Steemit: No Place For The Internet Trolls
ARTWORK BY BrittMartin
One of the Key Beauties about the Steemit Community, Troll Free Zone
This morning I was made aware of some trolling going on a post by a user here in the Steemian community. A post about a pet and how their precious family member passed away. Out of respect for that person and not really being familiar yet with them I will not drag them into this article but I do think what went down should be highlighted as a reference of warning how this community reacts to trolling.
In this post someone came about in their comments putting that person down for having understandable emotions about their ill pet and about their worries. Not sure how people feel but personally a pet can sometimes be just as much a family member as a human. You tend to them, you raise them and sadly as life goes we lose them a bit more often than human members due to shorter lifespans, still hurts and still comes with an understandable grieving process.
As trolls do this person came to a hurting person and blasted them with constant put downs. This is human nature in my opinion at the worst and definitely not someone I deem a true Steemian and apart of the positive nature of this community.
Steemians to the Rescue
The reason I wrote this is not to point fingers at anyone, not about to drop down to trolling status myself by saying who did what but what I am here to do is highlight what amazing action this community took to stomp out the immature commenting. In a swarm of disgust a bunch of the commentators came to defend this hurting Steemian. To top that off they went to flagging this person to help stop spread his putrid trolling habits of negativity. Now granted they kind of hide all his content and maybe a bit extreme but that did show me here that this community will not stand for any trolling and rightfully so.
Troll Free Zone
Trolling has been a huge nuisance on the internet over the years and seems to be an uptrending issue with mainstream social media. What happens is they group up and spread such immature bullying. This then seems to get contagious and spreads out because they find adolescent fun in the games. I have actually read up on this a lot over the years because my son is Autistic and very sensitive towards how people treat him and we have had moments where trolling kids or hell maybe even adults have caused him some grief.
Trolling is a virus. Sure I get the poke some jabs on the old trollbox when your trading, that is a whole different kind of trolling, more that is a game users play in fun and less about the individual and more about the coins of choice they hold. You don't have a sense of humor if you can't laugh about a few harmless roasting and jabs now and then. There is a line though and you hit a very serious mark when your attacking a person for being an individual or they have emotions you want to use as a weakness against them, that my friends is trolling at its most immature.
Studies show that the trolling attacks over the years has actually provided a rise in suicides, depression, ,and murder. There are so many numerous cases out there you can dig up where someone was attacked online by a troll and the person on the other side actually hunted them down and offed the troll. So many cases of this you would actually think the media would kind of make it known more. Trolls don't get the dangerous game they play sometimes, you may think its fun to jab at someone because you sit safely behind that screen but you have no clue your picking on a person with a serious chip on their shoulder and ultimately may have crossed the wrong person.
Steemians Should Keep Trolling In Check
We are not in Facebook here, nor Twitter, nor on some trollbox in crypto. This place has proven to be a huge meeting of the minds forum. Sharing and expressing ones life, views, topics in the news, and I also firmly believe Steemit maybe the hub for the fight against the system which could push our crypto movement ahead to fix the system. This is a true place for maturity and mutual respect.
We are leaving mainstream social media for a lot of personal reasons past making money. I think we are all sick of the dumbed down way they have gotten people. I firmly believe we are here to do it right and I think trolling is beneath what we are trying to achieve. I can't speak for everyone but that is how I view using this platform and I hope its more of the majority here that views it like I do. We have a huge opportunity here to help one another, spread wealth, and form up as a tight community trying to bring positive change. Trolling to me has no real place in Steemit. Sure an argument may pop off but directly attacking others for caring about something and sharing that openly, not healthy nor a healthy mind worthy of earning with this community, my opinion of course.
Well that is my rant about seeing that, my fiance showed me this and like me it bugged her to see. Right now the troll is posting on why did he get flagged lol...so maybe he will see this and understand to be a little more respectful in this community of mature adults. I personally didn't get in on the flag game. I think we need to really use that flag option wisely and not scare off good people here just trying to make a difference. I do think though those that flagged that situation had value in their choices, maybe ease off the guy now seeing he probably got the message but that is for the community to decide.
Just be good to each other, we got enough Hell going around in the world, lets have a safe place here in Steemit.
