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.) 

Malice on the internet.

The internet is a malicious place, in many ways, for malicious people thrive in its apparent anonymity. However, they are not as anonymous as they think they are. Perhaps if they were aware of this they would act less often on their malice.

A couple of months ago, one of my email accounts was flooded overnight, with junk emails. Suddenly, an account which basically got no junk email, was utterly inundated with it, making the account effectively useless. Who had done this very immature thing? Who, out in the whole wide world, disliked me enough to trouble themselves to sign me up for a huge load of stupid websites? For a long time, I was befuddled as to who could have done this. Then, however, I had an idea. I am not going to tell you the idea, but the upshot of it is, I got a hold of the IP address of just who had registered me for this skip load of rubbish.

The IP address, of my “anonymous” persecutor, turned out to be: 71.85.194.29.

A search on this IP reveals that the perpetrator is registered to an organization called Charter Communications, operating out of Fallon, Missouri.

Now, that struck me as very odd. You see, I recognized that address as being from a regular reader of my blog. It seems that this reader is not a fan, but a kind of fiend. They are those who lurk, on my blog, not to enjoy reading it, but to enjoy hating it. I am familiar with the kind, they are what you might call, “anti-fans”.

Presently, I am considering writing a letter to the organization in question, pointing out the behaviour of one of their employees. It is conceivable that this might lead to disciplinary action against them. Any responsible employer would not approve of their conduct, after all. It is possible, therefore, that my “anonymous” attacker, might come to receive some kind of punishment. Now, wouldn’t that be poetic?

So, if you are considering doing some harm to someone on the internet, consider this: your “anonymity” is an illusion and everything you do is trackable on the net. Should you harm another, it is quite likely you will be discovered and face retribution of some kind. So, please, don’t do on the net, anything you wouldn’t be prepared to do, to someone’s face, in the real world. Not only would you be harming your victim, but ultimately, you are going to be harming yourself. It is possible, for instance, that my persecutor, might be out of a job soon. If so, they have no-one to blame but themselves.

Now, excuse me, I have a letter to write…

(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

To learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, 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 at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The new silence in the world.

There is a new silence in my blogging world - and, in a way, it is a good silence. Ever since I implemented the "no anonymity for commenters" policy, there has been a notable reduction in the number of comments. Though this might seem like an unwelcome development, in a way it is not - for it tells me something. It tells me that a significant proportion of commenters do not have the courage to stand by their words and put their name to them. That is fine by me - for I have no wish to converse with someone who has no wish to let me know who they are. How often do we stand for conversations in real life, without some kind of introduction? So, too, should it be on the net: it should be basic courtesy to provide a name and an identification, before beginning a conversation. Now, of course, I have required such an identification it is very interesting to see who and how many people are willing to stand by their own words. Not as many as one would think...

So, I would like to thank those who have the courage and decency to identify themselves before they write comments...that, to me, shows a certain worthy character. As for those who no longer comment: they fall into three camps. Firstly, those whose comments were extremely unpleasant, and for whom identifying themselves could lead to negative consequences in their own lives; secondly, those who feel unable to stand revealed as authors of their words, perhaps because they don't wish to be known for certain opinions, even if they don't fall into the third category - and lastly, those who do not have any form of online ID and either do not know how to get one or do not wish to get one.

Whatever is the case, however, I am much more comfortable corresponding with people willing to let me know who they are. It always seemed strange to me that the net was full of people who wanted to say something, but who didn't want you to know that they were saying it. It seemed, somehow, abusive of the basic laws of human conduct. So, I am pleased, at the change, even though it is quieter on the blog. That quietness signifies an improvement in the QUALITY of discourse, since, now, those who know that they could not possibly leave a clue as to their identities without finding trouble for their words, have ceased to write. That is good.

So here is a thank you to those who remain to comment: it is good to see some who are willing to put a name to their own words. It is a pleasure to read them. Cheers.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 6 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, 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.

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 at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)