Is trolling the same as bullying/cyber-bullying? Is it a big deal?

[Rummy]

So, the other thread seems to have descended into two different arguments - and this is the one I'm interested in.

 

Anonymous trolling isn't as new to some of us as it seems to be to the media where it's emerged as news stories more and more in the last few years.

 

The recent case of 14-year-old Hannah Smith who hung herself after posting on the anonymous user advice site ask.fm and recieving abusive comments has particularly brought this to light.

 

However, I'm curious to know - would you class trolling as cyber-bullying? Of course there's a distinction to be made here; trolling by anonymous people, unknown people(ie not known to the victim), and known people. I don't want to focus on trolling by known people as the other thread will most likely deal with that.

 

I'll quote Pancake's original post from the other thread but this is not for a discussion about bullying in other forms or whether by people known the the target, it is about the phenomenon of trolling

 

Um... is it just me or is the recent furore over this a bit.... pathetic??!

 

I grew up in the 90s, and back then us bully victims didn't get "sent a mean tweet". We just got the shit kicked out of us! I got my hair grabbed and my head shoved down onto the pavement everyday after school for about 6 months. And other similar fun stuff.

 

I wish i'd been "cyber bullied" instead! That'd have been lovely!

 

I just don't understand the whole thing. Yes i'm aware young people are stupid and impulsive and sensitive, but just block or delete the fuckers sending you the messages?? You know... instead of killing yourself over it.

 

It's also being used as another excuse for government control the internet, so yah.... fuck you world. :-)

[Beast]

I think there's a fine line between trolling and bullying but the comments can hurt you just as bad in some respects. Like, if the trolls were someone she knew who were bullying her in real-life or on social networks then yeah, totally! But if it's just some weirdo randomer going out stirring shit then I'd say troll and ignore them to an extent. Troll comments can still hurt you nonetheless, it's just a matter of how much they can hurt you and how much you let them get to you.

[Shorty]

What happened to Hannah Smith was reported as trolling just because that's an internet buzzword the media wanted to pick up on to sound relevant. It wasn't trolling, it was just straight up harassment. The word "trolling" is shifting to mean general internet idiocy but the idea, at least at one point, was baiting/eliciting a rise from people by feigning stupidity/ignorance.

[Cube]

I'm not sure how the Hannah Smith case has anything to do with trolling - it's unclear which one is the case, but the people responsible for the bullying were the people in her school, her family, or herself. Definitely a case of bullying (or mental disability).

 

I'd say tolling is related more to products - like the insane negativity towards some staff at BioWare and lots of other companies. Official forums for many companies are downright awful due to trolling. Cyber-bullying is directed to one particular person (rather than a product they made).

[Rummy]

What happened to Hannah Smith was reported as trolling just because that's an internet buzzword the media wanted to pick up on to sound relevant. It wasn't trolling, it was just straight up harassment. The word "trolling" is shifting to mean general internet idiocy but the idea, at least at one point, was baiting/eliciting a rise from people by feigning stupidity/ignorance.

 

I still class it as acting/baiting to get a rise - not neccessarily through stupidty/ignorance but I'll agree what happened to her was harrassment. The question is - WHY was it happening? Why were those people doing/saying those things? If they're anonymous then is it not simply to get the rise/reaction they're looking for? Then they get it, and they build on it etc.

 

Another case that springs to mind was what happened with Jessi Slaughter - she didn't take her own life but everything was a bit extreme there. Each side fed into the other.

[Sheikah]

Trolling is for the lulz. The general intent is to annoy through disruption/hacking/preventing something from working properly rather than insulting any individuals on a personal level.

[Rummy]

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,[1] by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally[3][4] or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[5] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[6]

 

Is what wikipedia currently lists for a definition at the top of its article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet).

[Fierce_LiNk]

What happened to Hannah Smith was reported as trolling just because that's an internet buzzword the media wanted to pick up on to sound relevant. It wasn't trolling, it was just straight up harassment. The word "trolling" is shifting to mean general internet idiocy but the idea, at least at one point, was baiting/eliciting a rise from people by feigning stupidity/ignorance.

 

Completely agree with this. The media caught wind of the word and threw it in there. It wasn't trolling, the media incorrectly used the term.

 

Basically, anybody who goes online now and is generally a bit of a dick to somebody else is regarded as a troll. That's not entirely right.

[EEVILMURRAY]

We have a group on Facebook called the Pokémon TCG Trollfest. Where basically we all take the piss out of each other for misplays etc. I hope that noone would consider it "cyber bullying".

