Sign up for a new account or log in here:
also @ TechSpot: Building a Thin Mini-ITX PC: Small and Silent Performance
You've undoubtedly heard the old Lord Acton quote, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Apparently, it doesn't really matter how that power is derived, and Internet trolls are drunk with it -- "it" being the power of anonymity. According to a study by the Northwestern University, anonymity affects the judgment of people similarly to alcohol intoxication and excessive power.
"Although these pathways appear to be unrelated on the surface, they all lead to disinhibited states through a common psychological and neurological mechanism," said Jacob Hirsh of the university's Kellogg School of Management. Dr. Hirsh's colleague, Professor Adam Galinsky, said the loss of inhibition causes "significant behavioral consequences" -- though, that's not necessarily good or bad in itself.
When a person is operating behind a mask such as the Internet, they're more likely to make decisions that align with their true motives or character -- be that heroism or hedonism. "This is why intoxicated individuals can be aggressive in one instant and altruistic in another," said Hirsh, and it could help explain why people tend to express such extreme views when they get behind a keyboard.
People often feel there are no repercussions for their actions online because they're not visually confronted with another person. Dr. Darryl Cross, a psychologist at Crossways Consulting, believes the anonymity of the Internet encourages split personalities. He noted that people have two personas: one driven by raw animal instinct, and another that's more conservative. The former kicks in online.
"What you've got [online] is people who are prepared to let their instinctual personality out rather than really taking a second perspective, looking at it in a different way, and then saying the second thing that comes into their mind instead of the first." Naturally, this occurs more frequently when you have an open system like ours that encourages "guest" posters, versus strictly registered commenters.
"Anything that requires personal responsibility has got to be a plus," Cross said. "Once they have to register and they're held accountable, then that's really going to be a major step forward." Worried that you're a troll? Cross suggests that you establish a method to determine the demeanor of your comment. For instance, consider what your grandparents might say about your post before submitting it.
User Comments: 65
Got something to say? Post a comment-
Remember what a troll resembles (Top of this page)? In all fairness, we all have a little troll in us.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/internet%20tough%20guy/sa
vyamigo/InternetToughGuy.gif?o=6 -
I loled at the "unused anus" label on the illustration.
-
Remember what a troll resembles (Top of this page)? In all fairness, we all have a little troll in us.
[link]
The first sign of anything is denying it!....
"I'm not crazy"! (see how that axiom works)? -
It doesnt work
-
The first sign of realizing a lack of knowledge means there is a lack knowledge. Stop embarrassing yourself ...
-
It doesnt workMaybe not for you. It's very likely you're not doing it right. Try it again by answering this question, "do you masturbate"?
-
The first sign of realizing a lack of knowledge means there is a lack knowledge. Stop embarrassing yourself ...I know, " I've seen and heard the whole, "you don't know that you don't know nonsense". Did they take your money? Did they tell you that you'd be a better, more annoying troll when you were done the course?
-
I'm a little shocked this watered down article is generating this much response. Can we all go back to a good ol' CoDMF3 vs. BF3 fanboy frenzy? Forum trolls are not nearly as bothersome as patent trolls.
-
I'm a little shocked this watered down article is generating this much response. Can we all go back to a good ol' CoDMF3 vs. BF3 fanboy frenzy? Forum trolls are not nearly as bothersome as patent trolls.What is this, an attempt at internet censorship?
Besides, it isn't generating that much interest. The response to "looks" ratio is rather low (1*). Now rethink your position, not everyone wants to argue about one game versus another.
Or, you could start your very own argument in the "Gaming" forum: http://www.techspot.com/vb/menu11.html where everybody probably will.
(1*) But the night is still young.
-
KidChaos said:
I'm a little shocked this watered down article is generating this much response.
The Captain is channeling his inner Canadian and taking on all comers with a hockey stick in one hand, and a Molotov cocktail in the other.
The Guests are being represented by a narcissistic onanist chimpanzee.
When this is over there will be smoldering poo everywhere.
-
onanist, thats a new one, let the poop fly
-
@gwailo
Wouldn't it be better and bit less messy if Captain make trolls shoot themselves with their own poo?
-
@gwailoI plan on letting them get me into a crossfire situation, then ducking. Is that what you meant? But I digress.......
Wouldn't it be better and bit less messy if Captain make trolls shoot themselves with their own poo?
-
Archean said:
@gwailo
Wouldn't it be better and bit less messy if Captain make trolls shoot themselves with their own poo?
The only way to kill a troll is with fire. Otherwise they regenerate.
-
The only way to kill a troll is with fire. Otherwise they regenerate.Indeed. This is facilitated by the fact they only have 2 moving parts, a mouth and an a**h***. Since these are completely interchangeable, only one need grow back for the troll to be almost fully functional.
-
I plan on letting them get me into a crossfire situation, then ducking. Is that what you meant? But I digress.......
Not really, I remember someone writing a letter to Top Gear few years ago, and threatening Jezza that they will 'poo in their own hand and then throw it at him' for destroying several Morris Marinas by dropping Pianos on them.
Presumably the letter was written by some member of "Morris Marina Owners Club".
-
In case anyone hadn't guessed already, AJ_the_kid, Captain Cranky, Gwailo247, Archean and Guest are all ME!
I take a bow :applause:
-
The Guests are being represented by a narcissistic onanist chimpanzee.
Guests are outraged...and will be formulating rebuttals...as soon as they clean the keyboards
-
I wonder if most of it will be gob (ref: DBZ's link), also they usually are saying arrrr I mean typing whatever happens to come to their fingers, which can be some random words with even more random spellings.
-
who u callin a troll?
-
hello ...
LOL :P
does that makes me a troll !!?
they are funny, sometimes pushes you to the limits, yet sometimes even registered users acts like worst that trolls
all my apologies if sometimes i do sound like ...
cheers!
-
One of my observations is 'people who can make fun of themselves aren't trolls'
-
Sadly, I don't have the lack of intelligence to be a troll...or in fact the high intelligence to be a troll beater (keep up the good work Captain!).
I have to be content with the middle ground
PS: I wonder who will be the first to cut the face out of that photo and use it as an avatar?
-
Time to grow up!
The best answer is to silence to a troll, not out-wit him. Its a endless battle and usually bringouts the troll in yourself. Im starting to witness a non-techspot admin in this pointless fight to quite the guest.
Remember what your parents did when you cried for something irrelevant?
What are you names trying to accomplish? hopefully not the currently obvious.
-
"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely"
But it also rules absolutely.
Most Popular
| Trending | Featured |
-
Xbox One: Entertainment hub first, gaming console second - but can it disrupt TV?
-
Metro: Last Light Tested, Benchmarked
-
Microsoft officially announces Xbox One: here's what we know so far
-
'Supercapacitor' could fully charge your phone in less than 30 seconds
-
Sony releases PS4 teaser video on eve of Xbox 720 reveal
Featured on Smartphones
Subscribe to TechSpot
Get free exclusive content, learn about new features and breaking tech news.