How to deal with Internet trolls.

Everyone has them. Trolls (on a blog) are those commenters who consistently post comments with the sole purpose of being annoying and inciting a reaction. I have two regular trolls on my blog. Every comment they post is in some way insulting, irritating, rude, obnoxious or otherwise unwelcome. At first, I puzzled as to why they read my blog since they are always attacking me for what I write. After a while, I realized, however, that they get some kind of personal pleasure out of being hostile. They seem to have fulfilment in attempting to provoke an offended reaction.

At first, I read their comments, sometimes posted them (the less offensive ones) and replied. After awhile, however, I simply stopped posting their comments since they added nothing to the blog, but detracted from its overall friendly tone.

Recently, however, I have come up with a new plan of approach to those posters I know to be trolls. I simply DON’T READ THEM. When I see their name on the headline to a comment post in my email, I just don’t open it.

I think this is funny and most appropriate. Now, when these trolls post their bile, I am sure they imagine that somewhere, far away, I am annoyed by what they have written. However, in truth, I have not even read what they have written. They have now selected themselves out of my consciousness, because of their habitual offensiveness.

So, if you are suffering from an attack of the trolls – do what I do – and refuse to read what they write. Furthermore, don’t post it. In time, they will probably give up posting.

Does anyone else have a solution to the problem of Internet trolls?

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page.

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.) 

A telling question.

About two weeks ago, Ainan, 12, asked a question I have never heard asked before.

The question popped into the air before me, utterly unannounced.

“Does violence cause video games?”, he asked, with an amused glitter in his eye.

I laughed. I had to – for I at once understood the truth of his question. Video games are violent and are suspected to cause children to be violent...but why are video games violent in the first place? As Ainan had noted...because they are based on real world violence. So, in a sense, Ainan is right: violence causes video games. If our world were not violent, video games would not be violent too: they are a reflection of the world we have made, together, they are a distillation of our times.

The funniest thing about this question is that it points to a self-evident truth...whereas the other question, more commonly asked of “Do video games cause violence?”, is not self-evident and is much prone to controversy, argument and difference of opinion.

I like Ainan’s view of the situation. In his view, real world violence gives rise to video games which are violent, which gives rise to real world violence, which gives rise to video games which are violent – which gives rise to real world violence...and so on ad infinitum. One feeds the other...they are two sides of the same phenomenon.

Posted by Valentine Cawley

(If you would like to support my continued writing of this blog and my ongoing campaign to raise awareness about giftedness and all issues pertaining to it, please donate, by clicking on the gold button to the left of the page. 

To read about my fundraising campaign, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-in-support-of-my.html and here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/01/fundraising-drive-first-donation.html

If you would like to read any of our scientific research papers, there are links to some of them, here: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2011/02/research-papers-by-valentine-cawley-and.html

If you would like to see an online summary of my academic achievements to date, please go here: http://www.getcited.org/mbrz/11136175To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 5, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here:http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at:http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is athttp://www.genghiscan.com/This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)