Beware the Troll
To "troll" means to allure, to fish, to entice or to bait. An
internet troll is someone who fishes for people's confidence and,
once found, exploits it. Whilst the vast majority of internet users
are bona fide, there are undoubtedly some trolls out there.
Q: How much damage can an internet troll achieve? Pick one or more
of the following answers:
None
Cause minor irritation to some people
Cause major upset to some people
Obtain a small amount of money
Obtain a large amount of money
Obtain millions of dollars
To help you answer this question, here are a couple of quotes from
The Times (Nov 4th 1998) when it reported on internet deception:
"According to the Securities Exchange Commission, ... 44
individuals and companies... received in total more than
$6.3million and nearly two million shares of cheap insider
stock..."
"SEC director of enforcement Richard H Walker... warned investors
about operators such as Matthew Bowin, who...entirely over the
internet... raised $190,000 from 150 investors and then pocketed
the proceeds.... He was convicted of 54 felony counts and
sentenced to jail."
Internet deception ranges from childish games to major fraud,with
lots of variations in between. There are many different schemes
used and they are often ingenious. For example, in early 1998 an
"announcement" was made, by email distribution, of an advancement in diabetic research: a new medicine was available which helped bring blood sugar levels under better control. Readers were referred to a web site where details of the research and the product were available.
The information was credibly presented. At the end of the article, readers could obtain a trial bottle of the new medicine, for a reasonable price, and an order form was presented.
Of course, there had been no such break through. The purpose of this scam was to obtain credit card information, which was requested on the order form. The scam relied on diabetics or their families being unfamiliar with the risks of submitting credit card information over the internet, and being willing to give anything a try to improve their lifestyle or that of their diabetic relatives.
Internet deception relies on exploiting trust and building
confidence, and the rewards can be financial or psychological.
There is one golden rule that applies when dealing with people or
organisations on the internet:
Before you invest your trust in someone - either emotional or
financial trust - you should verify the bona fide nature of the
other party from multiple known, reliable and independent sources.
"Trust and verify".
Further information on deception for psychological gain is given in
the rest of this web page.
Mind games
"Each of us brings our own reasons, backgrounds and motivations
into this scheme. What is important is that each individual brings
into this their own brand of inspired mischief. In some ways it is
completely innocent. In some ways it is completely destructive."
This quotation is taken from the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) of
a mailing list dedicated to trolling.
I remember the first time I heard about "computer viruses", back in
the '80s. My immediate response was to laugh and discount what I was
being told. The notion that there could be a 'virus' that infected
computer discs, and that could spread from machine to machine, was
ridiculous. Or so I thought. Eventually I, along with the rest of
the world, had to take the threat of viruses seriously, and produce
serious countermeasures, because the problem was so prevalent.
Trolling falls into the same category as viruses in those early days
- it may seem ridiculous, but it exists.
In fact, law-making bodies and respectable news agencies are
beginning to recognise the dangers and take appropriate action. In
some states in the USA a new offence has been created, called
"Cyber-Stalking". At the time of writing this article (early 1999),
the first prosecutions were being brought to the courts. And in the
UK, on Jan 27 1999, the BBC Breakfast News made the following
report:
"A new kind of warfare is emerging - electronic warfare. A
website in Ireland was forced to close down because it came under
electronic attack"
The news article continued with a brief dramatic reconstruction
showing the Webmaster hurriedly unplugging lots of cables from the
back of an internet server. In a brief interview, the Webmaster
then said:
"We had no choice - there was nothing we could do. We just had to
unplug everything and then see what damage had been done."
Although the threat of trolls is beginning to be taken more
seriously, anti-troll measures are still in their infancy. 'Caveat
emptor' (or let the buyer beware) therefore takes on a much greater
meaning in the primitive internet community where, despite the
radical nature of the technology, civilisation and community life
has only matured to the same stage of development as the dark ages -
where each person has to look after themselves, and cannot rely on
'society' to protect them.
What is a troll?
