8 Engagement Rules for Troll Non-Engagement
By Joseph F. Nacino
In today’s social media battlefield, it’s hard not to encounter trolls, the bane of free-wheeling expression and respectful discourse.
The first rule when dealing with trolls that invade your online space, of course, is “don’t feed the trolls.” You can ignore them, or block the bastards and delete their comments.
But sometimes, you just need to give trolls a taste of their own medicine but without stooping down to their level or using up all your swear words in your vocabulary.
The key element here is not to play into their hands: that means not answering their comments directly or letting yourself be affected.
So how do you troll a troll? Here are eight ways you can play with their heads:
1. The No Community
If you get a case of trollitis in your comment section, just tell ‘em: NO. This works better if your friends and family also chip in such that the troll faces a wall of NO whatever they say. Simple and sweet.
2. Cute Trump Trolls
Post cute cat pics or funny memes regardless of what the troll comments on your post. Flood ‘em with cuteness and don’t give ‘em the last word until they leave.
3. Geek Out with Your Friends
This works better if you have a friend or two willing to help. If your political posts are getting trolled, talk about how Marcos revisionism is a case of bad comic book retcon, or how Voldemort was really a good guy maligned by the “yellow” Dumbledore crew.
4. Anti-Troll Karaoke
Troll keeps bugging you with comments? Drown out whatever they’re saying by posting your favourite lyrics. As you type the lyrics, imagine you’re singing them right this moment and belt them out like a diva.