 

Story:

Opponent "Attack for KO"

*He moves Pokémon to discard pile*

Opponent "You're not knocked out because of this card"

Him: "Oh... yeah"

Goes on to win. Whether he would've won regardless is not the point. It's majorly thought that he may have misplayed initially but later caught on to his error and intentionally didn't mention it.

 

 

 

What happened to that Hannah lass I thought was just stupid. It would've been so easy to ignore it.

Edited August 22, 2013 by EEVILMURRAY

[Sheikah]

Is what wikipedia currently lists for a definition at the top of its article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet).

 

I wouldn't agree that it can be accidental like that says. I've always considered trolling to be people who do it on purpose to annoy.

[Agent Gibbs]

Trolling is exactly that internet definition, its intention is not to harrase people and cause them harm, it is purely to get a rise from people to amuse you based on their reactions, its exactly the same as a prank

 

Unfortunately the media has turned the phrase to mean cyber bullying which is indentical to bullying, purely so one person can gain amusement from making a person feel bad based on what they percieve as their deficiencies.

 

They have similar tactics similar methods but the intentions are different one for harm the other for amusement.

People admit they are trolling causing mischief, bullies don't

 

I've loved trolling on the internet and in real life, i'm a wind up merchant

 

before trolls were mischief makers now the media has made them societies new scapegoat

[Rummy]

I get all this stuff that people are saying about the media; but I've known trolling as such long before it came under the media spotlight(both pranking and as harrassment) so I don't think we can peg this one all down to the media. Annoyingly I can't quite recall when it changed its definition for me(as it was originally more just pranking and windups).

 

Hmm, should have checked Wiki's citation - it defines it including such upsettery apparently even back in 2001.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20011026130853/http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

[bob]

I get all this stuff that people are saying about the media; but I've known trolling as such long before it came under the media spotlight(both pranking and as harrassment) so I don't think we can peg this one all down to the media. Annoyingly I can't quite recall when it changed its definition for me(as it was originally more just pranking and windups).

 

Hmm, should have checked Wiki's citation - it defines it including such upsettery apparently even back in 2001.

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20011026130853/http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

 

And where's the link that defines 'upsettery'?

[jayseven]

Didn't ask.fm point out that a large proportion of the comments made were actually sourced from the same IP that Hannah posted on?

 

I think that cyber bullying is very real and very harmful, but the individual needs to feel that they can leave, or approach an authority figure to resolve matters. With ask.fm the issue was that they didn't have a report function for the anonymous questions i.e. someone could 'anonymously' torture her with no reprimand.

 

However, what compelled her to return time and time again?

[bob]

'Trolling is a art'

 

This is the difference between trolling and bullying. Any imbecile can bully or flame on the internet, but it takes wit and finesse to properly troll someone.

[Debug Mode]

Didn't ask.fm point out that a large proportion of the comments made were actually sourced from the same IP that Hannah posted on?

 

I heard the exact same thing, and that was coincidentally around the time the story started going silent and still is largely silent.

 

I wonder if that was any truth to that story..

[bluey]

Trolling is exactly that internet definition, its intention is not to harrase people and cause them harm, it is purely to get a rise from people to amuse you based on their reactions, its exactly the same as a prank

 

Unfortunately the media has turned the phrase to mean cyber bullying which is indentical to bullying, purely so one person can gain amusement from making a person feel bad based on what they percieve as their deficiencies.

 

They have similar tactics similar methods but the intentions are different one for harm the other for amusement.

People admit they are trolling causing mischief, bullies don't

 

I've loved trolling on the internet and in real life, i'm a wind up merchant

 

before trolls were mischief makers now the media has made them societies new scapegoat

 

I think i'm on the same page in answer to the thread title...

The word "trolling" in the way I would use it means a prank, using meme culture or injokes to stir up a funny reaction from someone/a group.

 

The way the media used to use "trolling" was to describe people being unbelievable dickweeds for absolutely no reason (imho those disgusting comments on youtube videos and twitter etc aren't trolling, they're people being hateful and wrong - there's already plenty of words for that)

 

The way the media uses trolling now is as a substitute buzzword for cyberbullying.

 

'Trolling is a art'

 

'Trolling is a art'

'Trolling is a art'

'Trolling is a art'

'Trolling is a art'

 

 

*an

[bob]

 

[EEVILMURRAY]

Those lovely little N-Europe chat room raids was good honest trollin' no cyber bullying at all.