The term "troll" can mean a number of different things, but in
essence, a troll is a person who aims to have 'pleasure' at your
expense. There are two main types of trolls:
people who are psychologically disturbed, and seek to feel good by
making other list members feel bad. This is a sort of "psycho
troll", whose deception involves deceiving themselves as well as
others. In this respect, they are no different to the sorts of
people we meet in everyday life who are disturbed - some of them
are easy to spot, and others aren't. Such people may even use
their real names on the internet, and they may not even realise
that they are "trolling" because it is all subconscious.
people who pretend to be someone that they are not - they create
personae that you think are real, but they know is fictitious.
The rest of this web page concentrates on the second type of troll.
The Game of Trolling
Trolling is like playing chess - there is a point to the game, and
that point is to win. Unlike chess, though, there are various ways
of winning for the internet troll. These might include:
gaining credence for false and invidious ideas
driving bona fide list members, and/or particular groups, out of
the mailing list
dominating the list with messages/posts that they have generated
gaining recognition or an award for their trolling from fellow
trollers
getting reprimanded by individuals, list managers or internet
authorities
gaining the confidence, trust and support of bona fide list
members
distracting list members from their own bona fide discussions or
objectives.
gaining attention that they cannot get using their real
personalities
Sometimes trolls operate alone, and sometimes they operate in
groups, but for all of them trolling is a game. There are newsgroups
and mailing lists that are dedicated to trolls, for them to exchange
techniques and to plan concerted campaigns where they can invade
internet mailing lists. Trolls have no concern for the feelings of
the people with whom they deal. They are often manipulative, clever
and approach their trolling with the same degree of planning and
research as those seeking financial gain, or the same
competitiveness as a serious chess player. For those familiar with
Transactional Analysis (the psychological theory of real-life game
playing) there are many parallels with the activities of trolls:
there are many games, with different types of payoff and different
tactics.
Trolling can be played at various levels...
Level one - "Playtime" - This is where the troller is simply out
for the gratification provided by a quick "win". An example of
this might be to join a list with a fictitious name, cause an
argument, withdraw and then boast to friends about what he/she had
done. Such trolls are relatively easy to spot because their attack
or provocation is fairly blatant, and the persona is fairly
two-dimensional.
Level two - "Tactical" -
This is where the troller takes the game more seriously, creates a credible persona with which to provoke the list, and uses recognised techniques or tactics to gain the confidence and support of individuals on the list. Provocation is subtle and invidious, so spotting this type of troll is not easy, because the persona is credible, and off-list email exchanges have caused you to believe that this person is genuine and trustworthy.
Level three - "Strategic" - This is a very serious form of game,
involving the production of an overall strategy that can take
months or years to develop. It can also involve a number of people
acting together in order to invade a list. Once a list is
infested, it can be nigh impossible to work out who is a troll and
who is bona fide.
Level four - "Domination" - This is where the trollers' strategy
extends to the creation and running of apparently bona-fide
mailing lists. In such circumstances, their payoff may be the
knowledge that they are dominating the emotional lives of list
members, and is perhaps one of the ultimate forms of deceit that
can be achieved.
It should be noted that trolling games are not restricted to the
internet. Their tactics can also include contacting people in real
life using snail-mail and/or telephone. The boundaries between
real-life con-men and internet trolls are not as clear as they used
to be.
Playtime Trolls
Playtime trolls are relatively easy to spot, but they may not be
apparent to the naive user. There isn't a single set of
characteristics that applies to playtime trolls, but you can look
for some or all of the following signs:
a lack of buy-in to the list philosophy or values
generally low level of activity, with sudden spurts of interaction
- or perhaps a new persona that has strong opinions on
controversial subjects
a mixture of friendly posts with a confrontational style of
interaction
the use of provocative language and sweeping generalisations about
certain topics or categories of people
a lack of in-depth understanding of the topic
a lack of personal information
a lack of a genuinely unique perspective on the topic
a lack of humour
restarting topics that have already been done
use of language that encourages the dialogue to enter topics that
are controversial and likely to upset some team members
the use of attention-seeking gimmick (e.g.: "I was once exploited
by an XYZ")
they follow up their own articles if the group doesn't respond to
their posts
inconsistencies in the style and nature of the post and any
proclaimed information (e.g.: claiming to be a child but writing
with an adult style; claiming to be adult, but writing with a
childish grammatical construction).
also note that trolls often seem to use free email services (such
as hotmail.com) or have email addresses ending in .edu. However,
trolls could be virtually anyone, and the email address is no
guide as to whether the persona is a bona fide user or not.
