Theos-Talk Archives (December 2005 Message tt00256)

a word to the wise:

Here is an excellent article on Internet trolls, explaining the 
phenomenon:

http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

which helps explain certain patterns on theos-talk. Some relevant 
points from the article:
"An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on 
the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and 
upset people.
Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for 
their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are 
hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite 
human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel 
no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater 
the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they 
see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows 
trolls to flourish."