Why do people hate trolls?

Poe's Law means some people might believe the troll, and be encouraged to think similar things themselves.

Trolls are hated because they show off their moral and intellectual superiority through a snide and confronting tactical assault on the common internaut. By posting or doing things that may be considered 1) shitposting, 2) insulting, 3) enraging, 4) obnoxious, 5) ignoring the rules in place, and/or 5) amusing to more endured and older internauts, while at the same time skidding along whatever border the local powers that be enforce (if there's no powers that be...YAY!) trolls ensure that they will survive in the rough and dangerous environment that are online forums, newsgroups, chatrooms, games, and websites. Here we must point out that the so-called 'common' internaut is a lowly lifeform not worth of reproducing, and that will likely not reproduce due to being a basement-dwelling creature who commonly fornicates the corpse of his mother (after all there are no gurls on the internet) and will scare away any other creature of the female form (not necessarily human) just by nearing her closer than 5 km. Therefore it is not surprising that the troll is morally superior and vastly more intelligent than his victim. The troll will commonly try to offend his victim by telling him what a sore loser he is, for he has no life, no work, and an endless amount of free time that he uses for such useful passtimes like browsing the internet and watching movies on You Toob. The troll may make regular use of false identities, to more successfully rile up his victim and talk among himself. The troll is commonly hairy, has a Biggus Dickus (which he'll wag in the face of his victim whenever possible), and appreciative of rape. He will bring up Lolicon subtly and swiftly on a Wiki of Moral Guardians, he will skullfuck Cthulhu graphically on a Care Bears fanboard, he will eat your sandwich which you carelessly left on your desk. Sometimes, the troll is actually a member of the terrifying Powers-That-Be. In such cases, high-expansive heat-producing nuclear fission devices are suggested as a permanent solution (these can be had in several countries, but only the US has access that is so simple that you can buy them easily). Be sure to buy the B-52 bomber that goes with it. The troll, mighty as he may be, somehow cannot access these wonder ful tools of mass-destruction and vaporizing death, despite his obviously superior intelligence. This shocking fact is somehow quite detrimental to the mental state of our research facility, and has already caused catatonia in several of our trainees. And That's Terrible. If you know a solution, call us at 0800-EAT-SHIT. But back to the troll. The troll can also write long, highly entertaining, depressingly deranged pieces of schlock. This makes him dangerous and therefore perfectly suited for being president of Russia, Italy, Iran, Zimbabwe, France, Ecuador, or Canada. On the other hand, the troll can also just spend his time insulting the common internaut, sometimes psychotically, and may post malware-infested porn 'pictures' featuring his Biggus Dickus (prominently), Kenian national Obama (as a monkey), 25 gun-toting rednecks (one will wear a tank), the President of Europe Joseph Stalin smoking a cigar and posing on the decapitated corpse of Justin Bieber, and your mom (with Pedo Bear riding her). This aspect of the troll is, again, terrifying, and means he probably also is perfectly suited to spend a few decades in Arkham Asylum (also known as the White House/Kremlin). And Thats Awesome. Thus we conclude our exciting tour of the troll, and hopefully this has been a educative experience for you all. Now where is that flamethrower? Godamit! OHGODSWEHAVEBEENINFECTEDWITHTHETROLLNONOTINTHEFACE!!!!*SPLAT*

...I seem to have been sidetracked a bit by events beyond my control. What were we talking about again?

Trolls are hated because they are a waste of time due to derails and their perceived offensivity.

^ Canada has a prime minister...

But basically yes, the internet is in fact 'real', you are not hallucinating, and trolls are hated on the internet for the same reason offensive people you meet face to face are hated. They are offensive.

But basically yes, the internet is in fact 'real', you are not hallucinating, and trolls are hated on the internet for the same reason offensive people you meet face to face are hated. They are offensive.

Agreed. However, I may be a hallucination.

The difference being that real-life offending people can be put right in a way that is unpleasant for them, while internet trolls will just laugh at attempts to insult/ban them. Ignoring or taking the piss at offensive people, however, works both off- and online, and it tends to piss them off, which makes things more amusing and makes them leave out of their own after a while.

My favourite forum doesn't ban trolls (unless they spam), it ridicules them and they then save the mods some work by giving up.

That's all well and good, but just as in real life when dealing with unpleasant people, that won't always work. Not all trolls share the same psychology, there is some variation, and a number of them aren't going to be scared off by mocking them.

The type of troll that really ticks me off is the porn troll. You know, the kind who'll walk into some normal thread and post something requiring Brain Bleach or a couple years' worth of time to remove from your mind. It's bloody inconvenient.

edited 17th Dec '10 2:47:06 AM by Taelor

Trolls and people who enjoy trolls are usually the same kind of people.

People with self-esteem issues applying to GIFT and trying to gain some importance on the internet that they could not gain in real life. That is not meant as a flame.

It depends on the troll is posting for me to cast hatred.And yes, I have an high level of expectations for me to consider an troll "entertaining."

For instance if said troll calls everyone an faggot, uses racial slurs, had escaped from /b/, keeps typing gibberish, and then tries to ban-evade in the stupidest way possible, Then yes, s/he's on my shitlist and the only real amusement stems from the GTFO and memetic fail troll responses.

On the other hand, my definition of an "entertaining troll" are the ones who try to start an valid, civilized discussion about an part of the community/game that an large percentage of the population openly hates and the ensuring riots and insults that shows just how caustic the users can be...and the OP gets away without unscathed and without any while someone else gets banned for insults and implied death threats.

Four years. Really, four years? Let dead topics die, please.