Eric Hoffer on Rudeness

by Nomad

Your Front Teeth and a Civil Tongue: Some Musings on Internet Trolls and Bullies

by Nomad

Some idle observations on trolls and other discontents and the pursuit of civility in divisive times. Spoiler alert: It's not easy.

Like Toilet Paper

For bloggers, the appearance of an occasional troll is a sign you must be doing something right. It used to bother me but not anymore.

That kind of reactive abuse is a kind of rite of passage and a validation that the information in the post annoys the very people it is supposed to annoy.

Like toilet paper, there are a variety of troll types. However, the main difference is that toilet paper at least performs a valuable service. 

When it comes to trolls the most common are the illiterate ones who read the headlines and skim the rest. They definitely clearly spend more time with their comments than reading. They explode on the scene, leaving their dung as a marker and then never return. 

There are the ones who direct their personal attacks at me (or other commenters.) "You MORAN!" is the standard salutation and represents the beginning and ending of their wisdom.
I call them snowflakes because they are sharp and cold but so tiny and unimportant. And like snowflakes, at this blog they disappear almost as soon as you notice them.
Think yourself lucky, that you never get a chance to read their comments. Your life would not be enriched, take from me.

Bottomline, I treat such remarks with the same respect as I would picnic trash left in a public park.