79 Comments

  1. What a great breakdown on the sad mind of the troll. My blog does not draw them out often due to its optimistic nature. The only time they come over to play at my place is when I blog about police issues. I choose not to feed them as doing so would send me spiraling down to places I need not go. Visiting from the #weekendblogshare Best, Karen

  2. Tracey Abrahams

    There is another type of troll, the stalker troll. Like the obvious troll its someone who knows you, but they take their trolling to the next level, chucking out all kinds of personal crap about you in an attempt to hurt and discredit you. Ive never been trolled, but ive seen these type of trolls try to attack blogger friends before. Not so easy to deal when you know its someone that knows you well enough to know those sorts of things about you. #Bigfatlinky

  3. Louise (Little Hearts, Big Love)

    Very interesting post about the nature of trolls. I've been lucky so far and only encountered them once or twice (on social media rather than my blog). These days I tend to just ignore them and move on – reminding myself that the nasty comments say more about them than it does about me.

  4. Claire Hall - Tin Box Traveller

    I agree that we should feel sorry for trolls. They must have very dull lives. I generally steer clear of troll attracting topics so haven't had one yet. When I do I'll know I've 'made it' 😉 #bigfatlinky

    • I do quite a few opinion based posts and to be honest I'm surprised to have avoided them this long. I think its probably due to being quite new, I obviously not caught their eye lol. I agree, when you've been trolled you know you've made it lol 🙂

  5. Crummy Mummy

    Goodness this sounds like a minefield! It hasn't happened to me yet – I didn't realise things could get so complicated!! #justanotherlinky

  6. Alison

    It's just a baffling thing to do. What an enormous waste of time, and how tedious it must be to spend your time attacking or tricking people. Just really confusing and weird; I don't get the mentality of it. Perhaps it stems from a need from a need to think they're smarter than other people, while in fact that clearly the opposite is true. #justanotherlinky

  7. @nottinghilldady

    I had come across this term a few weeks ago and vaguely understood it but your post has made it very clear.
    As you point out it's just attention seeking and should ideally not be taken personally.
    Your 3 types were great !
    I have come across type 1 here and for a few hours I was annoyed. However, I decided to reply because tbh, I felt their loneliness and didn't mind giving them a bit of attention. I kept it short, logical with no emotion – And they soon got bored and went away.
    When I read your type 2, Katie Hopkins popped out. This one is infuriating, but it is absolutely not personal and I would Never respond to them.
    Your type 3 is very interesting and I suspect the most dangerous! I hope I will not come across one any time soon.
    Thank you for this post – I really enjoyed reading it.

    • Yes, Katie Hopkins is the perfect example – she needs attention to validate her self worth, and I'm sure she doesn't even believe half of what she says but it keeps people talking about her. I think type 3 is the hardest to deal with because you have already entered into a conversation with them when they strike! Thank you 🙂

  8. Julia Bryson

    I like your breakdown of the troll types, I honestly don't know why people think it's a good idea but as they say it's not big or clever! Thanks for linking up with #sundaystars

  9. Angela Milnes

    A great post which i enjoyed reading. I had a troll type say nasty things about my owl sandwiches…the subject they chose to discuss was the pickled onion eyes lol. Someone defended me and they ended up arguing over it and it went a bit nuts! I stayed out of it but it was rather funny and pathetic. It's sad people have nothing better to do and I try to feel sorry for them rather than being angry or upset.

    Angela from http://www.daysinbed.com x

    • Oh, I loved your owl sandwiches, and to pick on their eyes really shows how low these people will go to get a bite! It's lovely that one of your readers defended you 🙂 Yeah, it's just remembering it's not personal, its them that has a problem not you (or your owls!) x

  10. Silly Mummy

    Love this! I've not really had much yet.

    My favourite (& in fact only) real troll type behaviours so far (on my blog, that is – I'm quite politically outspoken & very left wing so get trolled on fb loads!) were totally random. A woman sent me an arsey tweet about my breast/bottle post, which she had clearly not read it. In fairness to her, she deleted it before I could respond. I can only assume that she bizarrely decided to insult first and THEN read to see if the insult was actually at all relevant!

