From NYT Magazine: The Trolls Among Us

[devilgrrl]

The Trolls Among Us: Weev (not, of course, his real name) is part of a growing Internet subculture with a fluid morality and a disdain for pretty much everyone else online.

One afternoon in the spring of 2006, for reasons unknown to those who knew him, Mitchell Henderson, a seventh grader from Rochester, Minn., took a .22-caliber rifle down from a shelf in his parents’ bedroom closet and shot himself in the head. The next morning, Mitchell’s school assembled in the gym to begin mourning. His classmates created a virtual memorial on MySpace and garlanded it with remembrances. One wrote that Mitchell was “an hero to take that shot, to leave us all behind. God do we wish we could take it back. . . . ” Someone e-mailed a clipping of Mitchell’s newspaper obituary to MyDeathSpace.com, a Web site that links to the MySpace pages of the dead. From MyDeathSpace, Mitchell’s page came to the attention of an Internet message board known as /b/ and the “trolls,” as they have come to be called, who dwell there.

/b/ is the designated “random” board of 4chan.org, a group of message boards that draws more than 200 million page views a month. A post consists of an image and a few lines of text. Almost everyone posts as “anonymous.” In effect, this makes /b/ a panopticon in reverse — nobody can see anybody, and everybody can claim to speak from the center. The anonymous denizens of 4chan’s other boards — devoted to travel, fitness and several genres of pornography — refer to the /b/-dwellers as “/b/tards.”

Measured in terms of depravity, insularity and traffic-driven turnover, the culture of /b/ has little precedent. /b/ reads like the inside of a high-school bathroom stall, or an obscene telephone party line, or a blog with no posts and all comments filled with slang that you are too old to understand.

Something about Mitchell Henderson struck the denizens of /b/ as funny. They were especially amused by a reference on his MySpace page to a lost iPod. Mitchell Henderson, /b/ decided, had killed himself over a lost iPod. The “an hero” meme was born. Within hours, the anonymous multitudes were wrapping the tragedy of Mitchell’s death in absurdity.

Someone hacked Henderson’s MySpace page and gave him the face of a zombie. Someone placed an iPod on Henderson’s grave, took a picture and posted it to /b/. Henderson’s face was appended to dancing iPods, spinning iPods, hardcore porn scenes. A dramatic re-enactment of Henderson’s demise appeared on YouTube, complete with shattered iPod. The phone began ringing at Mitchell’s parents’ home. “It sounded like kids,” remembers Mitchell’s father, Mark Henderson, a 44-year-old I.T. executive. “They’d say, ‘Hi, this is Mitchell, I’m at the cemetery.’ ‘Hi, I’ve got Mitchell’s iPod.’ ‘Hi, I’m Mitchell’s ghost, the front door is locked. Can you come down and let me in?’ ” He sighed. “It really got to my wife.” The calls continued for a year and a half.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

[maxsolomon]

1. i'd say what i think of these people

but frankly, i'm scared of them.

i would tell them that empathy is not a weakness.

[Teaser]

2. /b/ can be difficult to stomach

some memes there can be damn funny. but there is a sizable plurality there that is just evil.

[Blue_Tires]

3. not sure when it started

but there has been a notable lack of civility and increase of general fuckwittery on boards the past few years, and in my observation, things are deteriorating further...

but maybe it has always been around; just hidden on the sites i never frequent...but now it has taken over just about anyplace that allows public anon comments...

[DailyGrind51]

36. Why do you think Klansmen wore hoods?

Anonymity provides wide latitude for bad behavior!

[Blue_Tires]

4. just finished the whole story

wow...to say the two hackers portrayed in the story have god complexes is an understatement... their abstract views on morality, purpose and ambiguity boggle the mind...

[madeline_con]

5. Shit stains, all.

"a fluid morality and a disdain for pretty much everyone else online."

Fuck 'em.

[EFerrari]

20. "A fluid morality" = sociopaths, right? n/t

[Prophet 451]

25. Not exactly but close

In their daily lives, most of these people aren't so different to anyone else. It's only when the anonymity of the webway is added that they turn into sociopaths. I'd be interested to see someone do some research on the subject.

[YOY]

6. 4chan.org...the most wretched combination of a playground and a sewer imaginable

Vile beyond comprehention. LOADED with 12-14 year olds who need a smack...and I do not say that lightly.

[Blue_Tires]

7. i've never understood the racism, either

it comes flowing out in one of the hacker's comments, and in any forum or game server where i've seen one of these self-proclaimed rulers of the internet, it's always this hyper-masculine, misogynist, nigger/jew/fag etc tone in every line of text...

[YOY]

12. Funny thing is most of them truly are little smacktards that even the average Joe could smack around

It's really rather pathetic at what they use for "wit".

