What motivates trolls?

Sometimes disgruntled users came back to annoy us, but usually it is someone who thinks what he is doing is fun/funny – similar to graffiti online.

So you saw Randy’s latest post, too? I was wondering the same thing. At least he changed the plot to his story.

If you’re talking about who I think you’re talking about, then I seriously suspect mental illness and not trolling.

As for your run-of-the-mill trolls, it depends. Some do it to relieve boredom and/or because it can be fun to get a rise out of people (I used to troll the shit out of conservapedia.com and 4chan as a bored and angsty teen). Some even consider it an artform or a game. Others are just stupid. The word “trolling” is also overused these days, and commonly misapplied. In current usage, it is often used to mean “pranking” or acting silly. It actually has a much more specific meaning.

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There might be one right now who just asked a question in General.

I think it’s people with absolutely no life who need a rise. Pissing people off gives them a rise, yet they are cowardly because it’s not face to face, so they’re hiding behind their computer and their anonymity.

Obviously they don’t have much of a life, a real life, that is. They’ve got plenty of spare time on their hands and can’t seem to think of anything constructive to do with it.

I think I could motivate them with a cattle prod.

They have no lives and nothing better to do in their free time.

A little difficult to get a connection for a cattle prod to work over the Internet I imagine :)

But you gave me my daily chuckle. Thanks, FF.

What I want to know is why on earth would anyone feed them by answering?

Schadenfreude. Nothing more.

At Fluther we flag instead of feed :)

And like magic, the mods make them disappear.

Real trolls never last on here, so I don’t see this as being a major issue on fluther. On some other Q & A sites however, this may be a much bigger issue. To me it is motivations which determines the difference between stating an unpopular opinion vs trolling. One is passionate about their posts, while the other is just looking for trouble.

Well getting back to answering your question I don’t feel that there is much of a difference (if any) between an online troll (the real thing) and an offline a-hole. It is easier to stir the pot online, and safer for them due to anonymity.

Raw meat, havoc and your gold pouch, mutha!

Attention. Most of us want to feel significant, right? The orthodox way to do that here is to contribute something that others value. But if you don’t have what it takes to do that, then you take the back door route and hijack attention by deliberately provoking people.

An endless & ultimately fruitless yearning for acceptance, that & a personality that would not look out of place in a town populated entirely by hillbilly hog hunters who just received a nasty blow to the head.

As far as I can tell, we don’t have any real trolls on Fluther. Sure, “Randy” may be annoying, but he is far from a real troll, as in people who participate in “greifing” / online vandalism and other things.

As for why they do it, the answer is simple: they think it is fun. It is a natural human instinct to poke fun at and mess with other people. Trolls simply turn it into a source of entertainment.

Pretty sure the infamous “R” is mentally ill, though of course I can’t be positive. For more typical trolls, I’d guess boredom and attention.

What motivates them? The fact that they only have two hands. One for typing and the other one for wh*cking off.

If they had more hands they might also be dipping into a big bowl of ice cream and using the other one for picking their nose. More hands, butt scratching and ear digging. Keep on going with the addition of hands and you would probably see toe-jam sniffing and belly button spelunking. All the while with This Sound coming out of their mouths.

Imagine the “fun” This Dude could have if he was a total douche like most of our short lived trolls.