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Tag: Internet Troll

  • 530 Fatties: Why You Shouldn’t Feed Internet Trolls

    In 2014 there is something that everyone, no matter what their background, should know when it comes to navigating the world wide web.

    What is this one unifying piece of knowledge?

    DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS, FOLKS!

    Internet trolls will do anything for attention and enjoy inflicting emotional pain on as many people as possible.

    Some “netizens” make it especially easy by insisting on responding to anything and everything these digital twerps do.

    Research has shown that people who dedicate time and energy to trolling may possibly suffer from mental health issues.

    Therefore, when someone takes the time and energy to put together a Facebook page called “530 Fatties”, there is no reason to expect anything good to come of it.

    The page existed (it has since been pulled by Facebook) for the sole purpose of mocking morbidly obese persons located within California’s 530 area code. Pictures of various individuals were posted, however no one featured on the page had given permission to the anonymous troll.

    Surprise, surprise!

    One young woman named Jessi Lynn Howell was shocked and humiliated after learning her old photo had been featured on the “530 Fatties” page.

    It was especially jarring since Howell had gained weight for medical-related reasons. The teen has lost 50 lbs since October 2013, when the photo was taken.

    Howell said the ugly incident has inspired her to speak out against cyber-bullying.

    “I’m going to be that voice today for those people who don’t have that voice,” said Howell.

    Predictably, some people have tried to make the “530 Fatties” Facebook page a good thing. Concern trolls who, just like your textbook internet troll shouldn’t be fed either.

    But if you must speak to these individuals, remind them that there was no love or concern that went into constructing this Facebook account. The person used false information and a disconnected phone number to construct their page.

    This sort of cowardly behavior is typical of trolls, who wish to cause the maximum amount of annoyance and anger while avoiding personal accountability.

    As the fight over the waistlines of Americans continues, there will be those who feel entitled to weigh however much they want because it’s no one’s business.

    Their opponents? Those who feel they have every right to dictate how other Americans live their lives because of “tax dollars”!

    The truth is that there will always be basement dwelling mouth-breathers waiting to stir up pointless drama among self-important nobodies needing to be right about someone else’s life choices on the internet.

    In other words, plenty of people desperate to feed trolls like this even when they shouldn’t.

    Well played, anonymous troll.

    Well played.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Minnie Driver: Why Did She Quit Twitter?

    Actress Minnie Driver learned a tough lesson with regards to the internet: There’s always someone floating around with something not-so-nice to say.

    Driver found this out when a photo of her on vacation made the rounds on social media. In the image, you can see the 44-year-old pool side in a cute light blue floral string bikini.

    In reality, Driver’s body looks healthy enough. She did have a kid and she’s not a twenty-year old. Who expects someone in their forties to be tanned and toned and perfect?

    Whoever these persons are, they made it their mission to tweet at Driver and inform her that they weren’t to thrilled with her body in the picture.

    Keep in mind this is a paparazzi image and that Driver had no idea she was being photographed while vacationing.

    The actress was horrified by the vicious nature of certain comments.

    Driver tweeted as a response to the vitriol, “You try being photographed when you don’t know it’s happening, when you’re on holiday with your kids!”

    Sorry Driver, the average internet troll typically lacks empathy.

    Speaking of empathy, not all tweets about her bikini picture were mean. Some fans and onlookers were quite supportive of the indignant starlet.

    Driver was so upset about the mean comments that she followed up the tweet with an announcement that she is leaving the “Twittersphere” for an indeterminate amount of time.

    She said that persons on the site are “too mean sometimes” about one’s “body” and “soul”.

    The one thing that puzzles me about this decision is that it seems she is yet another celebrity who does not understand the concept of a private Twitter.

    When your Twitter is locked, random strangers can’t tweet at you or see your tweets. It makes life easier than having to quit the site over controversies. It also denies internet bullies the satisfaction of running you away.

    Image via YouTube

  • Michael Crook Trolls The Internet With Support SOPA Site

    This just in: If you don’t support SOPA, you are thief!!! So says the wisdom of one Michael Crook, who seems to be on a mission to troll everyone he comes into contact with.

    You may have first heard of Crook after he filed a bunch of takedown notices following an appearance on Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News. Apparently, Crook thought because he was featured in the screen-captured images from his Fox News appearance, he had the right to demand the takedown, even though Fox News is responsible for the content. That is, they own it. PlagarismToday features an in-depth look at the events, which took place in 2006.

    Fast forward to the end of 2011 and SOPA, or at least the discussion of, rules the day. Enter Crook and his Support SOPA site — no link, if you want to visit it’s SupportSOPA.org — which is a perfect example of a false dichotomy, if, for nothing else, Crook’s insistence that if you are against SOPA, you are a thief, meaning companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo, LinkedIn, and Mozilla are thieves just because they have the audacity to think SOPA goes about its business incorrectly.

    It should be noted that, in the Reddit thread related to the site in question, someone else points out the false dichotomy of Crook’s argument as well.

    Because of Crook’s silly disclaimer at the bottom of his Support SOPA site, this post won’t be quoting it directly. Paraphrasing, on the other hand, is open for business. Crook’s disclaimer is also the reason we won’t be giving his site any link love. If you want to see it, simply copy and paste SupportSOPA.org into your browser’s address bar. Here’s a paraphrased example of Crook’s thoughts concerning SOPA:

    A person is a thief if they don’t support SOPA because disagreeing with a ‘reasonable’ set of rules designed to stop piracy in its tracks surely means you support piracy… Or something like that.

    You’ll find most of Crook’s reasoning is circular like the paraphrased section, which will only harm the Support SOPA movement even further. Perhaps a more rational, less accusatory approach would be better, but then again, we’re talking about a person who issued takedown notices to sites using screen captures of his Fox News appearance, even though the content was not his intellectual property.

    Apparently, Crook thinks the much-maligned amendments makes SOPA all better, and therefore, if you don’t get on the SOPA bandwagon, well, enjoy stealing your next movie.

    Besides the lack of formal logic being used in Crook’s pro-SOPA manifesto, the reason Crook comes across as a troll is, among other things, because he calls out Reddit as being something similar to fringe web presence that’s only used by the mentally ill. If it looks like a troll and grunts like a troll, it’s probably a troll.

    And then there’s this nifty Google search, as pointed out by Redditor sucrerey.

    That’s another reason why the site in question isn’t getting a link, although, articles like this one are probably all the encouragement Crook needs to continue his apparent trolling ways.