    The other said something along the lines of 'I didn't bother to read your post because I hate the font'! I actually did not respond to or publish that one, because it was utterly pointless & why give him attention? Had he read it, shown he'd read it, but said that he actually found my font annoying, I would have been fine with that & published it. My mum dislikes my font, & I know that elaborate fonts are not everyone's taste – totally okay. But the way I saw it was that there is no point telling someone you DIDN'T read their post (that is a non message), & anyone with a valid opinion, not just trying to troll, would use a more constructive method of stating it. Had he been purely trolling but at least on the topic of the post, again I would probably publish if not abusive, but not just random crap! #anythinggoes

    • Lol, you have to wonder why someone would comment before reading the post!
      I know what you mean about the other one, it would seem rather pointless replying to it, your obviously not going to change your font to suit someone who admits to not being a reader anyway and yes, if he was a genuine reader that felt the need to point that out, he would have been a bit more tactful about it!

  11. Domesticated Momster

    I honestly don't remember if I've been trolled and if I did then they weren't good enough to leave a lasting impression lol. I truly think the whole "misery loves company" pertains to trolls 🙂 but I do love a good debate!

  12. Michelle Kellogg

    I haven't come across trolls on my blog but I see them all the time on Facebook. I love reading different article from different sites I like (Mind Unleashed and Psychology Today come to mind) and I see them post some pretty nasty comments about something that becomes clear, they know nothing about! This is great information though. I do feel sorry for them and if I get any on my blog, I will be sure to heed your advice on how to deal with them. Great Post! Visiting from #anythinggoes

  13. Growing Up KaterTot

    You just taught me more than I ever knew about trolls! Confession: I knew nothing about them, other than the fact that they are "mean commenters" on the Internet. I too pity all the different types of trolls. It's so sad that people resort to putting others down for attention or simply for entertainment purposes! Great advice for dealing with them. Luckily, I read this post before having had any issues with trolls on my blog or social media. Visiting from #anythinggoes

  14. Mama, My Kid Doesn't Poop Rainbows

    Great post. I have been trolled a couple of times. I hummed and ha-ed about responding then decided just to delete it. Don't feed the trolls works for me 🙂

    #anythinggoes

  15. Lady Nym

    I think I'm going to try and view my first troll as a blogging milestone and take it as a compliment. Then again, perhaps that's easy to say without ever having had one comment on my blog.

    Great post and thanks for hosting #AnythingGoes

  16. Cuddle Fairy

    Luckily, I haven't had any troll comments yet. I have had a lot of spammy ones but they have been put directly into my spam folder. You make some funny & interesting points here. I think my first instinct would be to delete a troll comment but they would make for entertaining reading. A friend of mine's post went viral & she had so many crazy comments but I guess that's the price of fame lol #AnythingGoes x

    • I've had a few spammy ones, like you I just delete them. the irony was a lot of them were on an #AnythingGoes post – why not just link the post up lol! Yeah, I think once you go viral, people get jealous and are more likely to leave nasty comments. It can be entertaining, sometimes I read posts and the comments are so funny! x

  17. Sarah Howe - Run Jump Scrap

    I've not been trolled before but I generally find it hard to keep my gob shut and hubby has to reign me in! I wouldn't feed the trolls after thinking of all the things I would like to say first! haha. They are very sad though I agreed xx #anythinggoes Thanks for hosting x

  18. Reimer Ruby

    Great post! I have not been trolled yet but might encounter one in the future… so I'll take your advice here, will definitely be coming back to this post when it happens, lol Thanks for sharing! #AnythingGoes

  19. K's Mum

    To be honest, didn't really know exactly internet trolls are. Like I had an idea but reading this now, I know it exactly. Like the Mean Girls example too! #AnythingGoes

  20. NewMummy Blogger

    Great post, very interesting reading as I hadn't really thought about trolls. If I ever get trolled, please remind me of these points! #anythinggoes

  21. becca farrelly

    Great post! I haven't had the 'pleasure' of being trolled yet but know others who have. Iam not sure how I would/will react if it ever happened to me but I will be ready for it! 🙂

    #KCACOLS

  22. Sara Murray

    Really good post, great analysis of trolls 🙂 I've been very lucky so far and only had a few 'discussion' ones! I published them, because everyone has a right to their opinion. I swithered over one of them for ages though, as towards the end she was a bit arsey, but her initial point was valid, so I published and responded calmly. If I ever get anything downright nasty it's going straight into trash 🙂 Thanks for hosting x

