Troll psychology

The recent thread followed the same pattern as numerous others over the time I have been on this site.  The arc of the thread is:

1. A newbie who is recently diagnosed or has suspicion of cancer posts a topic that is inflammatory in question and/or tone and could legitimately be considered insensitive or offensive to at least some of us.

2. Some members respond with legitimate attempts to help such as

a. Take a deep breath and try to realize that it will look better after you have a chance to wrap your brain around this

b. Talk to your doctor(s) or get a second opinion

c. Talk to a psychologist/ psychiatrist/ counselor and consider asking for anti-anxiety meds.

d. If there was enough information in the original post, provide guidance about the cancer.

3. Some members ask the poster if she is joking or otherwise question the legitimacy of the post.

4. The poster responds with innocent denial and maybe increasing agitation.

5. Comments and speculation become more heated as some members react to the offensive points or recall previous similar posts that may be the same person.

6. Comments get out-of-hand and the usual stalkers show up.

7. Some begin to fear that the poster might be legitimate and receiving non-support from the community.

8. Members start deleting the posts of others or themselves.

9. Other members give sympathy to the poster for the nasty comments.

10. The thread is deleted.

With these threads I think the original poster falls into one of these categories (you may have more):

1. She is a legitimate patient who is in acute anxiety about her diagnosis or potential diagnosis.  She posts her worst fears or questions without considering the feelings of anyone else on the board.

2. She is a legitimate patient who has a pre-existing mental illness, personality disorder, or psychological issue that makes her behave badly in most situations, including a cancer diagnosis or scare.

3. S/he is a troll who is throwing the post out there to watch the reactions for entertainment or some other personal reason.

The problem is that we cannot be certain which is the true category even if we are strongly convinced that a particular one is most likely. 

If the poster is legitimate the responses in 2 a-d (above) are the best we can and should do.  If the poster is a troll the best response is to ignore her.  Here is my suggestion --

If you  think the poster is a troll, just post a message with that word alone!   

...or an image

and then move on.

I always use my "other" e-mail address when I sign up for offers or sign into online newspapers or whatever.  Do you guys really give out your private e-mail address for them to add to their database?

Well ADK, I suspect that you don't belong to many groups, catalogue mailings or online shopping sites or your e-mail box would be filled.

Nope - I don't shop on-line.  I don't trust it.

"The problem is that we cannot be certain which is the true category even if we are strongly convinced that a particular one is most likely.

If the poster is legitimate the responses in 2 a-d (above) are the best we can and should do. If the poster is a troll the best response is to ignore her. Here is my suggestion --

If you think the poster is a troll, just post a message with that word alone! "

redsox, good summary of what happened.... and what's happened in other cases before this one. The one thing that I would add is that I don't think it's wrong to respond as per your point 3, which is to question the legitimacy of the poster, and to explain why their legitimacy is being questioned. If that's done respectfully, hopefully the poster will respond in a way that helps us determine if they are for real or not. That also provides a heads up to others that this individual might not be for real. If the question isn't raised, we might never find out what's really going on. The problem comes when the assumption is made that the individual is a troll - when there is reason for suspicion but no proof - and when that leads to personal attacks. If the individual isn't a troll but really is just a patient who is severely disturbed, this reaction could be seriously damaging. And even if the individual really is a troll, are the personal attacks really necessary?  If they really are a troll, the best approach is "to not feed the troll".   

.....of course, someone can easily report a post they merely dislike and check the "spam" box to cover her tracks. Easy solution: write programming language that immediately alerts Melissa if a post has been reported for more than one reason and let her take action either to reinstate the post or reprimand the dishonest deleter, or both.......

Question:  I thought it states that your email is NOT made public or shared publicly here?  So if you reported a post (whether it be for spam or not) and your name was shown... there is no way that a spammer could go after you via email, correct?

And.. yeah... I'm STILL on 24hr/5 post banishment.  Can't post a thing.  I've pm'd the moderators for a second time this morning.  

Susan .. gotta say, I really like your avatar.  I hope Melissa get's it straightened out for you before the weekend.

Bren

I hope it doesn't take until this weekend.

Hmmmm... maybe the duct tape will help me lose a few pounds though!  

Should be ok now.

Sorry 'bout that, Marie!

What's frustrating is I will go to post under Susansgarden... it will let me... I'll think.. WOO HOO!!! I'm FREE!!  (okay, maybe not THAT level of excitement) .. and then I get a couple posts in and .. BAM... I get the darn "Your account may not post more than five times in any 24-hour period".  Argh.

So I suppose I won't know for sure if I am unbanned until I ... a) hear from the mods?  or  b) don't get that &@!*# message every few posts?  

I'm just shocked that the "TWO reported posts banishment" last for more than ONE day!?  I could see if I had more than two deleted in one day?? Like over 5 maybe??

How am I supposed to avoid work and chores if I can't post here!!??!!!  

Edited to add:  Oops.. just saw the Mods message.   THANK YOU!!!!! 

This is a great site.

Susan, you were really lucky to have the time and the choices. I was pushed through surgery and treatment so fast that I hardly had time to absorb what was happening, much less make an informed decision. also, I was neglected in the self care area and now I'm pretty sure I have LE due to not being instructed in the arm or any exercises. Wasn't allowed to put ANYTHING on my burned skin except Baking Soda?? I'm surprised the wounds didn't get infected. Further, no one discussed SEs at ALL. I was used as a test dummy. Was sent once for dietary instructions but she was in a new cast for broken leg and was very occupied with that and not with me. Found out much later that she was the one supposed to show me the exercises didn't even tell me to stretch that arm. Medical neglect is a horrible thing. Even my PCP could have cared less.

They are tough choices but at least they offer choices now. I feel much more confident now that I have all of you to bounce things off of.

And, yeah, this site ROCKS and takes up a LOT of my time.

 ~Connie

Time suck. I love that term!! I think I spend almost more time here now than I did in 2002 when I joined! I think I'm not learning much, and I am not giving nearly as much as I did early on, I tend to let newbies help each other, and I'll put my 2 cents in on recon issues. Other than that, it's pure entertainment, baby! That old "moth to the flame" thingie.

But I have learned a lot lately, to be honest. About how mean people can be. How people can be so stuck in the ideology that nothing will ever change them.

And about how many people out there are still hurting, every day, by this disease that brought us all here in the first place. That's too easy to lose sight of, for me anyway. I vow to change.