Are trolls an endangered species or have I just stopped noticing them?
I’ve never actually cleared out my comments from my YouTube account. I took a look through the history of responses to my comments. Most of the time, the responses I get are positive. When I visit the comments, I find that I often have one of the most liked comments.
I almost never commented on videos at first, but starting about 3 years ago, I gradually got into the habit of commenting on videos that make a strong impression. Over time, my comment style and viewing choices changed. This might have minimized my exposure to trolls and flame wars.
So I had qui
te a few comment responses in my inbox, and while strolling down memory lane, I compared the old comment responses to the new ones. It occurred to me that I almost never get responses from trolls anymore. My comments have had a little troll activity recently. Not much to write home about, but just a reminder that they’re still out there… eating junk food and sitting in rooms lit only by the harsh glow of their monitors.
I had left this site up and idling for more than a month. I found out the hard way just how easy it is to kill a website. Just a teeny-tiny mistake on coding and before I know it, the fat lady has sung. I reloaded the site and neglected it as I was working on other projects. I didn’t think anyone would come across this page, so I was a little surprised to find that the spambots had paid a visit.
Since trolls get a reaction, it makes sense that whoever programs the spambots would use messages that have that particular trolly touch of feigned disappointment. Here’s an example of what I got:
I don’t usually reply to posts but I will in this case.
my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it
with ‘we leave it to you to decide’.
Well, that’s what I get for not activating Akismet.
It’s funny because I didn’t even have a post but the comment section was open in its default setting. I didn’t take the bait, but to whoever came up with the poorly stated/poorly spelled message, I say, “Well played, spambot-troll.” Had I been ridiculously naïve, or easily offended, I would have tried to find out more about you, and wound up with a nasty virus or I’d have given up too much information which is generally not smart.
I’ve been avoiding Facebook and Twitter, so maybe that’s where the trolls are. Right now, I can say that ignorance is bliss. I’m sure I’ll see my fair share of them again in the future, but the vacation has been nice.
