Skip to main content
Ramblio

  • Mina

    I think there’s a fine line between joking around and trolling. Personally, I have absolutely no problem with people joking with me. That said, I come from a culture that, compared to American culture, tends to have fewer boundaries around certain kinds of humor, so I realize that my perspective might not apply to everyone. But to get back to the main point, I think trolling begins when you stop caring about whether the other person feels uncomfortable or hurt, and your own amusement becomes the only thing that matters. Also, just because people aren’t physically interacting in person doesn’t mean that what happens online isn’t real. People still connect with each other, have conversations and arguments, laugh together, form friendships, and even fall in love. These are all real human experiences, even when they happen online. So it shouldn’t be surprising that people can feel genuinely hurt or upset when they’re trolled on the internet. I believe everyone deserves to be treated with respect and should be able to participate in online spaces without having to worry about being mocked, harassed, or deliberately made uncomfortable. Of course, that goes both ways: everyone deserves that respect, as long as they’re willing to show the same respect to others.

    Loading reactions…

  • Doug Lee

    I say, in social media spaces, "trolling" is posting for the purpose of getting adverse reactions, as a primary or significant goal. Contrast that with speaking freely, where the primary goal is to communicate an idea or an opinion rather than to seek adverse reactions intentionally.

    Loading reactions…

  • Doug Lee

    I also say, some people troll purely for self-entertainment, which I don't respect much. Some do it thinking it will teach a lesson to those who don't "get it." I said elsewhere that I think this is most likely to teach the wrong lesson; namely, hatred and disdain and callousness rule, instead of, this is not as serious as it looks. We must understand that some people, for various reasons, simply will never "get it." Given that, making a big trolly splash will do nothing but disturb everything for a while. Harsh social response can work in some settings and situations; but in a large public space like this, I think more colateral damage than instruction will result. And that, friends and neighbors, is what I think, for what it's worth. :-)

    Loading reactions…

  • TERRANCE SADLER

    Of COURSE, I'll ALWAYS keep CREATING posts, but what I DEFIANTLY REFUSE to do is be the ONLY ONE commenting conversationally to them, because I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to be a "selfer, under NO CIRCUMSTANCE, WHATSOEVER, and YES, Mommy Mina, if the type of trolling DOES become such as where it's MENACINGLY challenging those whose defence level's not strong enough to handle it, I DO INDEED get it, but there ARE certain matters under which THAT sort of trolling's a DEFENSIVE, not an OFFENSIVE, solution.

    Loading reactions…

  • Doug Lee

    Replying to  @oinkoink: Of COURSE, I'll ALWAYS keep CREATING posts, but what I DEFIANTLY REFUSE to do is

    But I daresay, today, your method of refusing to be a "selfer" was to post new rambles until you got a reaction... again, for what that's worth to mention.

    Loading reactions…

Log in to comment