[riverdeep]

30. There's a reason they're anonymous.

It's an act of ultimate cowardice.

[Posteritatis]

9. A depressing number of those "12-14 year olds" are of voting age

Those guys and the assholes on Encyclopedia Dramatica are a plague. The latter spent a month or three trying to have a go at my sister (who's more than smart enough to evade most of their attempts, so not much came of it). I've felt stabby about them for awhile. %P

[YOY]

13. Yeah but how many of them will actually vote.

There are far fewer of them than you think...they just type like the wind and are everywhere.

[deaniac21]

33. Are you advocating drug use or violence?

[YOY]

34. Yes: Momentary non-crippling violence...an openhand smack upside the head hard.

Like I said, I do not say that lightly. Go there if you want to see why.

[callous taoboy]

8. Care to come out from behind your keyboard, Weev, for 5 minutes....

[MrScorpio]

10. The 21st Century equivalent of pissing on somebody's grave

Ain't technology grand?

[Sheets of Easter]

11. Excellent! Now I can put faces to the kind of people I want to throat-punch.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. lulz

[d_b]

17. an hero ftw!

[margotb822]

15. Cowards

People feel invincible if they have to say something to someone's face, but they can do whatever they want online. Just look at how they live, no stability, no identity, always afraid of being caught. It's ridiculous.

[Overseas]

16. Really intriguing.

A lot of communication these days just seems intended to see how others react. To say or do outrageous things just to watch the dramatic reactions people will have.

[bananas]

18. This thread needs another vote.

Somebody put it on the greatest page,
or a lot of people are going to miss it.

[Skittles]

22. done, my sweet bananas

for you :)

[bananas]

47. Thanks, Skittles!

You're sweet too! :)

[anonymous171]

19. RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGEEEEE

:grr: I had to evacuate /b/ because it was getting too much media attention. Too many new people and trolls and trolls trolling trolls. And don't even get me started on the Scientology "raid."

[Skittles]

21. it is disturbing

in no way do I think such activity should be illegal but it is very disturbing indeed

[babylonsister]

23. Those crazy kids with their newfangled toys. Anonymous works for them. nt

[burythehatchet]

24. While it may make us "us" feel morally superior than "them", the way I see it

these people are an aspect of our collective conscience. They are us and we are them. This group reflects a sickness that has infected our souls. It can be seen in the slaughter of countless Iraqis, the rape and torture of children, the sublimation and humiliation of the working class and in the desecration of an individual's memory.

[Darth Lenore]

26. Yes, exactly. I wrote this comment on another site...

...when I first read this article:

Yikes. That was a depressing read. Oscar Wilde once said something like "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he'll tell you the truth."

I've been called a cynic for saying this before, but I honestly believe that the vile behavior we see on the internet (whether it be something major like causing seizures in epileptics or something minor like a reply of "fattie!" left on a dancer's YouTube video) is those peoples' honest truth. The feeling of complete anonymity afforded by the internet means they finally express all of the things that they think and feel all the time, but usually restrain in real life interactions for a variety of reasons.

Because of that, I don't think the internet will work as a "commons" any better than any other part of society, regardless of the level of control/censorship/policing/whatever. If people want to get to the utopian vision of the possibilities of the internet that I see so many people talk about (free exchange of information, social equality in anonymity, better informed and knowledgeable users, etc.), then you really have to address the root causes of people's anger, fear, and contempt for each other. Our society is extremely atomized and stratified and it encourages people to see others as competition and/or Other. Understanding, cooperation, compassion, empathy, loyalty and care are actively discouraged.

The problem is bigger than the internet and needs to be addressed in every system of society at every level.

[nashville_brook]

27. love the oscar wilde quote... i think tho, that the anonymity cuts both ways,

that many people find in it the freedom to be more kind. but i totally agree about there being the bigger problem that broken people, sociopaths, are driven by anger/fear/contempt that needs to be addressed.

[AwakeAtLast]

29. When you have an Executive Branch that exhibits the same vile behavior, what are we to expect?

They follow the example they are given. x(

[snooper2]

39. Oh come on...

Jeez....

What next, you going to blame Bill's Blowjob on their sexual prowless...

[Posteritatis]

41. Egregious assholes on the Internet predate the Bush administration. (nt)

[NashVegas]

31. These People Are Doing All of Us More Favors Than Most Will Ever Realize

I'd rather see an internet with trolls to remind everyone how futile, stupid, and dangerous it is to try to control the internet - and what manners people using it will demonstrate - than an internet that's been sterilized so average, non-critical thinkers can feel safe while corporations and governments move to retake control of public speech.

