When the online and anonymous unit was introduced and the topic of trolls came up, I thought I knew everything about it. For me, trolling was not anything new. I have been constantly exposed to trolls for almost 8 years now, as I have been playing many online video games. I agreed with the definition of a troll used in the articles and immediately expected to see familiar situations and examples. However, the article introduced a whole new level of trolling to me.
For me, a troll would appear in an online game I am playing, wreak havoc, annoy a few people, and repeat until the troll gets tired. I admit I have trolled in online video games a few times. I have been on both sides of the argument so I understand the motives of some trolls I encounter. The only reason I would troll however, is if I am jealous, and that is the reason why a lot of trolls I come across troll also. When I was trolled or whenever I trolled, it was never a big deal. A few people were annoyed but it was not anything new. Trolls are constant and I learned to adapt to them.
This is the kind of troll I was used to. An anonymous person disrupting the peace and order for at most an hour and leaving. However, until reading the article on Lindy West I never realized how personal a troll can get and how much it can affect one person. All trolls I experienced never aimed at me personally but more at an entire group. Lindy West's article changed my views entirely on trolls and my opinion. At first I thought trolls were just small nuisances on the internet, there to make maybe themselves and a few friends laugh. However, in Lindy West's article, it is shown that trolls not only try to make themselves feel better, but they try to make others feel worse. Trolls look to attack and do damage.
This unit has changed my thoughts on trolls entirely and has made me aware and cautious. I've also learned what to expect and how to handle the situation. At first I never thought trolling would be a real subject of concern, but after reading these stories of such extreme situations, I realized that trolls are much more than people who are there to simply ruin a game, they are people who look to verbal damage, and people should be a lot more cautious and aware of trolls.
I have a very similar experience as you Daryl. I used to play Xbox all the time especially halo and the amount of trolls were at times just ridiculous. However like you said they most of them on gaming communities only do what they do as pranks to frustrate other players. This isn't saying that there aren't trolls that also harass in gaming communities but its just different. I really like everything you said about the differences between trolls that only mean to prank than those that mean to hurt others and putting your own experiences really help to understand it.
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