What much of this is about is context. When you are using a site, or even in real life when you are at a place that begs a certain type of behavior, you ought not be shocked when you see it. If you go to rock concert you'll see people being loud and raucous. Those same people will be quiet and calm when in a library. So much of the way people behave themselves has to do with their surroundings. Online is no different. If the norm seems to be people yelling and arguing, then you are more likely to argue and yell. If the norm is to discuss in a thoughtful way then you're more likely to do that. Trolls need food. Don't feed the trolls. You have nothing to gain by it. You will not change their mind. If anyone is ever trolled here, I highly recommend using the tools we have provided and not engaging. EDIT: if you do engage a troll, I think you need to ask yourself why you did that? Trolls are a problem, yes but those that engage the trolls and actively combat them can also be responsible for diminishing the integrity of a community. The "anti-troll" sort of becomes a troll via enabling. (End edit) As for whether or not people are inherently decent, I tend to think that they are ...when their environment sets the expectation that they ought to be so. To a varying degree, we are all subject to the pressures of our surroundings. This is why it's so important to surround ourselves, IRL and online with those that share our general values. -We may have differing thoughts on politics, religion etc but if you can share those thoughts in a civil way, I'm all good with ya. If you cannot.... You're heading to "ignore island."My question is this; can you still call yourself a decent person if your go to response is seemingly always silence? Why is it those voices only ever pipe up when it's time to defend themselves against the accusations rather than defend others during the trolling?
Unfortunately, by engaging the trolls all you are doing is encouraging them. What any troll wants, craves and needs is attention and when you give it to them, they are emboldened.
So I think you have it right here, but I'd like to shift your brain and poke you in the neurons if you'd allow me. As an old timer on the internet (as I assume you are), I am well aware of the "don't feed the trolls" rule. You are completely right, if you don't feed the trolls they go away. It makes sense since trolls are sociopaths. You don't give in, and they don't get to have fun. What really makes hubski great and sets it apart from other so called "social networks" is that users are given tools to defend against the nonsense. The hide button is a great great great thing. The other great, but often not talked about tool that we have at hubski is the social aspect "We" don't accept trolls here, they are easy to ignore and mostly we can tell from other people's interactions who a troll might be. This is my number three reason why I use hubski. Where I think you might be mistaken is in the assumption that trolls are always easy to spot and ignore. When I think of trolls I get the image in my head of someone saying something outlandish from the outright, and giving a ridiculous "opinion" trying to get a reaction. But trolls can also start off as quiet entities, starting off with a reasonable conversation, then suddenly divulging into racism, sexism, or other means of inciting reactions in others. These are the hardest trolls to ignore, because on the outset it seems like they are reasonable, respectable even. So yeah you can ignore them at a point, but it takes effort on your part to do so. In regards to engaging trolls. I will engage a troll, but I have grown a tough internet skin, I _personally_ know what the game is and how it will play out because I've seen it played out a million times. I know in the end that the troll will get fed. What I want to do when I engage a troll is to ask them questions and call them out so OTHER PEOPLE will see it. If someone is being sexist, or racist, or otherist, I want OTHER PEOPLE to see why the behavior of the troll marks them as a "no fun poo poo technicality no fun boo over". To summarize, I love hubski.