I’ve mentioned before that my most popular posts are stomping on dumb things people say on the internetz, but never really explained why or my philosophy on when it is okay to bait a troll or a dummy into giving me free entertaining content that I can then use to benefit myself.
Target the pompous, not the weak
Essentially, I try to avoid the genuinely stupid. You’ll notice that a vast majority, if not all of my convo posts crushing someone who is painfully wrong about whatever nonsense they are feeling passionately on at the moment – they always have some degree of maliciousness. Only then do I continue to engage them in order to get a juicy post out of it. I don’t mind exposing my internal rules because even if the person is intentionally trolling, the end result is exactly the same. All I do in these things, after all, is expose the inaccuracy or foolishness in whatever it is they’re saying. I don’t troll them or bait them or coax them into being even dumber or to waste their life arguing with me, a total stranger. I merely say what I would say to anyone who said whatever it is they said and if they react appropriately then its a nice interaction, if they are dumb then its usually one I ignore and if it they are persistent and passionate then I get a free post out of playing a game I have fun with anyway.
Ideally, it’s mutually beneficial
I always try not to exploit the innocent. The antagonizer presumably (if they’re an intentional troll) is having fun as well – or, if they are not intentionally trolling and actually are just angry and indignant about words they’re seeing on the internet, then they are still gaining something out of the exchange. So when people ask me if I ever feel bad about taking advantage of such rubes and suckers and then using the fruits of their labor to benefit myself, I have to point out that really, it’s a win/win for both sides.
The troll, bully, or the moron genuinely thinks it is a good use of their time to say the silly things I’m pointing out and they’re not doing so privately but on an internet soap box and/or in situations where they pick fights with strangers. They were not kidnapped and forced to engage, nor do I ever trick them under false pretenses.
So even though I am using, what to me is a total waste of their time, to then post on my website to generate content and revenue from – it was a transaction that was entirely willful and symbiotic. Whether troll or not, they are asking to be fed and one could claim just as much that I am the victim of a false-charity scam by going ahead and feeding them. Which I always do.
Trolls are not victims.
Yes, I Hansel-and-Gretal them with welcoming food in order to fatten up a post until ripe for cooking and serving to the guests of my website but you also have to remember that they asked for it and have the freedom to gain something from the exchange as well.
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