To counteract playtime trolls, the best action is to ignore them. If
you are convinced they are trolls, then you can advise the list
manager. However, if other group members respond to the suspected
troll's posts, then you may have to consider some of the responses
outlined for tactical or strategic trolls.
Tactical Trolls
Tactical trolls take much more care and effort over the creation of
their personae. Such trolls are likely to be seen as long term list
members, and have the confidence and trust of the bona fide people
on the mailing list. They use many of the techniques listed for
Playtime Trolls, but in addition:
They engage in off list email dialogues to gain the confidence and
trust of influential individuals on the list.
They are friendly and humorous in the posts, to put you at ease
with their persona.
They have a well-thought-through story such that the persona seems
to be very real. They will give apparently personal and intimate
information, particularly in off list emails.
They win trust by giving trust. For example, they may hint at
something confidential on-list, but then only reveal the full
story to someone off-list. By bringing someone into their
confidence, they create a feeling of confidence towards them by
the individual's concerned.
In off list emails, they win allies and support for some of their
views. Their offlist emails are subtly manipulative.
They 'set up' bona fide members to argue with each other. Any
view, no matter how outrageous, can be made to sound rational when
put in a certain context. By setting different contexts for
different people offlist, they create a setting whereby they can
raise a topic on-list, in a seemingly innocent manner, and then
watch the two list members argue because they have interpreted the
topic/message in very different ways.
In off-list emails, they use techniques borrowed from NLP and
Speed-Seduction to make people have a great deal of affection for
them. This naturally suppresses any suspicion there might be.
They use gimmicks that win sympathy and bring out the 'nurturing
parent' in other list members, which also suppresses any feelings
of suspicion. E.g.: being blind, handicapped, an orphan, rejected,
bullied etc..
They build up a reasonable knowledge of the topic of the list.
This enables them to take part for some time as apparently
bona-fide list members.
They use language that is carefully constructed to be subtly
invidious. This language is designed to identify two or more
separate groups of people, and encourage list members to identify
the negative traits of those groups. This creates argument and
dissent between list members. Note that subtlety is often their
main objective, so this language is difficult to spot.
They don't enter into the argument directly, but facilitate an
argument between list members, e.g.: by highlighting points that
one list member has made, perhaps in a way that is more
confrontational than the original intention.
They sometimes create a fictitious persona supported by a
web-site, photographs and apparently personal data.
They may suggest meeting up in real-life, but the meeting doesn't
take place.
Many of these behaviours are things that 'real' people would engage
in. It is very difficult to distinguish real people from trolls in
an internet environment. The only method that can be used to verify
the bona fide nature of list members is to investigate their
personal information. Trolls will invent personal information, but
when you investigate it you will keep coming to dead ends. For
example, if their employer is company "xyz", then you may be able to
find a web site at www.xyz.com, but there is no contact information.
However, with bona fide people, their personal information will lead
to an ever-increasing wealth of data, such as:
if a real person cites "xyz" as the employer, then the web site
will give a phone number;
the company's phone number will be answered by an operator who
will be able to tell you the person's extension number;
company xyz may list clients on their web site, whom you can ring
up and verify exist;
the person may be a member of professional associations;
you may have met some list members in real life, who will have met
other list members and can therefore vouch for them.
The key difference between a troll and a bona fide list member is
that when you investigate a troll, their personal data usually leads
to dead-ends; when you investigate a bona fide person, their
personal data leads to an ever-expanding set of evidence that they
are for real. There are some tricks that the tactical trolls may use
to deceive you:
Some trolls will exchange some fictitious data - e.g.: phone
numbers, addresses, family details - on the basis that you are not
going to actually ring them.
They may have dedicated personal phone lines that they may use for
the purpose of taking verification phone calls
They will want to hide other personal information, because it can
demonstrate that they are not for real.
