Jalapeno Bootyhole Posted:

I’ve often wondered about the motivation behind trolling. Why act this way, just because you can? Maybe the answer is obvious, but I think the author is onto something with:

“This seems to spring from something ugly — a destructive human urge that many feel but few act upon, the ambient misanthropy that’s a frequent ingredient of art, politics and, most of all, jokes.”

You and me both. Truth is I’m often in a state of thinking, “Why the hell are you acting like such a jackbum?” on these forums and have to remind myself that people are supposed to be acting that way.

I used to own a game shop and watching pack behavior and trollish behavior was a daily thing. It was confusing as hell at first, since it just flat out wasn’t my experience growing up. Very simply, the younger the person, the more likely they will be to unleash the troll within. I don’t think it is always the first impulse, but it is definitely a very popular “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” option. No one wants to grow up to be Batman these days, they want to be The Joker. The world is in a strange place. It sounds cliche, but they are currently growing up with it, so it’s “normal.” Parents are radically less available and kids are raising themselves, being babysit by the internet. I was in high school almost (gasp of horror) 20 years ago and I can recall how shocking it was when a fight broke out. The kids who came to my shop witnessed fights almost daily. I listened to their stories appalled at what was happening, and they didn’t understand why I was freaked because it was just business as usual. I’m not sure where the societal shift happened, but it’s obvious that the further we march the less we rely on social graces. Kindness just doesn’t pull any street cred these days.

Before the game shop I’d been in the hotel industry and the trolling impulse is the complete opposite of the customer service impulse. Perhaps the unleashing of the inner troll in these anonymous settings has a bit to do with why the kid manning the drive through window acts like taking your cash is causing him physical pain.

For the most part I think the guys in the interviews were not your average troll. I really don’t think the average troll does it to test social responses, they do it as an acting out in a safe setting where there will be no consequences beyond a possible banning. They might want to push people’s bumons, prod for a reaction, but they are mostly the “lets pull the wings off this bug” type, rather than the “let’s get a degree in behavioral science and see if we can make a bug pull it’s own wings off” types.

Heh heh heh, I do love a good ramble. Serious scully is serious. Log in to see images!