Trolls on the prowl...what to do when they pick you as a target?

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sat, 5 Mar 2011 08:00

Trolls & trolling - the act of sending messages with the intent of illiciting angry responses

It seems that whenever I turn around, I am being told about someone bullying or attacking someone else in the Hotel...Now the Hotel is not in the realm of the moderators' responsibilities but since we get pulled in when users get desperate for help, we thought it might be time for a reminder about how to deal with those dreaded trolls who come in just to cause trouble. The first and most important bit of advice - IGNORE THEM! Yes, ignore them...goes against the grain but that is the most efficient way to deal with them and cut them off at the pass. Trolls want attention and they go around being bullies and saying rude and nasty things to get your hackles up and get a reaction out of you...so do not give them what they want - attention.

First step - Mark them as ignore on your walls

Second step - Flag their rooms if they post about you there

Third step - Take screen shots of everything they say

Fourth step - Delete any of those messages after taking screen shots

Fifth step - Do not talk about them on any walls

Sixth step - Use PMs If you want to share info with your friends about the troll. That way, the trolls do not get the pleasure of seeing their name all over, which is after all giving them the attention they seek

Seventh step - File a ticket with Support with those screen shots; do so using the Request Type iWin.com Community & Abuse reporting selection in the Submit a ticket dropdown menu.

Eighth step - Keep ignoring them! Have your friends do the same!

If you jump into their game, the trolls have won and gotten exactly what they were looking for - ATTENTION! So one step at a time, we can make them go away. If you join them by responding and feeding the trolls, then they get stronger and slowly take over the place...and that, my friends, is no fun at all. Schoolyard bullies won't stop until they get what they need and when they do not get it, they move on, sadly to other targets...BUT if everyone followed these simple steps, then the trolls would wither up and disappear...

Trolls think that they have some right to behave as they like because they think they are smarter and better than everyone else...You can see it in the way they attack others verbally as if they were just doing everyone else a favour with their targeted attacks...These are not children behaving badly for lack of maturity; these are adults who in the real world are cowards who hide behind cyber-anonymity to feel powerful...Very sad actually but there you have it! DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at Sat, 12 Mar 2011 19:44

One of the tactics used by trolls is to get others to do their dirty work...First they look for a new "friend" or two, often the type who like to join in discussions without seeming to have checked out all the story or appear to be easily influenced or swayed. Then it's time to chat a while, becoming their new best buddy...and then the fun begins!

A bit of misinformation spread out here and there, comments about other users that imply some nefarious intentions or offences, a touch or two of self-righteousness and and the game is on...The new "friend" takes on the "cause" and starts "defending" the troll from others and goes on the attack for them...just what the troll was looking for! Hotel walls are users' personal space and the offending posts can be more personalized and often more malicious...Hitting "Ignore" when being verbally abused or warned off by these users will get them off your wall but then they usually move on to your friends' walls to see if they can stir that pot...sad state of affairs but it happens far too often in the Hotel, as any random visiting of rooms can show...

Some tactics used when the troll gets blocked from attacking others on their walls is to continue the attacks on their own walls by continuing to post about the victim in disparaging and rude ways, often progressing to quite crude commentary, or by creating new personalities to get access to walls where they have been blocked or put on "Ignore"...If the victim jumps into the game by behaving the same way, the troll is in heaven since this just validates what was originally implied! So the cycle can continue, sometimes with the troll sitting back and watching the fun, letting their newly primed "friends" do their work...New victims are added to the list of "offenders" just to keep the troll from getting bored but beware, a troll can turn on their new "friends" on a dime if things get too quiet! Since these "friends" have often shared way too much personal information with the troll by then, they are easy targets with ammunition to be used and the troll finds new "friends" to share that info with, out of context of course so it sounds worse, and the game continues...

The best way to protect yourself against a troll is to remember that not everyone IS who they say they are and that not everything others say is true! It is so easy to be someone else in cyberspace; no face to face contact, no way to check out who the person really is, no way to verify their intentions...I have said it before and will continue to say it, trolls are good at their chosen pastime, that of causing trouble. They are careful to not go over the line and get bounced from their playing field so they pick their time to back off and let others do the dirty work...If their "friends" get removed from the site for doing what the troll primed them to do, that isn't the troll's problem. In fact, it may even be a bonus for them! More material to work with!

Do not let yourself be drawn into their game; do not trust that all that is said is true and DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!

how do you make a screen shot ? please, thank you.

To learn about how to take a screen shot or anything else concerning iWin.com, please visit the iWin Knowledge Base (KB) on the far lefthand side of the Customer Support Center page (clicking on Support blue button at the top right hand side of your Game Manager will get you there...). The Knowledge Base is a great source of information for all things iWin. Here's a link to a section in the KB: How do I take a screen shot?

Dee, volunteer Moderator

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