Various excuses can be used for not releasing personal
information, including privacy.
There are some bona fide people who do not wish to be traced via the
internet - but this makes it difficult to distinguish trolls from
real people. If in doubt, assume that they are a troll, and don't
simply believe the sophisticated lies that trolls use to hide their
identity. Also, don't rely solely on your intuition - you need to
establish hard data to help find out whether your intuition is for
real.
Strategic Trolls
Strategic trolls often operate in groups, rather than alone. They
use multiple personalities, each of which uses the techniques
outlined in the section on tactical trolls. However, they have an
overall strategy for drawing bona fide list members into argument,
ultimately causing them to leave, or for the trolls to dominate of
the group. In particular:
They have various phases to their strategy, where each phase aims
to achieve different things.
The first phase usually involves establishing multiple
personalities who become recognised as integral members of the
group - "friendly trolls". Don't be deceived by the title - they
appear to be friendly but they have very different hidden motives.
Establishing friendly trolls in a group is a process that can
take many months or even years.
The second phase involves using new personalities to start
divisive threads, in the manner outlined under "Tactical Trolls".
In the event that no list members respond to these threads, other
phase two trolls will respond to them to keep the debate active.
If existing list members have not yet joined in the arguments, the
third phase involves "offensive trolls" attacking their own
personae from the first phase. As these trolls will have built up
a lot of goodwill in the group, other list members will jump to
their defence, and they are therefore drawn in to the argument.
In case other list members don't join in, "defensive trolls" may
join in and continue to give air time to the "offensive trolls".
The friendly trolls can also incite bona fide list members to join
in using offlist emails.
Another phase may involve the friendly trolls starting to
retaliate publicly, calling on the support of bona fide list
members.
When things start to get out of hand, petrol will be poured on the
flames to try and stir things up as much as possible and cause the
maximum amount of strife and chaos.
The following is a further extract from the FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) of the mailing list that is dedicated to trolling. It
will help you to understand what type of person you are up
against...
"Anyone can walk into alt.sex and post that pornography should be
banned. Anyone can walk into rec.sport.baseball and say "baseball
sucks". It takes unbelievable skill and discipline to cause a
PROLONGED flame war. That is what we do. But it can only be done
with talent, and numbers to match that talent. We only bring into
the fold people who have the knack to use smarts to incite chaos,
not stupidity to incite being ignored when people see a post and
know what you're up to."
Domination Trolls
Recently, it has become apparent that there are probably trolls also
operating as list managers. I am unclear as to the specific
motivations for this type of activity, but it may be:
gratification from dominating the emotional lives of list members
gangland ware - where one group sets up a list and aims to defend
it from other trolling groups
a genuine area of interest on behalf of the troll
Nevertheless, the lesson behind this is that you need to get
verification data for list managers as well as other list members.
Dealing with trolls
When dealing with suspected trolls, there are various strategies
that you can employ. First of all, remember that just because you
suspect that someone is a troll, it doesn't mean that they are a
troll; also, just because you suspect someone is genuine, it doesn't
mean that they are genuine. In view of this, the best tactics are:
ignore postings that you suspect may be from trolls.
don't invest any of your self emotionally until you have verified
beyond all doubt that the person you are dealing with is genuine
beware of off list emails that praise and flatter, or seem to
evoke sympathy. If you feel yourself beginning to like someone,
ask first: how much verifiable data do I have about them?
if you do get involved in anyone, seek out verifiable data. Trolls
will provide some data that will lead to dead ends; real people
will provide some data that is open-ended and leads to a myriad of
sources which enable you to verify their genuine status
if you must respond to a troll posting, don't get involved in the
argument; limit it to pointing out that the posting may be
considered as trollish, for the benefit of other list members.
Write to the listmaster to highlight what is happening
Write to the postmaster of the troll's domain. Keep it simple,
polite and to the point (they are very busy!). Include your
evidence (e.g.: offensive emails) and the full email header
information, so that the troll can be properly traced.
Listmasters can also make their lists restricted, and conduct a
security analysis of each list application before allowing them to
subscribe. This is probably easier to do in areas that have
professional associations or qualifications.