Although I love trolling my friends, I totally agree with what you have said. Trolling(some said it's attack) is not something all-bad. But it is surely unhealthy if trolling is overwhelming in a community or forum. We can troll others in other platforms occasionally. But we must know that Steemit now is developing as a center of quality content. This healthy atmosphere should be maintained by all users.
Totally with you on that. Sure, jabbing friends and fooling around with a great sense of humor is one thing but vicious attacking and harassing is useless. I think though here we seem to have that great balance where most don't online. Hopefully we maintain it and let positive vibes flourish more. Great comment, I agree there is a good trolling out there, its that mean spirited put someone down stuff to feel above someone that I don't care for..basically bullying trolls is more the word for it
what about witty trolling as a mean of keeping low quality content at bay?
It is early days but hopefully it doesn't get to that stage! Very positive community so far!
I think our platform with the monetary gains should keep the trolling in check. We are here to provide value of info and make each other money. In any work situation trolling tends to go out the front door so I am hoping that monetary side to this keeps people professional and mature in how they deal with one another. Its still young and there are so many people who get a kick out of trolling out there, its only a matter of time they start moving in thinking this is just another internet hotspot to do their negative games, but I think we can keep it in check and enlighten. I fear the flagging system though a bit, seems to easy to flag others here and cut out earnings if you just don't like them. I seen a few other posts where people didn't provoke any form of reason for flagging but they got flagged constant. That side to the flagging seems to easy to challenge earnings, might need a way to set it up where it takes a certain amount of flags by other members to make it kick in. Reason I say this, say you and I are minding our own business and expressing our personal views as we should and someone comes along and doesn't agree with it and wants to play the flagging game to shut you up, its a little too easy to do so and that could in turn run people off from Steemit. I need to look more into how that system works but been told its as easy as having a little power to make it happen. That concerns me a little, I get constantly flagged and nothing is done about it, off goes my earnings here and onto regular crypto trading lol....so I hope its looked more into so its a tad more fair
I share your disgust with trolling. I don't know how anyone can think that personal attacks are funny. I am so glad that, so far, the Steemit community has been assiduous about stomping on trolls.
I am fully with you, just no real use for those types. Steemit is for grown people who have a bit maturity to provide valuable info, there is no need helping negative trolls bank on providing negativity in the community. They can go that route, its a free world but doesn't mean they will earn anything for it lol....they are kind of shooting themselves in the foot with in comes to a platform like this, poorhouse trolls is all they will be if they want to hurt others
lol TROLLBOCOP has 3 set directives....
1 You pick on fellow Steemians, you are terminated
2 You mess with my posts, you are terminated
3 You spam the hell out of others, you are terminated
TROLLBOCOP has no tolerance lol. Good one baby, great comment.
Keep up the great work baby... you're brilliant!😊
Thank you hun, just trying to inform and look out for the good people...hate to see people hurt needlessly...spread that message to encourage positive vibes
That's exactly why i was so upset over seeing such callous shameful comments on a post of someone hurting over the loss of a loved one and even he was positive in his response to the troll! i sincerely hope that kind of negative behavior won't be tolerated.
That is why I love you, you always have heart towards others and a huge heart at that. I believe this community will keep it in check, believe there is too much growing maturity here to stand up against by the troll types, and they can't win against common sensed intelligence and maturity
Good post. I am going to resteem this. I do want to add a word of caution. These days someone will call a person a troll simply because they disagree and the person gets frustrated that they cannot make them "agree", "understand", etc. This is NOT trolling. However, it does sound like the person you described was definitely a troll. The name calling, and put downs are a sure sign.
I've been known to feed trolls until I am sure they are a troll. One of the things I do to test them sometimes is to AGREE with them. If they suddenly do a 180 and are now attacking the position they were previously endorsing then it is clear they are a troll.
I did want to stress that it is important to remember DISAGREEING is not trolling. It is a natural and important part of communication. If you are frustrated because you can't reach agreement then the person who first calls the other a TROLL is the one who is actually entering the troll zone.
Again... great post. I just wanted to add that caveat.
Oh I agree, that is why I put that at the bottom that arguments are normal and not a sign of trolling lol. No what I am against is the bullying stuff, that form of trolling is useless in any community and especially one where people got monetary gains involved. Needs to be a bit of maturity here due to that aspect plus this is becoming the hub for the crypto movement, a lot of us are forming up for the just cause against the system trying to start taking this away from us, we have serious work to do in here when it comes to that and I would hate to have to babysit all day long and sidetrack our real important work ahead. Great of you though to point out the need to be discreet about what someone considers trolling, I am with you completely there. The harassing needless negativity off of a hatred position is purely useless here. Flagging to just flag a post is also not right, has to be a balance.
