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homunculus (2)

Founded in 2004 as a place to catalog LiveJournal drama rejected from Wikipedia, Encyclopedia Dramatica rapidly became the premier site on the web for all manner of lulz. Intended "in the spirit of Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary," ED grew into a sprawling crowdsourced compendium of memes, subcultures, communities, personalities, and the endless feuds and controversies spawned by 4chan and other anonymous imageboards. While comprehensive, the site developed a reputation for nastiness -- full of "ironic" (?) racism, gratuitous porn, organized attacks on other sites, and disturbingly thorough dossiers on perceived enemies, all dripping with vicious snark (just check out their entry on MetaFilter). But now, after more than six years, it appears the troll has become the trolled. Founder Sherrod "Girlvinyl" DeGrippo, allegedly disillusioned by the site's legal woes and nihilistic trajectory, has permanently shuttered the site and replaced it with OhInternet, a slicker, cleaner, Web 2.0 effort modeled after more respectable internet guides like Know Your Meme (which recently sold to Cheezburger Networks for a cool $N million, discussed here). Backups and mirrors abound, but as for the source? Pool's closed... forever.
posted by Rhaomi on Apr 15, 2011 - 85 comments

Author Shlomi Fish offers advice on how to more effectively disarm Internet trolls using techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
posted by ChrisHartley on Mar 6, 2011 - 56 comments

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (warning: that entire description is possibly a lie) is a dojin visual novel (or, as the creators prefer, a sound novel) that has recently reached its seventh chapter Japanese. In addition, a group called the Witch Hunt has recently released an English patch for the sixth chapter. Forming the third and fourth part of the When They Cry series that began with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Umineko cranks the concept of metanarrative up to 11 and then breaks the knob. [more inside]
posted by charred husk on Aug 16, 2010 - 10 comments

As Blizzard prepares for the next World of Warcraft expansion, they are updating their server system, BattleNet, to use a real-name identification system called RealID, allowing your friends -- and their friends -- to see your real name. Some like it, some hate it. The system is optional; but today, Blizzard announced that all posts on their official forums will be under the poster's real name. [more inside]
posted by waraw on Jul 6, 2010 - 322 comments

The Exterminator’s Want-Ad, a short story by Bruce Sterling, is a twisted first-person missive by a former K-Street lobbyist making his way in a post-collapse socialist regime of sharing. It's part of the Shareable Futures series of short stories and speculative essays at Shareable.net. [Via]
posted by homunculus on Jun 24, 2010 - 41 comments

Slate gives you effective strategies for taking on bullies. It's a good article. More interesting, though, is the sidebar, aimed at an altogether different kind of bully. [more inside]
posted by Cool Papa Bell on Aug 11, 2009 - 124 comments

"A friend of mine has come up with an idea to stem the tide of bile. He wants people to post, as a comment, on as many opinion-garnering web pages as possible, as often as they can be bothered, the phrase: 'It just goes to show you can't be too careful!'" [more inside]
posted by WPW on Mar 15, 2009 - 54 comments

Zeno of Elea, Socrates and Jesus, Weev said, are his all-time favorite trolls. He also identifies with Coyote and Loki, the trickster gods, and especially with Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction. “Loki was a hacker. The other gods feared him, but they needed his tools.” The New York Times investigates the ever-evolving, LOL-corrupting, epileptic-seizuring, iPod-leaving-on-gravestone-ing phenomenon of major Internet trolling, featuring interviews with Jason Fortuny, Weev, and a gentleman named Christopher Poole (prev). [more inside]
posted by Sticherbeast on Jul 31, 2008 - 91 comments

I've thought a lot over the last couple years about the problem of trolls. It's an old one, as old as forums, but we're still just learning what the causes are and how to address them.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Feb 19, 2008 - 77 comments

The Freakonomics boys have migrated their popular blog to the New York Times. One of their first postings on this new home? Cool Ideas For Terror Attacks. Much lively and angry discussion ensues!
posted by william_boot on Aug 8, 2007 - 82 comments

The Twelve Commandments Of Flaming. Andrew Heenan's Guide To Flaming also features sections on Winning and Strategy, as well as Word Skills , Psychology of Flaming, Definitions Of Flaming, Profiling Flamers and more. "I get the occasional accusation that this site, while claiming to be about resisting and surviving flaming, is actually intended as a training course for would-be flamers," he says... Maybe it's both?
posted by amyms on Feb 12, 2007 - 63 comments

"NetVocates then recruits activists and consumers who share the client’s views in order to reinforce those key messages on targeted blogs – and rebut misinformation when appropriate." The offending company, and some other blogs making noise about it.^{via sonofsamiam}
posted by signal on Jul 5, 2006 - 14 comments

Is this the troll to end all trolls? It purports to be a list of "reichwingers" (sic) with their home addresses, but closer investigation shows that all the addresses given belong to car parts stores. So who was the intended target of this hoax? Left, right, or maybe everyone?
posted by Steven C. Den Beste on Apr 20, 2006 - 80 comments

Shelley Winters Dead and Trolls Appear It was pretty sad today to see that Shelley Winters died. She was a better actress than most of her movies and a bit of a hottie before she outlived her peers and lost her physical appeal. Nice to see that the trolls used the occasion to bash her pretty mercilessly, mostly focusing on her weight and overwhelming a condolence board. Is there any topic people can be civil on? How long before someone loses their shirt and unmoderated forums/comments become a thing of the past?
posted by jbielby on Jan 14, 2006 - 71 comments

Handling Porcupines, Trolls, and Other Online Vermin
posted by redneck_zionist on Jan 31, 2005 - 39 comments

Elves in Iceland. Many modern Icelanders either believe in or won't rule out the existence of supernatural beings like the álfar, or elves. In the town of Hafnarfjordur, they are respected citizens. If you want to learn more, consider attending the Álfaskólinn, the Icelandic Elf School. (Iceland also has trolls, but then don't we all.)
posted by homunculus on Nov 15, 2003 - 20 comments

The troll gap - Despite heroic American efforts such as the "Kick/nuke their ass and take the gas" troll, "Each year, the Institute for Comparative Troll Studies publishes a report on the state of trolling vis a vis national security of the United States. This year, the outlook is not good..."(via Kuro5hin)
posted by troutfishing on Feb 25, 2003 - 19 comments

"We often do this, changing the subject or saying something really obnoxious, to take the wind out of trolls' sails." Apparently, some people get paid to report on the contents of web discussion boards. What a sweet gig. Especially for a "journalist" who has no ear for irony, and doesn't know what "trolling" is. Quoting an Epinions reviewer as supporting material is a new low point in "news" reporting. (more inside)
posted by scarabic on Jan 24, 2003 - 22 comments

Trolling is a lot like flirting. It can be very hard to identify, and when the beloved perpetrator is confronted, he or she may become a little mushmouthed or downright rude. Nevertheless, many still adore these people and their craft, even if we are a bit afraid of them. And for those lucky, wonderful few, it's all just a game....*sigh*...
posted by Settle on Apr 1, 2002 - 17 comments

Terrorists on MeFi!
posted by geronimo_rex on Jul 2, 2001 - 22 comments

Is this troll a troll? or is it instead a metatroll or a precursor to a troll or an anti-troll? Do not send to ask for whom the troller trolls.
posted by Postroad on Apr 13, 2001 - 12 comments

I forgot this was still around, but the Dick List is alive and kicking. If everyone could put the dicks they know in that database, I'm sure it would be the size of Altavista.com. Read some of them, they are still trolls living among us.
posted by mathowie on Aug 3, 1999 - 0 comments