On 9/12/2019 5:56 AM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
It's really sad that one of our Resident Trolls can't even tell a bicycle group from a political group. But I guess that's exactly what makes him a Troll.

The ONLY way to stop a Troll is to not feed them and then hope they'll go elsewhere.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/b...hs-and-sadists

"a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: Internet
trolls are horrible people."

"The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:
1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you
can do is ignore them."

And from other sources:

"Psychological studies show trolls tend to be male, show higher levels
of psychopathy traits — low levels of empathy, guilt and responsibility
for their actions — and higher levels of sadism traits, the enjoyment of
causing others physical and psychological pain."

"Can we treat trolling as an addiction?

"Not all trolls exhibit traits like low affective empathy or
psychopathy. Some may simply be motivated by negative social rewards,
like creating mayhem. And creating mayhem motivates the troll to keep
going back for more. Due to the addictive nature of rewards, there may
be an addictive element to trolling."

"men were far more likely to become trolls. They had higher levels of
psychopathy and sadism..."

"Trolls usually had poor social skills, too."

So, I visualize a fat, decrepit old man who is rather miserable and
unsatisfied with his life. He has few flesh-and-blood friends, and
compensates by seeking attention on the internet. He gets some
satisfaction by bragging about his own wisdom, but that's not sufficient
to fix his deep self doubt. So he stokes his addiction by prodding
others, in his mind "winning" imaginary fights. Since he doesn't have to
fear physical punishment or even shame before his neighbors (who
probably know how obnoxious he is anyway) he has no motivation toward
self control. He's perfectly happy to destroy a discussion forum for his
own twisted attempts at joy.

Perhaps this is the best summary:
https://psychologia.co/internet-troll/


--
- Frank Krygowski