Beware of the Trolls

Image source: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sammy-sultan/what-to-do-with-internet-trolls_b_3707933.html

What is an Internet Troll?

The traditional meaning behind a troll was always depicted as an ugly cave-dwelling creature or monster. This is also true to this new meaning the “Internet Troll”, whom personality is reflected by this description of a troll.

Sadly myself, have been a victim of Internet Trolling on a community group on Facebook recently. With the Internet now being an increasingly popular way for people to express their opinions about individuals and businesses, this sort of activity can be potentially damaging and hurtful to those that try and make a living through trading or operating their business or personal activity online.

Why is “trolling” bad?

Like any business, we take great pride in our positive reviews. We even welcome negative reviews if someone has had a bad experience to help us develop our business and learn from previous mistakes. After all, we are all human and we cannot be perfect all of the time.

Don’t be mistaken, trolling is not a form of customer/client voicing their review of something. Trolling is where someone attacks a business or person with no justification or reason behind their attack. Often this results in vulnerable people; especially in this day an age (whom try to maintain a popular impression online), to be driven to drastic events.

Sadly, I have read so many stories in the news, in which children have committed suicide over heartful comments in some of these attacks:

Can you kill yourself already?’ The vile online messages from internet trolls ‘that led girl, 16, to hang herself

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246896/Jessica-Laney-16-committed-suicide-internet-trolls-taunted-told-kill-herself.html

Lucky for me, I grew up when the Internet had only just been invented and the Social community (or anti-Social in this case) did not exist until recently.

So bullying was often an exchange of nasty words verbally; rather than written down to a whole community of strangers to see, read, share or like with their peers. The viral affect caused by these “internet-bullies” can be far more damaging these days than a few nasty words.

What leads people to “troll” others?

We will never know the real reason to why people have to express so much hate for another person. Sometimes this could be down to jealously, due to someone’s success or perhaps they may just have a personal vendetta against them or even in some cases, just a random unprovoked attack.

What can be done to prevent being trolled?

Report it to the community administrator, police (yes that’s right it is now a criminal offence to be a Troll) and if you know who that individual is you can file a “gagging order” with your Solicitor/Lawyer to prevent any slanderous content appearing about you on various channels.

In some cases you may not be able to identify who the Troll is as they often try and hide behind a computer screen (often behind a fake profile or alias) to stop themselves getting caught with no thought on what damage they can do to that individual or business. Luckily for the victims, these individuals are being exposed for spreading hatred by the authorities all the time and punished for their crimes:

Twitter Trolls Jailed For Sending Abusive Tweets

Read more: http://news.sky.com/story/1200521/twitter-trolls-jailed-for-sending-abusive-tweets

So to anyone else that has encountered similar sort of problems, follow our advice and rise above the comments as they are probably jealous of what a wonderful person you have become.

Speak soon!

A.C.Knell