What Should Be Done About Trolling?

What Should Be Done About Trolling?

Aliya K. Hartney

College of Southern Idaho

COMM 140 C20W

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What Should Be Done About Trolling?

Author Whitney Phillips claims “the frequency with which aggressive online behaviors

are described as trolling has only increased” the result: cultural now views “trolling as an

antagonistic, hateful, ever-present online danger” (2015, p. 154) What should be done about this

online danger? Before we can answer that, we need to understand what trolling is, what is

already being done about it, and the downfalls of these strategies.

The Problem

What is Trolling?

Trolling is an ambiguous term, commonly used, but rarely understood. Lindgren (2017)

observes Trolling as a “phenomenon” unique to the digital society, and then describes it as an

“ambiguous practice of posting inflammatory remarks, wrongful information, false accusations,

or other content which aims to stir up emotions and generate strong reactions” (p. 137). The

actions that fall under the label of trolling are diverse, varying in levels of severity, and even by

intentions. Sadly the ambiguity of the term contributes to the problem. As Author Phillips (2015)

expresses “what people call things often dictates what people are willing to do about them” and

calling every “aggressive online behavior” an act of trolling normalizes the problem; moving us

further from a solution (p. 154). However, this is the definition we must work with.

Who are the Trolls?

The formal definition for internet troll “is a member of an online social community who

deliberately tries to disrupt, attack, offend, or generally cause trouble within the community”

(Moreau, 2018). In simple terms a troll is someone who engages in the act of trolling. But who

are the trolls? They are normal human beings; people who in the offline world, follow the same

rules of etiquette, as everyone else.

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Why do They Troll?

Knowing that the Trolls are not the same aggravating individuals offline, leads to the

question of why do they troll? The simple answer is the online disinhibition effect; “the online

disinhibition effect describes the loosening of social restrictions and inhibitions that are normally

present in face-to-face” which occurs during internet interactions (David, 2015). Basically trolls

believe they are invisible, thus they can act however they want without fear of consequences.

Why is Trolling Still Prevalent in Our Culture?

Lafrance (2017) writes “the uncomfortable truth is that humans like trolling”. Trolling

thrives in our culture because as individuals we enjoy it. Furthermore, we are desensitized to

trolling, “whereas once we would have thought about the consequences of what we posted, now

we just spout without thinking about it” (Fox, 2014). After all, our single nasty comment cannot

possibly mean anything in this sea of incivility? Yet it does. “A single troll comment in a

discussion… can lead to even more troll comments elsewhere” like a snowball crashing down

the hill (Lafrance, 2017). Finally, these “flame wars” are generating profit for companies such as

Facebook, “the more we come back, the more money they make… So the shouting match goes

on.” (Lafrance, 2017). Trolling thrives in our culture. Individual continue to engage in it out of

enjoyment, and companies encourage it for profit. Overall, we are desensitized to its danger, it is

a normal feature in our online society.

The Reaction

However, not everyone accepts Trolling as an inherent part of online communication.

Many people fight to punish and uproot the trolls. This fight involves movements which increase

moderation while decreasing anonymity, promote social guidelines of netiquette, and efforts to

stifle the trolls with silence. In theory, all of these efforts will dissuade trolls.
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Trolling Jurisdiction

Anonymity

As mentioned earlier trolls often act as they do because of the online disinhibition effect,

which is a result of the anonymity they feel the internet provides. Therefore, it is reasonable to

assume that decreasing the internet’s anonymity, would also decrease the frequency of trolling.

In its interconnectedness, the internet is already shifting this way. Think of all the apps that are

connected through your Facebook account, or all the information that is stored in your Google

account. The anonymity we feel on the internet is a pseudo-anonymity. Although our offline

identity might be concealed, our behavior across multiple platforms is easily analyzed (Lafrance,

2017). Algorithms have already been designed to interpret this information for ad purposes, and

they could be used to filter out trolls. Already the tools to uproot the trolls is there, but who

should have the power to punish them, and what types of trolling are punishable?

Trolling and the Law

In Australia, the Government has the right to punish Trolls who use “a carriage service to

menace, harass, or cause offence” this offense “carries a maximum penalty of three years

imprisonment” (Hunt, 2016). New Zealand too has strict regulation for the way Trolling is

handled and punished, detailed in the Harmful Digital Communication Act of 2015.

After an incident on Facebook, where then 24 year-old Paloma Brierley Newton was

berated with rape threats, and sexist insults by Zane Alchin, Newton vowed “to report Alchin’s

comments to [the] police” (Hunt, 2016). Because of Australia’s anti-troll law, Newton won her

case, and Alchin was “sentenced to a 12-month good behavior bond” (Hunt, 2016). Newton’s

case “has been described as a test of police and legal responses to online abuse” and may provide
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a framework for other nations to curb the prevalence of trolls (Hunt, 2016). Punishing Trolls,

especially in the public eye, could deter other trolls.

