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A Story by dw817

Sure it's okay to read in National Inquirer, like maybe for a pretty supermodel getting knocked up from space aliens who are actually related to Elvis, but how do you handle Online bullies & trolls ?

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The Truth About Trolls & Blocking Persistent Users

"Can you believe that ... ?"

We all like gossip don't we ? Well, some of us do but we may not admit it.

Sure it's okay to read about it in National Inquirer, like maybe for a pretty supermodel getting knocked up from space aliens who are actually related to Elvis who earlier mated with the queen alien from Alpha Centuri - oh, and on top of all that they gained a few pounds over the Summer cause they were caught at a beach on secret camera. Oh no !

Yah, stuff like that, but what about if someone Online posts a lie about you or a friend of yours and tries to make it sound believable to hurt them ?

Unfortunately that's what cyberbullies and trolls do, they spread lies and gossip about others trying to confuse or anger others into saying things they don't mean.

If you read a comment in any site that somehow seems off-colored and it says that someone did such and such and it's illegal and they're going to jail or they are going to get reported or they say this person did something unspeakable that it doesn't at all match the character at all of whom they are speaking about, that is what is called a troll.

Cause if they were TRULY gonna do something about it and it was of legal concern, that same person would NOT write a single post so as to alert the perpetrator, no they would immediately notify the correct authorities and report them.

This is why they never write the person privately.

No, they will always make it a public message to try and stir up trouble or write a private message as a 'concerned citizen,' to one of their friends to try and cause unrest. That's what they do.

Here is a simple rule of thumb. If you see a warning, a threat, or a 'show of evidence' of ANYTHING purportedly illegal for a friend or person you know who has only shown kindness to others, it doesn't matter who they are, AND it is a public message - much like flagging their own dirty underwear so obviously everyone can see it. And yes that stinks, but more importantly:

It is a lie. Plain and simple.

The idiot who posted it is baiting for an argument from the owner of the page. If it's not on your page, ignore it. Don't comment in that area at all until the post is removed by the owner and instead if you so choose, write the owner a private message as they may not be aware of it.

Then go to a different page the troll is not on in Writer's Cafe and proceed to browse as normal.

A troll gets fed several ways and they are desperate to get fed anyway they can these days. Here are a few things to think about:

A troll can definitely get fed if you reply to them, this is what they especially want
A troll can get fed if one of your friends replies to them, this is also desirable to them
A troll can get fed if you ignore the post, they will patiently refresh for new replies

So how do you deal with a troll without feeding him ? First you want to screen-capture it. One effective way of grabbing the text before they get a chance to delete it is to have it centered on your screen, then click anywhere around the text and press CTRL-A, CTRL-C, and then open up Notepad.

Press CTRL-V in the blank area there. Delete the rest of the text that is unneccessary with the backspace or DEL key, just include the important bits.

Then when you are ready, press CTRL-A, CTRL-C. That important text is now copied to your clipboard. To paste it again to either the staff of WC or to your friend, press CTRL-V. Now then:

If the post is on your site, do not reply, delete it, block the troll, and report it
If it's on a friend's site, let that friend know in a private message, they will handle it.

Don't even add any comments below it, even if you are talking on a different subject, or the troll who is monitoring for any activity will take that as an initiative to launch into the person who posted. Don't bring attention to yourself. No, wait till the problem is handled first.

Once your friends can see that it is all in the clear again, they will return and add supportive comments to that page again and that troll who wrote earlier is now blocked from writing again on any of that user's pages and the staff has been alerted so as to ban their account and user IP and they will additionally monitor for future incidents - and peace resumes.

Proceed onto Writer's Cafe Happiness.

I hope you found this useful, and in the event of cyberbullying - please think before you act !

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© 2013 dw817

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Reviews

Wolfwind

I think you nailed this one right on. It brings across the best way to deal with that sort of individual, as well as delivering it in a wonderful and easy manner. Two thumbs up!

Aaron