Apparently someone who shouldn’t have a twitter feed has a twitter feed. Since their words don’t match their actions, I’d like to take a moment to address what to do with this sort of trolls.
I’d like to call this the Terrible Twos defense.
Earlier today, I responded on a forum mocking two guys who were coming down hard of a poster looking for advice. They were shaming the poster, calling folks snowflakes. I came in swinging. One of them came back at me with “Do you get laid often?”
In context, he was trying for the standard male insult of “too much time on your hands.”
My response was simply “Yes. Thank you for asking. You?”
He wasn’t really sure where to go from there so I entered into a dialogue with them, not an insult contest. Last I saw, he still didn’t know how to answer. His buddy went straight for a homophobic insult and managed to get himself immediately booted from the forum.
At several points, I’ve talked about putting energy where you want it. There is nothing more infuriating for these trolls than people politely going about their business and not paying attention to them.
Imagine a full house at a conference with a known internet troll where everybody’s drinking a latte and talking to each other because they are -bored- with his display. Not mocking. Not giving energy. Taking it away.
Trevor Noah did it better. I saw a sample of a quiet but scary protest at the second Aliso Canyon. So let them bring their words. We’ll fill their spaces, smile and let them know we’ll pay attention when the tantrum is over.