Thank you for the resteem, and for the wise amazing comment
I agree with this completely. For the most part I think we do a good job of stamping it out, the reputation hit, and the inability to make any money seem to make trolling a losing proposition here. That is a great thing.
I agree, as long as we also don't abuse the privileges to moderate through flagging needlessly then everybody wins. Eventually it will reform the mentality on the guys coming in thinking they got this power to troll and win. In crypto trading trolling is a tactic used to scare people on or off a coin to make money, Steemit is not that kind of crypto so a lot of people will need to rethink how they play this game. Hopefully they get it eventually and bring in the positive tactics, its only going to hurt themselves here if they don't wise up about that side to our community
It's good I read the replies, you took the words out of my mouth.
Thank you :)
lol...great minds think a like my friend. Its crazy how people act out there but the good thing, I believe Steemit encourages non troll like behavior, could even help us to be better people as individuals.
Oh I was replying to dwinblood. But I indeed think that steemit is a very good environment and that it encourages people to communicate better. Like your post b.t.w. upvoted it of course ;)
Appreciate the upvote...oh lol...thought you were commenting to my last one...no worries though, think all of us feel the same way about these trolls.
:)
That troll looks so sad though :( I feel sad for a people that need to troll, maybe steemit can help them to reraise themselves up :D Steemit is troll free utopia
Source of pic: https://www.singularityweblog.com/utopia-get-real/
I do feel bad for those that seek a trolling way for attention. I figure they don't get enough attention at home so lash out on strangers to feel better about themselves lol. Funny though in crypto they kind of hurt themselves, just kind of linger at the bottom of the food chain and never grasping that a little positive way about them could make them go further. This is troll free paradise, just hope we can keep it that way
Do you think that there is a possiblility not to? That it can change to trolls paradise? How?
As we grow there will come more of them, already starting to see it...and some abuses of power now and then. That flagging system I seen last week get used by a troll...flagging someone because they wrote about cooking too much...from their they went to flagging the poor person on article after article out of spite, stuff like that needs to be looked into...think the flagging needs a bit more tweaking of say more than one person can just stop someone from earning. They will find their way in, there is a ton of them out there in crypto always wreaking havoc. I actually used to work in PIVX in their marketing, for months we had this ride of great positive people, no issues then we got popular and all the sudden troll after troll came in playing their games. Got so bad I dreaded even opening my mouth in our slack in worry of drama. It just tends to slip in for some reason. Here though I doubt it will become an issue, too many mature people to keep an eye out for it. What I seen this morning with the guy being basically banished and put in time out was probably wise and may teach him about cussing out strangers and putting them down when they are in need of comfort. Just a little concerned about the trolls abusing the community but overall I think it will remain positive here
Lets see in that case.. For sure that there are always ways around any system, I wonder now how it will be in future. Thanks for sharing your experiences, have a great day :)
I think in the future we will get everyone back to a more moral standing, well that is my hopes. The current system is corrupting people, and I think its honestly a form of rebellion forming and people are misguided on where to put that energy maybe..so they lash out. Hopefully we will all head to a common ground equality one day and respect each other more. I try to bring that to the table myself and I see in Steemit that is very common in most of us. Really great chat my friend, you have a great all around weekend yourself
I have zero tolerance for trolls. Good job coming to that persons rescue!
I also have limited tolerance for the noobs that post their links into comments or the ones who write "your writing is magical. Upvote and follow me."
I agree my friend, there is no room here for trolls, but I believe the community has it covered by the looks of it, well so far lol
Hey wakeupsheeps, did you follow me? Did you upvote this article, how about the last one I wrote, or the one before that, you surely upvoted my one before that right? Make sure you follow me, make sure you follow all my followers. While your at it, you got any money for me, my wallet is looking low and surely you can fill that bad boy up. Hey lol....jk had to mess with you. Those types get on my nerves too man, we work to hard to have the tag alongs wanting to bank on our hard hours of work.
