Why do people troll?

They need the attention to validate themselves.

I hope you are not talking about me.

I think people who have low self esteem assume that they can only get attention by making statements that will garner negative attention. It does not occur to them that people would engage them if they attempted to interact in a positive way. They assume they have no positive value to give.

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought I am. How’d you know?

I hadn’t really thought of it like that, but it’s kind of sad now that you say it.

I always think the same thing! Especially the ones that make up extremely elaborate plots and backstories. What do they have to gain from it, besides a chuckle? Do they really have that much time to waste that they would spend all of it devising a plan to troll? It just seems pointless to me, there are much better/easier/less stupid ways to get a laugh. Even just talking to your friends and having a silly conversation is more entertaining!

I have no idea. If I went on some site and trolled around, I’d feel pretty stupid, wasting my time and other people’s time like this. Even if I went under some identity that nobody would recognize, at least for a while, if it was a place like Fluther.
I saw this one website, it was forums, and the whole thing was dedicated to flaming people. Users go on there and just flame each other. I’m thinking that a site meant for that must make the flame wars really different from an actual one that happens out of nowhere, in a place where that isn’t the point. But still, I was like, why do people enjoy this? Takes all sorts I guess.

But anyways, maybe they’re really bored, mean spirited and somehow get off from trolling. Hell, sometimes maybe some trolls don’t mean to be trolls, or don’t realize what they’re saying. But in the ones that do realize what they’re doing, maybe it’s some petty thing they get from the whole thing about breaking authority, or a sense of having power. Maybe it’s easy to get off from stuff like that on the internet, since nothing can ever really happen to you, besides being banned or owned.

At first I am annoyed with them for wasting the time of people truly trying to help. But then I think what @Imadethisupwithnoforethought said, they are lonely and any attention is good attention to them. So sad for those people.

I don’t see why they can’t just try to make friends on the site that they are trolling if they’re so lonely. Wouldn’t it be better to have friends than people being annoyed at you?

I honestly have no idea. It’s a frame of mind I can’t understand currently. I honestly picture someone who hasn’t been accepted or loved enough in reality, so they go to the computer where all of a sudden they can be whoever they want? Some hatred and lashing out is bound to occur, and the internet is a fitting environment for that due to its anonymity.

@mangeons yeah, that makes more sense, logically. It just isn’t something that I can relate to, which is why I thought I would ask. I hate it when someone dislikes me for any reason at all, I can’t imagine trying to make people dislike me on purpose.

Not all trolls troll for the same reason. Some of the reasons are stated above. Another reason is because some people get a kick out of pushing the buttons of others. They think it’s funny that someone can get so easily upset by a stranger on the internet. It’s pure entertainment for them, that’s all.

To some I believe it’s a game, a video game where we are the game pieces and the object of the game is to stir up feelings. Good if you can get everybody mad. Better if you can get the site regulars to fight with one another, and best if you can actually bring down the site, which happens sometimes.

Years ago, when I first encountered a serious troll on another site, I did some research. I found a page with a lot of information about them and how they work, and I also found an e-list where self-proclaimed trolls were boasting about their conquests.

@Jeruba Wow. Do you think a troll could bring down Fluther? :P

@mangeons Many people who are lonely don’t get attention when they act in a positive manner though. When they purposefully rile others up though, people pay attention, so this is the only way they know to get people to pay attention.

It’s like if a couple has a child, but has to have both parents work (as so often happens). When the parents are home with the child, the parents are often tired from their jobs, so they don’t want to play with their child or pay as much attention to their child as the child wants. When the child misbehaves though, the parents immediately pay attention. The child then correlates that the only way to get the attention they desire is to misbehave. Trolls tend to just be larger children who need people to pay attention to them on the internet, and the only way they know to garner that attention is to annoy others.

@jonsblond @Jeruba Yes, there are those types of trolls too, but I personally think they are the minority when it comes to trolls. Those are usually the subtler trolls, and subtle trolls are much rarer than blatant trolls.

@amujinx it really makes a lot of sense.

There’s also really a lot of anger behind it. And the level of anger in society at large seems to me to be much higher these days than it was 20 or even 10 years ago. Couple that with the fact that the Internet affords many penalty-free ways of expressing it and taking it out on others, and you have a legion of trolls.

@amujinx That does make sense. I never really thought of it like that, I just assumed they were people with no lives and/or nothing better to do with their time.

I think some people develop animosity towards those with whom they disagree.

E.g., some people have gone to conservative websites just to annoy the conservatives there, and I’ve seen the same thing at progressive sites.

It could be that this a way for those people to release some of the unreleased annoyance or anger that they feel towards their targets.

@Blackberry

“Do you think a troll could bring down Fluther? :P”

Yeah, if the Fluther membership consisted solely of about 100 teenagers, or if some trolls bought Fluther and turned it into Canswerbag. ;-p

Perhaps they are native speakers of English?

Sadly, I think that many of them are probably slightly mentally ill, and because of that, they are social misfits. They probably have no friends and probably have no idea how to be a friend or make friends, so they go online and make up fake personalities to simply engage anyone. Even if the responses they get are not positive.

They probably think that any attention is better than no attention. It’s really a shame.

Trolls are sad. I am sad for them.

I am not as nice as you are. I want to wring their necks.

^^ That, too.

In some instances, when the trolling seems obvious, and they just want to cause a disruption, I often want to wring their necks too, but with this last bout of trolling, I could only look at this person as being really desperate and pathetic.

