The future of trolling

[dark+matters]

What do you think about the future of trolling?

I'm not sure how well the YouTube style of commentary is working for us. It makes it pretty hard to have an in-depth discussion about important subjects when when people are attacking each other.

 

[Hadoblado]

I see it getting further refined and categorised, as well as less accessible for the low tier trolls.

Corporations etc. learn slow when it comes to trolls, but they do learn. Over time the processes that allow unskilled trolls will be brought in line. Account creation won't be as easy, free forums will be regulated more strictly through automation, exploitable marketing campaigns will be curtailed in favour of ones that invite less strife. Essentially I imagine it going the same way as internet security. A troll is essentially a hacker of the social side of the internet.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Hacker != Cracker || Critic != Troll

Otherwise I agree with Hado and I see improvements in expert based filter programs to erase most of the easily detectable malicious people/stuff.

 

[Architect]

Google/YouTube has been pushing people toward real name accounts rather than anon. Doesn't seem to be working out too well. I did something once that resulted in video views in the millions. I had to turn off comments, they got to the hundreds of thousands. What amazed me was the repetition. They all were stupid, they all were short, most were trying to make some clever joke or comment, that wasn't clever because it had been made a thousand times already. I couldn't stand it and just turned it all off.

Amazing to me that people would do such mindless, cookie cutter repetitive actions. Now I have word for them - "click monkeys". In other words I don't think they're capable of more in-depth conversation.

Another form of trolling is robo calls. There's a national Do Not Call list, but many companies are illegally ignoring it. So the FCC has a contest out to come up with some honeypot technology to

 

[Ocofan]

Off-topic but what was the video about?

Trolling has always been a manifestation of immaturity but it seems that its growing in popularity with children imo (that or the ability for kids to access social media now makes it seem like trolling has grown). An adult will most likely look down on anyone doing it where as a kid would find that humour funny and entertaining and do their best to adopt it themselves; so many 'jokes' just get repeated en masse. I think the future of trolling may peak and plateau sooner rather than later. It's a practice mostly adopted by the young and has been boosted by the rise of social media, and the growing ease of online accessibility for kids. Can't imagine it getting any worse than now.

 

[Alias]

The thing is, there's childish trolling, in which the 12 year olds just spam stupid memes and think they're funny. Then there's skillful trolling, in which people dismantle online interactions, cause criminals to burn to death somehow (this has happened and for justice), or otherwise screw things up. Hacking is completely different. But the true 'trolling' is the childish, "le memes, u mad bro" sort of thing. The malicious type of trolling is the peak.

 

[Nanith Omicron]

Trolling it's not what it used to be. As said earlier, the modern troll is typically a 11-13 years old boy that do not seems to care about grammatical errors ( in average, of course), use a lot of pop-culture reference and image coming from website they found funny and, most of the time, trying to hide their inferiority complex. I wouldn't go far saying that "trolls" is nowadays kids behaviour, but it seems to follow this patern. Maybe it's due to the fact that this generation is adapt to cocooning and they try profoundly to "prank" ( I cannot say that making a prank=trolling. It's usually making other people react to controversial matters by foul manners) people by using what they know the most. If trolling keep this pace, I can correlated that it'll become mere irrational reaction to most internet media.

Y'aknowatimsain'?

 

[Sockrates]

I'll let ya know about the future of trolls when it begins for everyone else. Otherwise, it's already happening

 

[RobdoR]

Surely there are people hard at work looking for ways to focus and direct the trolls. If the legions of trolls could be harnessed, they would rival the power of Mordor!

 

[Thurlor]

To begin, we need a concise definition of troll. Too often have I witnessed the term being used against naysayers or anyone that disagrees with or critiques an argument.

Maybe I have thicker skin than most others but I have never really understood the flack that is targeted at 'trolls'.

I understand the distinction between public and private forums but there is something to be said for freedom of speech and expression.

No one has to read comments and no one can claim that the comments cause them harm.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

 

[ZenRaiden]

Only losers spend their free time talking about trolls.

 

[Jennywocky]

But they're so dreamy.

Ps. I'm on the clock.

 

[Yellow]

I always thought of trolling as being equivalent to those little boys who would throw mud/snowballs at kids walking to/from school just to be mean/get attention. You know, the "no one is allowed to have fun without me" attitude.

The only problem is, in real life, when that kid throws something at the wrong person, they get their asses kicked. There is a consequence for the behavior that transforms into some kind of learning experience. Online, there are no consequences. They don't have to live with the direct effect of causing distress or anger in their peers. So, it becomes funny, and it usually escalates over time. It also lasts longer for the same reasons.

So, I think we are seeing our trolling peak. With ever-decreasing anonymity online, trolls are more and more likely to face social (and physical) consequences for their behavior.

 

[Grayman]

I think trolls are an essential element to social and biological evolution. People will finally start to come to their own opinions based evidence instead of the word of a 12 year old or mass of teenagers and the people who cannot do this will die off through suicide until all that is genetically available are genetically supported individuals who are more capable of intelligent thought than the previous generations who let trolls do the thinking.

Once all individuals have fully evolved to independent thought, trolls will be removed through the lack of reaction to their meaningless opinions.

 

[Happy]

The future of trolling is surely IRL trolling, which is way more satisfying anyway.

 

[SpaceYeti]

GAAAAYYYYYY!