  23. Franca Desjardins

    This is very interesting!! I haven't been trolled yet but if I encounter one I would definitely ignore it. I don't think they will worth any of our time. That is the best solution I guess. I actually feel sorry for them because they don't have anything else interesting to do with their lifes.
    Thank you so much Debbie for linking up with me at #KCACOLS. It means a lot to me your support. I hope to see you again next Sunday!! 🙂 xx
    http://www.amomentwithfranca.com/

  24. john adams

    Considering I often write about gender equality, I'm genuinely surprised I've not been trolled more! Anyway, I don't feed the trolls. I have more important things to do! I may be wrong, but I think most fall into the old timer category. #BrilliantBlogPosts

  25. Joanna @mumbalance

    I haven't been trolled. And I do hope it never happens. If it does, I think blocking the troll and not giving him exposure is the tactic I would choose.
    You have an interesting angle on troll personality. I suppose they really are just sad and frustrated people…
    #brilliantblogposts

  26. Hannah Parker

    Great post! I genuinely thought when I clicked through from twitter that this was going to be about the little toys. *Slaps forehead*

    So I've experienced troll-like behaviour twice – I say "like" behaviour because sometimes it's hard to distinguish between trolling and conflict. The main biggie was on my Facebook wall. I shared a wonderful c-section story and then left it to do it's thing. Unfortunately one woman wrote "does it have to be so dramatic?" and then the internet broke with all the agree come backs. I missed all the drama until it was too late – there was name calling and swearing and you genuinely couldn't tell who was the baddy or the goodie by the end. It was absolutely horrid. I've been meaning to blog about it and how I dealt with the issue…! Thanks for linking up to #TheList xx

    • Lol, I hope you weren't too disappointed when it wasn't about the toys 🙂
      That sounds pretty bad to have to deal with, I'd love to read your post about how you dealt with it. The comment that started it all is an awkward one – maybe she was trolling, but maybe she just found it a bit too graphic and wanted to express that and then the trolls jumped in.
      Thanks for hosting 🙂 x

  27. Laura Wilson

    Haha! This is perfect 🙂 I'd like to think I could handle a troll but I most probably couldn't. Vile people. X

  28. Laura Wilson

    Haha! This is perfect 🙂 I'd like to think I could handle a troll but I most probably couldn't. Vile people. X

  29. Kizzy, Izzy and Baby

    Funny and very accurate! Luckily I haven't directly experienced trolling – although there is still time! – but I have seen it happening on other blogs and I can imagine it could be very hurtful. Sometimes its people who want to share their very strong opinions in an aggressive – and often uninformed – way, but other times I've seen people just leave horrible comments for absolutely no reason, for example attacking how someone looks rather than attacking what they are saying. If only they would put all that effort into something more constructive!

    • Exactly! I'm quite happy for people to disagree with something I think – telling me what you think and why you disagree in a constructive way is great, life would be boring if we all thought the same. Just leave the aggression and the school yard name calling at the door! Thank you 🙂

  30. Fab post-love that-being a douchebag on another's site, I've been lucky really as I've only had one troll who I stood up to on twitter-bullies need to be outed. Well done for such a great, wise post. Thanks for linking up your fab post to #brilliantblogposts x

  31. Debbie Roberts

    Hi Debbie, love the tone of this post. It's pointless letting saddos get to us an making light of it will hopefully get the message out there that trolls are not worth the time of day or loosing sleep over.

    I am lucky (fingers crossed) that so far I've only come across nice, decent people (I've not checked comments on my blog yet this morning though!). If and when I do get trolled I think I'd probably just bin their comment, rather than entertain them.

    xx

    • Thank you 🙂 I think its important to remember that for the most part trolls are just sad, lonely little creatures that aren't specifically targeting you, they just happened to find your post.
      Probably the best way – if you don't entertain them, they probably won't come back 🙂 x

  32. Laura @ Life with Baby Kicks

    I often find the more viral a post is the more trolly comments it brings. Often people just want to say mean things for no reason. Some of the worst troll things I’ve seen are those on Hurrah for Gin and brummymummyof2 not only troll but deliberately hurtful, calling people alcoholic and peoples children ugly. Some things are just a step too far even for trolls. You are right in your analysis. And yep – it’s fun to feed the trolls 😉

    • Yes, I think the viral posts draw out the jealous wannabes! Also when a post is featured on a big site, I think people can forget a real person wrote it if you know what I mean. That really is a step too far, especially calling someone’s children ugly! It is winding them up haha 🙂

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