1. Under The Bridge:
Getting Past The
Trolls
Jennifer L. Wojcik
@ TheJenATX
#TrollBWENY

2. TROLLS

3. Definition
• Takes pleasure in sowing discord
• Provokes others into taking up their
cause

4. Profile of a Troll
• Generally male
• Young
(some exceptions)
• Free time
• Few outside interests

5. Psychological Theories
• Deindividuation
• Groupthink
• Distance from target
• Less focused on our own identity
• More prone to aggressive behavior

6. Psychological Theories
• Social Learning Theory
• Aggression can be learned through observance /
imitation
• “Jersey Shore kind of world with really
inebriated orange people running around with
scissors and vodka, unsupervised”
~Jen Kim

7. Psychological Theories
• Social Learning Theory Cont’d
• Motivational
• Disinhibitory
• Opportunistic

8. Psychological Theories
• Misattribution Theory of Humor
• Freud (The “Your Mom” guy…)
• Tenditious Humor (Victim)

9. Weapon
FLAMEBAIT
Incendiary comments that
elicit flaming emotional
responses from other
readers.

10. Tactics
• Ad Hominem attacks
• Online threats
• Offline threats
• Cyberstalking

12. Strategies for
Dealing with
Trolls

13. Strategies
• Stay Calm
• Ignore (See sign)
• Establish clear comment
• rules and enforce them.
• Grow a thick skin;
• refuse to be baited.
• When appropriate,
• delete the comment.

15. Case Study: Trolls

16. TechCrunch: Women In Tech

20. Q&A
Your Turn…

21. Sources
1) http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Internet_troll
2) http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/11/dont-flame-me-bro.html
3) http://books.google.com/books?id=zeP1UdZKYfIC&pg=PA194&dq=internet+aggre
4) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misattribution_Theory_of_Humor
5) http://topazbean.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/on-the-psychology-of-trolls-my-name-
6) http://larcho.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/how-not-to-get-hooked-by-a-flamebait/
7) http://tantek.pbworks.com/TrollTaxonomy
8) http://blog.ezinearticles.com/2007/01/ezinearticlescom-blog-comment-policy.html
9) http://www.zdnet.com/blog/ratcliffe/amanda-chapel-aka-strumpette-needs-some-to

22. Sources, Continued
10)http://www.auburnmedia.com/wordpress/2007/10/11/amandas-backstory-reveals-u
11)http://www.cyberguards.com/CyberStalking.html
12)http://blogs.cornell.edu/newmedia10cbp42/2010/04/07/dont-cross-the-line/
13)http://thomaspainescorner.wordpress.com/trolls/
14)http://www.ehow.com/about_5449900_social-learning-theory-
aggression.html
15)http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/valley-girl-brain/201002/your-first-
amendment-right-be-mean

23. THANK YOU
Jennifer L. Wojcik
@TheJenATX
@Pinqued
@PinqSheets
http://Pinqued.com
http:///PinqSheets.com