From: AlleyCat <katt@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,can.politics,alt.politics.trump,alt.politics.liberalism,alt.politics.democrats,alt.politics.usa.republican
Subject: Troll Says Companies Close All The Time, So Tupperware Moving To Mexico Is Just Fine And Dandy To Him
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 2024 22:01:57 -0500
Organization: AlleyCat Computing, Inc.
On Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:26:50 -0700, Alan says...
> Companies have been closing their US facilities for decades, Loser-1
So?
The sun at noon on a cloudless day is bright, unless there's an eclipse.
No one said they haven't been, troll.
What's your point, troll?
An Internet troll is someone who enters an online discussion and posts comments
designed to upset or disrupt the conversation.
> Companies have been closing their US facilities for decades, Loser-1
That comment offers nothing... it's neither pro or anti-topic, and wasn't meant
to further the discussion, so...
"Dark Tetrad" personality traits include narcissism, Machiavellianism,
psychopathy, and sadism.
In a study of 1200 people, Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who
said trolling was their favorite Internet activity.
In this month's issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was
published that confirms what we all suspected: Internet trolls are horrible
people.
Let's start by getting our definitions straight: An Internet troll is someone
who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the
conversation. Often, in fact, it seems like there is no real purpose behind
their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie,
exaggerate, and offend to get a response.
What kind of person would do this? Some Canadian researchers decided to find
out.
Study: Internet Trolls and Dark Tetrad Personality Traits
They conducted two online studies with over 1,200 people, giving personality
tests to each subject along with a survey about their Internet commenting
behavior. They were looking for evidence that linked trolling with the "Dark
Tetrad" of personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and
sadism.
They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling
was their favorite Internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent
these traits were among Internet trolls, one can refer to tables from the paper
showing low Dark Tetrad scores for everyone in the study ... except the trolls.
Their scores for all four traits soar on the chart. The relationship between
trolling and the Dark Tetrad is so significant that the authors write in their
paper:
"... the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet
Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are
prototypical everyday sadists." [emphasis added]
Trolls truly enjoy making you feel bad. To quote the authors once more (because
this is a truly quotable article): "Both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee
at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun ... and the Internet
is their playground!"
The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:
These trolls are some truly difficult people.
It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is
ignore them.