[riverdeep]

35. Control of the internet won't occur like that.

If it occurs, it will be through access, not through control of content. People can go and say and do whatever they want, but your provider won't be giving you access to that, the search engines will drop off those results and a dozen other ways to make sure you're corralled into someone's preferred reality. It's like books. All kind of radical books, subversive books, outright crazed books, but who's paying attention? No one.

Meanwhile, bullies destroy content (swarming a blog for example) for their own amusement. I remain unconvinced of their value.

[NashVegas]

42. Nope. Well Meaning People Will Ask For It

Censorship, that is. Occasionally I'm one of them and it's a good thing we don't get our way.

[Darth Lenore]

44. Control of access won't do any good.

It's treating the symptom and not the cause. And it's not even going to treat the symptom very well at all. In fact, it'll probably have the opposite effect. Policing like that creates a divide between people. A mental "good us" vs "bad them" where we're always on the lookout for violations.

[Darth Lenore]

43. These people are not doing us any favors at all. Trolls and free speech are not intrinsically tied.

That was the whole point of my post. In fact, I even explicitly said that rules/policing/censorship/whatever would do no good at all. In fact, I think it would probably have the opposite effect. Yes, that trolls can mock suicide victims and harrass their families is a sign that we have free speech. However, if we change how we relate to each other as a society so that people (at least most people) no longer want to act like gaping assholes we would have the best of both worlds: free speech and civil behavior.

Make no mistake, changing the way we relate to each other will definitely require policy change on a massive scale, but not against the people. The policies should be changed to protect the people from the corporations and the government. Instead of making it illegal to say bad things about suicide victims, it should be illegal to exploit workers, make resources intentionally scarce, and for the government to create a constant state of fear in the public. There should be laws guaranteeing basic rights, such as health care, food, and shelter, so people don't feel a constant sense of desperation leading them to fuck each other over because they think that's the only way they can be sure they'll have the money to cover their basic needs. We should be teaching our children (and each other!) not to see other people as only a source of competition and danger, but rather as a potential source for support and inspiration. Instead of teaching our children that because people are different (because of gender, race, religion, sexuality, whatever) that means they're "not one of us" and we can't possibly understand each other and bridge that divide, we need to teach them that even though our lives and experiences are different this is a good source of new perspectives and knowledge that we can all share with each other through honest communication. And so on.

If we foster this kind of respect, connection, and communication between people, they wouldn't want to do shitty things to each other, even though such things remain perfectly legal.


Now, before you go calling me a Pollyanna, these are just the things that should happen. Do I think they actually will? Fuck no. Not in my lifetime, certainly. Not while the American Empire is still standing, at the very least.

[NashVegas]

46. Should Be, Should Be, Should Be ... But They Aren't, They Don't

And it's apparent you know that.

Instead of making it illegal to say bad things about suicide victims, it should be illegal to exploit workers, make resources intentionally scarce, and for the government to create a constant state of fear in the public.

The average person has long since proven we don't give a damn about exploited workers as long as we get our cheap orange juice, we don't give a damn about government sponsored terrorism as long as the SWAT team isn't banging down our door.

Everytime someone breaks into a server and steals SS numbers, it's a reminder of how freaking stupid people are to give out that number so easily, and that we need to fight our government and businesses that offer services in exchange for leaving our data insecure.

[riverdeep]

32. Interesting take.

However, anonymity I don't believe necessarily leads to the unleashing of the torrent of truth. When people are face to face, or otherwise held accountable in real life, they are forced to defend their positions. To do this, they have to at some point ask themselves if their point of view is the correct one. There is some desire to understand the world and their appraisal of it, if only to avoid ridicule.

Anonymity allows them to take whatever unexamined prejudices and tourette-like utterances and fling them against the opposing cage. It unleashes a torrent of reflex, which is (hopefully) different than their truth.

Sites like these aren't in any way surprising, however. They perfectly capture the definition of nihilism and nihilism is a very powerful force in the lives of modern youth. Nothing matters, let's fuck up some shit.

[Blue_Tires]

28. ttt

[tjwash]

37. meh.../b/ is where the internet goes to take a shit.

And these kids are nothing compared to the old talk.politics.misc usenet boards I used to frequent back in the days of dial ups and echos.

Just let the article be a lesson and a cautionary tale to facebookers and myspacers...grab a clue. Putting any type of personal information on the web, is like posting your name and phone number on every bathroom wall in the world.

[Posteritatis]

38. Annnnnd Fortuny's facing charges

http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2008/08/04/craigslist-troll-gets-sued/

That was quick. Amazing what bragging about your actions on the news will get you.

[lumberjack_jeff]

40. Very good article. Thanks for posting. n/t

[arcadian]

45. /b/ has a disclaimer

They are covering their asses. Not so anonymous after all. Anybody know if that's always been there? When you enter "random" on the chan board:

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