Given a recent definitional discussion over the evolution of the meaning of troll, I figured I would point folks to a column by Cory Doctorow in Information Week entitled "How To Keep Hostile Jerks From Taking Over Your Online Community." It begins: """ The Internet Tough Guy is a feature in all Internet social forums. These are people who poison discussions with anger, hatred, and threats. Some are malicious. Some are crazy. Some are just afflicted with a rotten sense of humor. Whatever their motives, they're a scourge. It takes precious little trolling to sour a message-board. A "troll" -- someone who comes onto an online community looking to pick fights -- has two victory conditions: Either everyone ends up talking about him, or no one talks at all. And where two or more trolls gather, they'll egg each other on, seeing who can anger and disrupt the regular message-board posters the most. """ The rest is here (with apologies for the ads): http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199600005 It provides an interesting exploration of the art and science of maintaining online discussion-based communities, and what to do with the trolls, including employing a "troll whisperer." Best, Alex -- -- // // This email is // [X] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais // Social Architect // http://alex.halavais.net //