31 August 2006

Take the Anti-Troll Pledge

The coolest thing happened today. It started out bad, then got worse, then took a turn for the better.

(I am going to be oblique because I don't want to encourage the troll. If you want the True Scoop on who, what and where, email me at suebobdavis at cashette dotcom and I will fill you in.)

Bad: One of my Favorite All-Time Bloggers announced on her blog that she has cancer.

Worse: A troll - anonymous of-fucking-course - immediately popped up in My Favorite All-Time Blogger's comments and accused her of "faking it" and said that "the cancer would kill her."

Can you hear my blood sizzling in my veins?

Better: Dozens and dozens (almost 100) of other commenters left supportive comments AND NOT ONE MENTIONED THE TROLL.

That's the way we do it, people. When the troll pops his ugly warty head out from under the bridge, we just keep marching with our heads held high and our eyes on the adoring crowds before us, not on the slimeball beneath.

So, if you will, take the Suebobian Anti-Troll Pledge for me:
I _________, do happily swear on (something that is holy to me. I'll pick chocolate) that when I see a troll in action, I will glance at the sight, shake my head, say a mental "Bless their heart" (see a discussion of "Bless their heart" here) and move on without stopping or trying to correct the troll.
Because everyone knows trolls are beneath bridges and are beneath our contempt. Can I get an "amen"? Sign on in the comments section.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having made the mistake of once letting a troll get to me, I will happily join the anti-troll brigade!

Janet Evening said...

Amen, sister. (But, it is drama we need to keep our spleens vented. An unvented spleen could kill a person!)

Anonymous said...

Yes, trolls eat anger. It makes them bigger, so it's best to ignore a troll, HOWEVER (and this caveat is the size of South Dakota), I've seen folks called trolls when they're invested provocateurs...or respectful dissenters.

The word, troll, is overused. I post a lot at www.mediamatters.org and every Right-winged poster is eventually labeled a troll there, even if they just come to talk. So, over there, I defend many of the alleged trolls, because talking with only those that agree with us, while nice, isn't where the work is.

super des said...

Trolls have to be anonymous. If they out their name, then they're not afraid of the backlash.

I _super des_, do happily swear on chocolate that when I see a troll in action, I will glance at the sight, shake my head, say a mental "Bless their heart" and move on without stopping or trying to correct the troll.Because everyone knows trolls are beneath bridges and are beneath our contempt.

noncommon said...

amen!

meno said...

That's actually really beautiful, that everyone ignored the troll. And you know that it was checking back frequently to see what the reaction was. love to see assholism thwarted.

Taking the oath. Swearing on red wine. Forever and ever, amen.

Anonymous said...

Amen! I swear on my survivor braclet.

Hateful people suck.

Anonymous said...

Signing in...

Anonymous said...

This may be hard for me, because I always want to jump to the defense of the people I care about, but I will happily take the pledge. Trolls, begone!

Anonymous said...

You can get an AMEN and a HELL YEAH from me. I'm not a fan of encouraging tards by responding to their pleas for negative attention.

Her Bad Mother said...

AMEN.

amen amen amen amen amen AMEN, sistah!

(Am swearing all over that pledge!)

Piece of Work said...

I love this post! Attacking the troll just makes them happy! Ignore them! Yeehaw.

Unknown said...

Amen, too bad you can't hit 'em on the head with your stapler.

:)

Mignon said...

Thank you for saying this. Sometimes it actually pisses me off more when some well-intentioned-but-misguided individual starts a troll-battle and then comments go all to shit and nobody pays attention to the original most-worthy post. Ignore them. All they want is attention. Period. They're just not smart or clever enough to get noticed by being smart or clever on their own blog.

Mignon said...

Oh yeah, and definitely what Holly Capote said too. Because I hate that as well. Seeing someone get personally attacked for not blindly following the herd. That's no good.

Bamboo Lemur Boys Are Mean To Their Girls said...

gosh, sometimes I like to say something to demean their pathetic asses. Something subtle and cutting, in a way that indicates that I know they're there but I don't see or smell them. But I do believe your way is best. I will contemplate signing on..

Suzanne said...

Amen!

SUEB0B said...

Wow. I feel like my work here is done.

Sudiegirl said...

trolls suck...count me in.

i came from blogger chicks, btw - nice lookin' blog!

Anonymous said...

Hee, just noticed this while randomly googleing around, and I felt it worth mentioning that a forum I frequent has it's share of troll vists, but they never last long, rather then ignoreing them(good) or feeding them(bad), like a lot of sites do, we anti-troll them by taking everything they say and appling puns and absurdist humour to it, they never last long.

Anonymous said...

Some great insights about trolls. Check this out! http://jamessurvivalguide.blogspot.com/2009/06/culture-internet-trolls-and-feigned.html

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