trolls

[sleeper]

excellent NYT magazine article

The Trolls Among Us

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...trolls-600.jpg

The Trolls Among Us
By MATTATHIAS SCHWARTZ

One afternoon in the spring of 2006, for reasons unknown to those who knew him, Mitchell Henderson, a seventh grader from Rochester, Minn., took a .22-caliber rifle down from a shelf in his parents’ bedroom closet and shot himself in the head. The next morning, Mitchell’s school assembled in the gym to begin mourning. His classmates created a virtual memorial on MySpace and garlanded it with remembrances. One wrote that Mitchell was “an hero to take that shot, to leave us all behind. God do we wish we could take it back. . . . ” Someone e-mailed a clipping of Mitchell’s newspaper obituary to MyDeathSpace.com, a Web site that links to the MySpace pages of the dead. From MyDeathSpace, Mitchell’s page came to the attention of an Internet message board known as /b/ and the “trolls,” as they have come to be called, who dwell there.

/b/ is the designated “random” board of 4chan.org, a group of message boards that draws more than 200 million page views a month. A post consists of an image and a few lines of text. Almost everyone posts as “anonymous.” In effect, this makes /b/ a panopticon in reverse — nobody can see anybody, and everybody can claim to speak from the center. The anonymous denizens of 4chan’s other boards — devoted to travel, fitness and several genres of pornography — refer to the /b/-dwellers as “/b/tards.”

Measured in terms of depravity, insularity and traffic-driven turnover, the culture of /b/ has little precedent. /b/ reads like the inside of a high-school bathroom stall, or an obscene telephone party line, or a blog with no posts and all comments filled with slang that you are too old to understand.

Something about Mitchell Henderson struck the denizens of /b/ as funny. They were especially amused by a reference on his MySpace page to a lost iPod. Mitchell Henderson, /b/ decided, had killed himself over a lost iPod. The “an hero” meme was born. Within hours, the anonymous multitudes were wrapping the tragedy of Mitchell’s death in absurdity.

Someone hacked Henderson’s MySpace page and gave him the face of a zombie. Someone placed an iPod on Henderson’s grave, took a picture and posted it to /b/. Henderson’s face was appended to dancing iPods, spinning iPods, hardcore porn scenes. A dramatic re-enactment of Henderson’s demise appeared on YouTube, complete with shattered iPod. The phone began ringing at Mitchell’s parents’ home. “It sounded like kids,” remembers Mitchell’s father, Mark Henderson, a 44-year-old I.T. executive. “They’d say, ‘Hi, this is Mitchell, I’m at the cemetery.’ ‘Hi, I’ve got Mitchell’s iPod.’ ‘Hi, I’m Mitchell’s ghost, the front door is locked. Can you come down and let me in?’ ” He sighed. “It really got to my wife.” The calls continued for a year and a half.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...olls.1-650.jpg

[sleeper]

dont know about anybody else, but id say these people are pretty revolting. im sure a lot of people here would cheerlead for them in a second though

[ravenguy2000]

Yeah, I read this. Pretty amazing article.

[PeppermintHippo]

That pretty fucked up.

[null123]

it's pathetic that that one guy tries to claim he's conducting a social experiment to make himself seem less like a 30-year-old who gets off on controlling people's emotions on the internet. I also found it funny what a trumped up idea of their significance and power they have.

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by ravenguy2000

Yeah, I read this. Pretty amazing article.

yeah, even by NYT standards the article was excellent. so well done.

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by Charmbag

it's pathetic that that one guy tries to claim he's conducting a social experiment to make himself seem less like a 30-year-old who gets off on controlling people's emotions on the internet. I also found it funny what a trumped up idea of their significance and power they have.

yeah the "social experiment" argument is probably their worst, ive always hated it.

its such a flimsy excuse. theyre doing it for simple, base pleasure, not out of any higher motive. its ridiculous when they try to frame it in these really high-flown terms -- that fortuny guy saying that he, basically, was helping people by teaching them about "how life is" is one of the more grotesque examples.

their logic is absurd too. he said that he posted flashing lights on a forum for epileptics because he wanted to "help" them. help them from what? the dangers of the internet of course, where some people (those damned evil people!) could post flashing lights to harm them.... do i even have to continue, to point out the stupidity of this? mind numbing shit, truly

[ohnoitsbonnie]

lol

[mistle]

you must have some wisdom on this, bonnie

[ohnoitsbonnie]

:X

[mistle]

you must!

i wanted to start posting at 4chan once, but i didn't understand the design so it didn't happen

[duovamp]

Being a shitfaced asshole makes everybody think you're cool.

[Mablak]

4chan is just a remarkably creepy place, I tried going there once but I didn't find any signs of intelligence anywhere

[alexthestampede]

One wrote that Mitchell was “an hero to take that shot, to leave us all behind.

this is kind of a funny quote but harassing the kids parents is out of line imo, its not like the kid did anything to anyone unlike some of the other people they harass

[Fattening Ass]

I always knew Ryan Patrick was a troll

[sleeper]

Originally Posted by Mablak

4chan is just a remarkably creepy place, I tried going there once but I didn't find any signs of intelligence anywhere

yeah this has been my experience. i periodically check it out because of its status on the internet, but its so low on actual content that its just makes my eyes glaze over after a few minutes

[Hate the Hater]

Warsaw to thread.

[Gish08]

We are anonymous. We are legion.

[RenewRevive]

nice read, not at all surprising.

[aurel]

Originally Posted by sleeper

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...trolls-600.jpg

Really thought this was going to be about people with troll-like features.

Excellent article though.

[sleeper]

interesting how the trolls photographed for the article look exactly like youd imagine them to, especially the shitface on top. dont they just reek of "trollness"? they hit all the right notes, really. even without being told it, i could pick them out as trolls.

[Shapan]

i cant even think of anything to say about these guys.

as low as netphoria can go, i dont think anyone here would support crap like that. there use to be the obvious person id consider in this vein but even that dude's humanity comes out here and there.

i think the most genuine contempt riled up amongst the average netphorian that isnt expected from regular people actually is how bad the smashing pumpkins are right now.

[barden]

“Anyone who knows who and where you are is a security hole,” he told me. “I own a gun. I have an escape route. If someone comes, I’m ready.”

What. the. fuck?

YOU TROLLED ME ON THAT INTERNET AND NOW I HAVE FOUND YOU!
'OH SHIT, LET ME ARM MYSELF AND RETREAT TO MY ESCAPE ROUTE, AS PLANNED FOR SITUATIONS LIKE THIS!!'

[Sonic Johnny]

Originally Posted by Shapan

as low as netphoria can go, i dont think anyone here would support crap like that.

you remember the time we ruined stefanie's life? that was pretty low.

[Shapan]

:/

[maoi]

who was the guy who called Ace of Aces mom and told her he died

[redbull]

Originally Posted by Sonic Johnny

you remember the time we ruined stefanie's life? that was pretty low.

IP relay, anyone

[celluloid_love]

that shit with boner was pretty fuckin hilarious you have to admit

[wHATcOLOR]

thanks sleeper for posting

[Rider]

Originally Posted by Sonic Johnny

you remember the time we ruined stefanie's life? that was pretty low.

Yeah I was going to say it's not much worse then things we did to Steph and various other people on here.