spreading your ass infront of a stranger anyway?


Now that's a step in the right direction in defining what troll is : a patient observer of butcheeks to see when the grip will loosen


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## qubit (Apr 18, 2015)

krusha03 said:


> Simple
> 
> Option 1: make the page a person profile then you can select who can post on it
> Option 2 (and for me the more sensible one): Don't open a facebook page because these are things that should be shared with close friends and family and not random strangers. You will get a lot of "that's tragic. RIP. He is in a better place" messages. So what? It's not gonna bring the kid back and in reality not many people care anyway. How did we honor the dead before facebook again?


That "solution" just sounds pithily convenient to me that doesn't really answer the question.

And yes, people should be able to open a public page to remember someone (or a pet) and not have to worry about getting anyone's approval for it - and certainly not be abused for it. Those multiple RIP messages might not mean anything to you, but they do to a lot of people and that's their right. Who are me and you to judge?

Finally, times change, technology changes and enables new things, therefore now people use Facebook and other online social platforms for these things. Nothing wrong with that at all.


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