Social Guidelines

Netiquette

Another way to deter trolling is through education, “Rather like drunk-driving, the best

way of dealing with online negative behavior is to make it socially unacceptable” (Martin, 2013).

Over the years we have developed a code of behavior for civil discourse, which we call etiquette.

This code has developed along with our culture. We are taught the rules of Etiquette from an

early age, and it is socially unacceptable to violate them. At this time, “Technological evolution

has surpassed the evolution of civil discourse.” (Lafrance, 2017). However, we are trying to

catch up, through Netiquette: “the rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over

computer networks, especially the internet” (Dictionary.com). As more of society learns and

accepts Netiquette, trolling could become as unacceptable as drunk driving.

Stop Feeding the Trolls

Although often included as a rule of Netiquette, the “Stop Feeding the Trolls” movement

deserves recognition of its own. Essentially, this movement stresses the fact that trolls are

looking for a reaction. Whenever we engage them, we are fueling the trolling fire; not only

encouraging them, but also telling information-providing companies, that this is interesting,

which then encourages them to promote trolling. We can stop the snowball effect of trolling, if

we do not contribute. If we do not react, the trolls will feel like the “outgroup” and there would

be less of a draw for trolling (Martin, 2013).

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Is this Reaction Working?

In a recent Atlantic survey over 80% of the 1,500 technologists and scholars surveyed

“said they expect the tone of online discourse will either stay the same or get worse in the next

decade” (Lafrance, 2017). With this survey in mind Lafrance (2017), proposes that “there’s a

sense lately that the lows have gotten lower”, suggesting that the trolling problem is only getting

worse. It seems that our efforts to fight trolling that sounded strong in theory are not working.

Where are they falling apart?

Trolling Jurisdiction: A Second Look

There are several problems with the efforts to decrease internet anonymity, and increase

moderation, not the least of which is free-speech. First of all, the internet is already shifting to an

interconnected being, making true anonymity almost impossible. Additionally, within our culture

warnings about the visibility of our digital personas are increasing. Still, the general mentality is

that our trolling problem is only getting worse. Why? The answer can once again be found in the

Online Disinhibition effect. It is commonly thought that perceived anonymity is the greatest

contributing factor of Online Disinhibition effect, but it is far from the only one. The

asynchronous nature of the internet is another factor, and the way “the internet offers a more-or-

less equal playing field for everyone” (David, 2015). Arguably though, these are some of the

greatest beauties of the internet. The convenience of the internet is dependent on its

asynchronous nature, and leveling the playing field opens the doors for innovation and

communication. By limiting these, assuming we could, we would harm the internet in our

attempt to heal it. John Suler, the creator of the Online Disinhibition effect, “describes two main

categories of behavior that fall under the online disinhibition effect… benign disinhibition and

toxic disinhibition” (David, 2015). Toxic disinhibition describes trolling, benign disinhibition
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describes the lighter side of the disinhibition effect: the tendency to self-disclose more, or “go

out of their way to help someone or show kindness” (David, 2015). The same factors contribute

to both of these behaviors, and the “distinction is not always clear”, we cannot control toxic

disinhibition behaviors without also discouraging benign disinhibition behaviors (David, 2015).

Thus, any effort to stop trolling through moderation, would also harm the innovative nature of

the internet. Also we need to consider the role of free speech in this area. Where would we draw

the lines? What is trolling? What is free speech? Who should decide? Taking these questions to

heart, Martin (2013) writes “There are laws that deal with extreme trolling, but obviously the

police can't (and shouldn't) cover every corner of the internet”. Attempts to control the trolls

seems more problematic than successful “so other than moderation and censorship, what can be

done?” (Martin, 2013).

Social Guidelines

Netiquette

In part we have already covered the problem with Netiquette as a solution to trolling.

Simply, it is far behind. Netiquette is facing an uphill climb for its acceptance in our culture. It is

not only a problem of learning proper etiquette, but also unlearning unhealthy internet habits.

Maybe in time Netiquette will become prevalent enough to eliminate our trolling problem, until

then we are left wanting for a faster solution.

Stop feeding the trolls

One of the most common responses to trolling is to block them. This aligns well with

efforts to stifle trolls by not giving them a reaction. However, the internet is a wide-place and

there will always be somewhere for a troll to get a reaction. Maybe they will simply dive deeper

into “the dark web” (Lafrance, 2017). It seems that “the worst outcome is that we end up with a
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kind of Potemkin internet in which everything looks reasonably bright and sunny, which hides a

more troubling and less transparent reality.” (Lafrance, 2017). At first this seems like the best

solution, the trolls still get their say, and those who do not want to participate do not. However,

hiding a problem never solves it. It would only be a matter of time before the trolling problem

resurfaces stronger than ever. Certainly, not saying that we should “feed” the trolls, but this

cannot be our only solution. After all, not every troll cares about the reactions, sometimes they

are only there to blow off some steam.