Another pet peeve, follow me for a follow and as soon as you do, they are gone. I am decided to firmly stick to my one for one method. My numbers will always be the same as my followers at this stage. I been keeping a notepad of the guys I like out there that don't follow back that I genuinely enjoy reading and upvote, I won't follow but I will hook them up because I like their content but the newbie game of follow me and drop off the list after they sucker me is over lol. Either you enjoy the ride with me or your off the list, its an exclusive club lol...not about the numbers anymore, just the quality people I enjoy chatting with here
Wow, I was terribly confused for a moment. At the start of your 2nd paragraph I was like, WTF!, then I realized you were having fun! lol
I have been following back most everyone who followed me. I'll dump someone if they clog my feed with a ton of resteems or annoying actions, otherwise, they're just a number. I know who I like to read and am always looking for good content. If I happen to follow someone and they duped me, so what. I'll only take action if I find them annoying.
Yea I was just messing around, lol...I don't beg, never have lol. I just clean house on the follower user types, its been happening a lot to me lately with the new guys. I guess they see this rise in my follows, figure they can doop me into following them and I will magically give them all the upvotes due to the fact we did a follow for follow. I guess they think getting my follow means they keep it so they slip off my list as if I am some sort of idiot or something lol. I figure be mutually respectful like we are co workers or take the spam games elsewhere. I look for great content to upvote, help the SBC crowd but you know my time is pretty limited due to all that so I kind of watch out for the user types, rather save my upvotes for you guys who been so supportive than someone just passing by for a moment of earnings
This is no space for trolls, let's try and keep it that way.
I fully agree, people are here to do work, spread info and not deal with censorship. I get freedom of speech but if your running around hurting others that is an abuse of that freedom in my view. Hopefully the fact there seems to be more maturity here than most social media sites will help that situation. We are here to spread info, make money and help each other....don't think there is room for children running amok around us lol. I don't know about you but babysitting my own kids is plenty work enough, don't need to do it for grown adults out there lol
Awesome man, I think the community health is key. And it's everyone's responsibility to not troll as well as keep the trolls away.
One thing that does bother me right now is those users who comment on my posts saying follow me or up vote without reading what I have posted, I mean their comments come within the first minute I post. I think these are bots maybe?
I feel the only way to be successful here is to post original and quality content and also comment in a sensible manner.
I know not everyone can post quality on day 1, I am not at that level either, far from it but I did manage to write 10 decent posts in 10 days for the simple reason that I always wanted to blog and I have free time now and mostly I want to learn blogging through trial and error.
While we can't do content quality on day 1 we should be sensible in using the platform from day 1.
A big NO to trolls and spam..
I agree, always up your game with content, think outside the box and keep trying to find your voice is the best way to get ahead here. I am totally with you about the follow me guys. Those aren't bots just new guys trying to grow fast, I get it but its annoying at the same time but I have noticed as they grow they tend to chill out on it, well most do. That is why I formed my project Steemit Blogger Central, we have a Facebook, Twitter and now a SLACK community under that. I decided to go full time here, resteem peoples posts on those pages when they drop links to our community and kind of do what I can to help the hard workers needing to grow get out there without bugging people...kind of self empower them. So far it seems to have done the trick for my crowd but I still get a lot of those follow for follow guys who I oblige but then they dip off my list come a few hours later. Kind of why I went to a only keep the followers I have as the ones I follow. I still go out there and meet people and upvote people off my list because I love their content but I also think a mutual fellowship is how we should network, not scam people into following you and you don't even bother to show mutual respect. I am picky maybe lol...but I figure this is my best route for a quality group with me, mainly because I go way out of my way to help others here and I think its only reasonably fair.
Trolls I just have no more tolerance for, I have worked in a crypto coin in marketing before and the rampant negativity trolls put out there is like babysitting a bunch of morons lol. I just don't believe in spreading negativity and I am here for the movement to take crypto to the top against the central banks so I view our community as a hub for intelligent people gathering to make the world better, not worse on individuals. I have come in my times of being involved in crypto that most trolls are guys at the bottom trying to get popular by poking at people in hopes they can form a crew of like minds and use each other, not all but a good chunk of the ones I encountered in my past. What I don't get is they never get ahead with those tactics so why keep beating on that door if it won't open. In the end the good souls showing respect are usually the ones to make good in their life, rather promote that vs let the trolls keep thinking that is the right way to be