That is what was weird about it, the troll didn’t seem to cause everyone to get all snarky and mean, it mostly made everyone look at the troll and try to help it. There was minor frustration, but no more than is usual on some of the non-troll questions. That’s why it didn’t make sense to me. The troll just seemed pathetic and child-like. Not sure how that would float the trolls boat (or moat, or whatever it is that trolls have).

@Kardamom

”...but with this last bout of trolling, I could only look at this person as being really desperate and pathetic.”

Are you referring to the one that left Fluther a day or so ago?

For shock value, to piss off the sensitive, to mock, and other reasons. Every troll has a different reason to troll and as my co-conspirator, @Symbeline, said some might not even know they are trolling. My view on trolls vary. The clever ones such as selling a “powerbook” (which is actually a binder with a bunch of loose keyboard keys) to a Nigerian scammer definitely earn my respect.

For jollies.

I don’t understand it either @ANef_is_Enuf. Some people like really odd things like Nazi memorabilia. O_o

They love mischief and mayhem.

For the lulz.

I even trolled conservapedia for a while when it first came out. Trolling is a art.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard oh, I forgot we discussed this topic, before.

They need to get a life.

They’re the Beavis and Buttheads of the Internet who push all the elevator buttons, leave pee all over the seat and throw nails off the freeway overpass then slurk off hyuk-hyuking about it.

Anything to be noticed. Negative reaction is better than no reaction. It’s often the reason for negative behavior of any kind . . .kids who won’t mind, people who want attention, people who have an Oakland personality (There’s no there there). They think, ”I can get attention! Watch this!”

Same reason they vandalize or write graffiti – negative attention mixed with boredom.

I dunno @zensky graffiti can be quite erudite in comparison.
With you on the vandalism though.

Deep rooted insecurites and issues mixed with boredom and a lack of social skills? Maybe they also were never breastfeed as babies.

Troling can be funny as hell. I trole sometimes. There are two main reasons why it can be so great. 1) It shows how stupid people can be sometimes. 2) It shows how serious people can get. 3) It’s funny watching people fly off the handle for no good reason.

It makes the troll feel smart or in control of their own emotions when they see how some people react. But, mainly because its funny. Try it if you don’t understand.

@Afos22 I’ve never seen anything funny about playing tricks on people.

Because they have the intellect of an under educated amoeba?

I like life under the bridge. It’s cool hanging with the fish and crayfish. So maybe I’m just missing out on having a life, why so mean to us funny looking bridge dwellers?
(Sorry I needed a little levity today)

I had some fun with a troll years ago. There were maybe 6 of us in a women’s only chat room. We were having a nice time when a guy showed up and said, “Suck my cock!” The room went dead silent for a little bit, and then I had a bright idea.

I said, “No, thanks. I don’t like feathers in my mouth!” Everyone cracked up. One gal said she had fallen off her chair and was typing on her knees. We began naming types of chickens and comparing their attributes. Perhaps it was one of those stupid white leg horns that don’t know enough to come in out of the rain, or one of those fancy ones with the funny feathers on the legs. I finally decided it was a silly little red bantam.

He did not stay long, but the incident remains a fond memory to this day.

Hmm, mine the only response to not receive a GA…..slightly dubious!

@ucme accident! I GA everyone who participates on my questions. Sorry. :)

@ucme Today is protect the amoeba day in the US. Sorry we didn’t send the memo abroad.

@Afos22
1) It shows how stupid people can be sometimes. Yep, the troll themselves. Only small minds would do this for shits and giggles. Trolling shows the range of their true intellect, which is very small. (your spelling errors are a good indicator.)
2) It shows how serious people can get. Yep, they’re authentic people with real values and cares. They know not to put so much time and effort into being a fictional ass.
3) It’s funny watching people fly off the handle for no good reason. Yep, if you’re seriously disturbed.
What IS funny is how a troll thinks they’re so bright and creative, when they’re not- like a fool who imagines that he sees a wise man in the mirror.

@linguaphile I cen spel just fine. And I always sees a wis man in thw miror.
“Like acid and oil on a madman’s face, reason tends to fly away”

@linguaphile

Haha, I had a similar experience once, Very funny!

Yes, there is no accounting for the lengths some will go to to glean attention.

I prefer sarcastic humor myself. ;-)

How thoughtful of some juveniles to out themselves on this thread. That will do nicely to warn me clear of their posts in the future.

@Jeruba I can assure you that my trolling activities have been relegated to conservapedia about 4 years ago. You have no reason to write me off.

@YARNLADY That’s too bad.
@linguaphile You would fit into the category of one that would be a perfect target for a troll. My mistakes were completely intentional and demonstrate why some trolls troll. A lot of trolling consists of intentionally making errors, whether it be grammatical or otherwise, because some people correct those mistakes. The kind of people who correct the trolls are worse than the trolls themselves, as far as lack intellect and creativity goes. Unlike trolls, those people have the need to feel important.
As far as trolls being disturbed, consider that being entertained by watching people express their emotions is nothing new. And, It is not that disturbing in the scope of everything that humans can do to entertain themselves. Get real and lighten up.

@Afos22 It’s one thing to play a trick that everyone will enjoy. It’s another to play a trick on people when you are the only one getting the “fun” out of it. It is an example of selfcentered-ness at its best.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard, not you, darlin’. I still lurves you.

People who deliberately set out to annoy others and create strife can justify themselves all they like, but they won’t soften my opinion of them. I know they don’t care about my opinion of them, and I don’t care that they don’t care.

@Jeruba ok yay! :D