Reframing the Problem

What should be done about the trolling problem? We should begin by reframing the

problem, because “the troll problem isn’t a troll problem at all. It’s a culture problem,

immediately complicating any solution that mistakes the symptom for the disease.” (Phillips,

2015, p. 154). In all our efforts to eliminate or reduce trolling, we are fighting the symptoms not

the disease. The disease is a culture that accepts this atrocious behavior. How do we fight the

disease then?

Understanding

The first step is understanding. Understand that trolling is a result of our culture.

Understand the “full spectrum of trolling behaviors” (Phillips, 2015, p. 156). If we could nail

down a definite term for trolling, stop using it as a “haphazard buzzword”, then we could initiate

a solution (Phillips, 2015, p. 155). Also part of crafting our understanding, should be creating

criteria for the types of trolling: fixed criteria, which we could apply in every trolling situation,

hopefully yes or no questions such as “Do they [the troll’s comments] threaten a person’s private

or professional reputation?” (Phillips, 2015, p. 157). Then we should decide what “set of
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options” a yes to this question would prompt, and what a no would (Phillips, 2015, p. 157). After

we have fully formed our understanding, then we could craft legitimate trolling jurisdiction.

How to React to the Trolls

The next step would honestly be to stop feeding the trolls. As mentioned earlier, humans

like trolling, and that needs to stop. Not only on an individual level, but also as a culture, because

“so long as mainstream institutions are steered by people who behave like trolls, there will

always be an audience of trolls primed to maximize mainstream ugliness.” (Phillips, 2015, p.

159). We would need to stop focusing our news on the “explicitly racist, misogynist, and

homophobic”, basically keep the trolls out of the news, and keep the trolling out of it too

(Phillips, 2015, p. 158). Do not dignify the trolls with a reaction, and do not dignify trolling

articles with a click.

Who Are the Trolls?

The final step would be to ask once again, “who are the trolls?”, and the answer might be

you. Too often the troll discussion presents “a presumably innocent ‘us’ against some seemingly

antithetical ‘them’” assuming that the trolls are all bad, and that us the “average Internet users”

could never fall to that level (Phillips, 2015, p. 168). However, this is far from the case. Trolls

are not always trolls, and we have all been the troll at some point. Therefore do not feed the troll,

but also do not be the troll.

Conclusion

Most of us can agree that the most egregious cases of trolling, the unnecessary, rude,

insulting, and dissentious comments that contribute nothing meaningful to the digital

communication environment, needs to go. However, we cannot seem to agree on what those

cases are. Nor can we decide who should have the power to eliminate them, or even how they
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can be eliminated. Still, numerous cultures are tackling the problem. New Zealand has followed

the understanding step, laying out the criteria for digital communication to be considered

harmful. Australia is already in the enforcement stage, punishing one troll to discourage others.

Some states, Arizona notably, are already discussing anti-trolling laws (Phillips, 2015, p. 154).

Although the laws in themselves, might not be the best solution, it shows our culture’s shift away

from a place where trolling thrives. That is the true problem, the etiquette of our culture has yet

to catch up to the technology of this age, but we are continuing the fight. We are all guilty of

trolling, and we all need to be participants in the solution as well. The true question then is what

should you do about trolling?

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References

David, L. (2015, December 15). Online Disinhibition Effect (Suler). Retrieved from Learning

Theories: https://www.learning-theories.com/online-disinhibition-effect-suler.html

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Netiquette. Retrieved from Dictionary.com:

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/netiquette

Fox, J. (2014, August 12). Why the Online Trolls Troll. Psychology Today. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/better-living-technology/201408/why-the-

online-trolls-troll

Hunt, E. (2016, July 29). 'What Law am I Breaking' How a Facebook Troll Came Undone. The

Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jul/30/how-

facebook-troll-came-undone

Lafrance, A. (2017, March 29). Trolls Are Winning the Internet, Technologists Say. The

Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/03/guys-

its-time-for-some-troll-theory/521046/

Lindgren, S. (2017). Digital Media & Society. Los Angles: Sage Publishing.

Martin, A. (2013, May 30). Online Disinhibition and the Psychology of Trolling. WIRED.

Retrieved from https://www.wired.co.uk/article/online-aggression

Moreau, E. (2018, June 22). 10 Types of Internet Trolls You'll Meet Online. Lifewire. Retrieved

from https://www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894

Phillips, W. (2015). This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship Between

Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture. MIT Press. Retrieved from

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com