Troll, Baby, Troll!

The Troll Conversation is a tough one to have.

Every person is different.

Every troll is different.

And every situation involving a troll is different.

A long time ago, I tried to create a Taxonomy of Trolls:

90% of the time, you'll find yourself dealing with a garden variety Troll.

When you do, you should ignore them.

This is especially true offline.

If you encounter an offline troll — like say at an upcoming protest — just walk away.

They're there to play "Gotcha."

Trolls want you to react. Usually so that they can feed content into their Alternate Reality Grievance Machines.

Our goal is to deprive them of that content.

This rule mostly holds for online Trolls.

Mostly.

If you're like me, and you think it's fun to troll the trolls? You can do that.

Below is a live shot of me finding out I have a new Internet Troll to play with.

I don't think you should do this.

I don't think I should either.

But I'm also not going to judge you if you do.

That brings us to Goblins and Ogres, the subject of today's Privacy Tip.

Privacy Tip: How To Handle Goblins & Ogres

9% of the time, you will encounter a Goblin.

The difference between a Troll and a Goblin is that a Goblin maintains a persistent presence. If you post something, they post something. If you go somewhere, they follow.

If that's happening offline, you should immediately contact the police.

This is not a perfect solution, so we'll be talking more about the role of law enforcement in managing Goblins and Ogres in a future post.

Because of a Goblin's persistence, and the sometimes lacking response by law enforcement, they may require additional intervention to manage.

If they're persistently posting disinformation about you, for example, the response shouldn't come from you. It should come from your friends, neighbors, and other community members who can respond to what they're saying.

Sometimes, you can and should take the Goblin to court.

This is where a good understanding of libel law comes into play. So we'll discuss that in the future.

That brings us to Ogres.

Creatures you'll encounter 1% of the time. These are clear threats to your health and safety.

Ogres are the ones that require the use of law enforcement to properly deal with.

For example, when you're dealing with an Ogre, you should visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and file a complaint.

We're going to spend a lot of time on Goblins and Ogres throughout this series.

With trolls, you know what to do: Ignore them.

Today I just wanted to give you an overview.

I also wanted to share three important points:

-In a world where we need to protect ourselves from Fascists and Weirdos, we're going to need to develop thick skin. Trolling is a part of their Playbook. Not reacting is a big part of ours.

As Sun Tzu teaches, you want to fight on terrain you control. We do not control most of these Internet platforms.

The Fascists and Weirdos do.

-We want you to use these platforms and devices less. We know this is easier said than done, which is why some of our posts focus on doing a digital detox.

Using these platforms less takes the fascists and weirdos toys away from them. Your Time is valuable. Your attention is valuable. The less time you spend on these platforms, the better.

-There are times where action is required. As I write this, I'm working on a Pro Se lawsuit to bring charges against a Goblin.

I've also used my skill set as an investigative reporter to bring to justice another Goblin.

One who has verbally harassed, and physically threatened, members of their community without much in the way of a reprimand.

So I don't want you to think I'm suggesting we let the Goblins and Ogres win.

There are instances where action is necessary, and I'm going to show you how to act when it's appropriate to do so.

-BJ