What to Do When “Trolling” Goes Bad (How to Deal With Trolls)

A good troll is witty, informed and entertaining. Abuse and harassment are something different.

Kazz in space

Published: Jul 18, 2013 07:34 am

This article is over 11 years old and may contain outdated information

GameSkinny writers are currently sharing tips on how to troll or respond to said trolling. Sadly troll is a term that has been grasped by the media to cover all sorts of nasty online abuse and anonymous diatribe but true trolling is a bit of an art-form. It annoys, antagonises or makes you laugh. A good troll is witty, informed and often quite entertaining. Abuse and harassment are something quite different.

Name and shame

Name and shame your abusers. Share chat logs, voice logs or game-mails on your forums. Highlight your abuse in community blogs. Make your troll the joke. People soon turn tail and run when the community is pointing a finger and shaking its head.

Treat others as you expect to be treated

It is counter-productive to moan about people calling you a donkey-loving-poop-worshiper when you spend all night doing it yourself. If you behave like a jerk then expect to be treated like one. That’s not to say you have to /salute and /curtsey or even be polite to every online being you come across but being “known” as someone who is civil, rather than someone who rages at every little thing, will help.

Walk away

“Don’t feed the trolls” as the saying goes. Be happy in the knowledge that failing to respond in any way at all is probably going to wind up your insulter more than responding would. Let it go and move on. Will your life really be all that better for winning that internet argument or will you simply go to bed with a headache?

Troll your abuser

If you are not the sort of person who walks away then perhaps fighting fire with fire is the best option. I should clarify that I am not condoning harassment or abuse in return – but you can laugh at insults, reply with humour and wind up your attacker (politely). Show them the opposite reaction to the one they are trying to generate.

Learn the game

Being called out for getting it wrong is embarrassing at best and rage inducing at worst. As a former Eve Online player, a game well known to support in-game scams and dark deeds of all shapes and sizes, I’m always surprised at people who feel they have been harassed by falling “victim” to what is actually legitimate gameplay. Often in return they then send mountains of hate filled mails or chatter to the person who now has their game-money or who blew up their mining vessel. Are you really being picked on, or have you simply missunderstood accepted game mechanics?

Join a guild/clan

Finding like-minded people to play with is key to the enjoyment of most online games. Good guild/clan mates will stand by you, give you advice and always have your back. If your guild is not doing this then find one that will. I would strongly recommend this option if you use voice-coms in gaming as being insulted on coms can often be harder to deal with than in text. Find a community of players who will be there for you when you need them.

Relax your attitude

I don’t wish to make excuses for some of the ignorant numpties who inhabit the interwebs but attitude does play a part in how you feel you have been treated online. Don’t take things too seriously. If you get upset every time someone drops a mild insult then maybe you need to think about why that is and what you really gain by being infuriated by the online insult of a complete stranger. Chances are that the person who just “caps-locked” a sentence at you is really not worth the energy it would take to get cross with them.

Block and Report

I’ve yet to come across a game that did not have some sort of block option. Use it. Life is so much more pleasant when you can no longer hear someone constantly whining at you. If you find yourself the target of something more serious then don’t be afraid to use the report option. Temporary bans or warnings from GMs are often enough to warn someone off.

Sustained campaigns of harassment, especially anything that spills into real life threats or hate crime, should always be reported. I confess that one of my favourite past-times is reporting racial insults that pop up in public channels – there are plenty of words you can use in an internet fight without crossing the line.

If you find yourself the target of serious on-going harassment, especially if it continues out of the game, then consider reporting it to the police. Whilst having thick skin is always a good thing, no one should ever have to tolerate online harassment or live in fear because of an overzealous keyboard warrior.