deep thought

Please donate your time to teach a troll to read for a better tomorrow.

Makes sense, really. Trolls like an audience, so they gravitate towards the locations where they're more likely to find one.

The trolls and idiots are always among us, in every human forum that allows them to be anonymous. When a site becomes popular enough to be noticed, they move in.

Curiously, if those exact people were to run into you on the street, MaryAnn, almost every one of them would stammer out some kind words to your face. It's the anonymity that allows them to depersonalize the experience and let's them say things they would never dare say to another human over a cup of coffee.

Except for the very few who would say such things to your face, but they are the true exceptions to humanity.

Meanwhile, there are far, far, far more people reading and enjoying your writing but don't post messages. They are out there and they dwarf the trolls. Keep up the good work.

[HTML sarcasm tag]
Gone are the days when you can write your atheistic, feminazi, 'murica-bashin', man-hating, commie pinko, elitist, book larnin' lovin', egghead reviews in piece.

Plus, when you use "then" and "than" correctly, ur just askin' for trouble. You think your better then me?
[HTML sarcasm tag]

Had to be done. Peace.

You nuked me and the troll in the Day the Earth Stood Still comments. Sorry I broke the rules, but that one was just too juicy.

*shrug* internet trolling is probably almost as old as the internet itself, so yeah, the more popular it is the more it's on the radar for the legions of trolls out there. Unfortunate, but that's life I guess. You've done a good job of controlling it so far.

I'm sure you've thought of this before, MAJ, but I wonder if now is the time to institute some official guidelines for posting. You know, a list of do's and don'ts, to be followed or face being deleted or banned.

I don't know if it would actually help, but at least the idiots would be getting a warning BEFORE posting their nonsense.

Aaaand I just noticed your warning at the top of the "post a comment" section. Eagle eyes, have I.

I don't get to use this much, and I made it before I got at all decent at The GIMP, but here's my "Please don't feed the trolls" icon:

http://p-userpic.livejournal.com/41736260/1462041

You know, MAJ, I'm beginning to think that your warning at the top of the "post a comment" section should be in superlarge font, bold, and perhaps red. Cuz people just aren't getting it.

Television Without Pity has a very detailed (and some would argue, insanely detailed) list of do's and don'ts for posting in their forums, and it's helped a lot. I don't suggest that you go as far as they did, but if traffic is up (yay to that), perhaps making your point(s) about decent posting behavior in a bold way might help deflect the trolls.