Ask Lemmy

Usually I spend 5 minutes typing out an angry reply. Then I realize I have no interest in hearing back from this person, hit cancel and move on with my day.

There's no great way to handle people whose only goal is to drag you down or lessen you. Just block and move on to better things.

The same way I dealt with regular trolls; make sure to deal fire damage to stop their regeneration.

As a mod and instance admin, it varies depending on the variety of the troll and whether they're under my jurisdiction:

• Garden Variety Trolls: I just don't engage and ban them. These are the types posting racist memes, name calling, harassment, etc. I waste no time on them. Outside my jurisdiction, I report them.
• Mis/Disinformation Accounts: I usually fact check them. Not to change their minds, but to tear down the false narrative they're trying to construct. Depending on the how they're operating, I may or may not report / mod them; depends if they're violating any rules. There are some I've wanted to ban/mod but they weren't violating any rules, so my hands were tied.
• Obnoxious Jerks: Usually just don't engage at all. Sometimes the best thing you can say is nothing. If they're under my jurisdiction and are violating rules (most communities have some kind of "be civil" rule), I'll mod the offending content, ban if it's a persistent pattern of behavior. If not, I'll report them.

Otherwise, I just downvote, block, and/or move on. Life too's short to care what some internet troll has to say.

I may have a bad habit of engaging, but if they post something clearly wrong I like to provide context as to why.

It's not likely going to change their mind, but it's for the benefit of other people. If someone is scrolling the comments of the post, it's possible that they're on the fence or unsure about whatever bigotry is being talked about. I figure if I can help one stranger see both sides of the argument, I can stop the "radicalization" that many of these trolls are going for.

But maybe that's just naive wishful thinking on my part. I certainly don't use social media with the traditional "classic" slur spamming trolls though.

Short answer: you don't.

Trolls are people who like getting a rise out of others. They're provocateurs. The best thing you can do is ignore them. Let them feel like no one cares and their effort is being wasted, and they eventually get bored and stop. On Lemmy, downvote if you want to, but personally I don't even like giving them the satisfaction of knowing someone read their message.

If you've got a persistent troll who is bothering you, block 'em so you don't even see them. And don't even tell them you're doing it, just let them scream into the void obliviously.

I remind myself that the only winning move is to not play.

Close Facebook and move back to lemmy

You don't. They want attention, any attention, even negative attention, and when you reply to them with anything, you are giving them what they want. Don't feed the trolls.

They want you to reply. Simply don’t reply. Easiest way to deal with them.

Ignore them, if you engage with them at all they get what they want and they win.

I block them. My treshold for blocking is super low and I do it several times a day. I don't have time to deal with people who comment stupid shit that brings zero value to the discussion. One comment like that and you're gone.

When it's.clear my words are pointless, I copy+paste and get AI to respond, allowing me to set tone, length, all that. It's great because it takes seconds and is fascinating to see where the troll and the AI end up going.

Do not feed the trolls. Do not engage.

Ignore it, at MOST i'll send back a ❤️.

I block them. Once I started blocking trolls as a matter of habit I have found my online experience improve dramatically.

I put the conversation in a position so that it turns on itself.

Don't feed the trolls. My rule of thumb is to make a judgement call: is there anything I can say to convince the other person? If the answer is no, then ignore the message

Treat 'em like a zoo exhibit. They want to be taken seriously. You don't have to do that.

Block and/or ignore, report if I have the time.

Keep scrolling. But on rare occasions I bite for fun.

Trolls crave attention, just don't give it to them. They'll find someone else who will give that attention to soon.

They are looking for a reaction, and if they get one from me, I give them a mental thumbs up.

If it's just being a dick to be a dick, I ignore it and go on with my day.

What I absolutely never do is engage.

Don't feed the trolls.

They don't care about the topic, they don't care about the facts or a logical debate. They only care about getting a reaction out of you. Don't give them what they want.

I block them.

I just assume everyone that comments rudely is like 12 with no life experience yet so of course you're wrong in their eyes.

Pat myself on the back.

I just become a bigger better trollier troll than them.

With internet goats!

I’ve never had a problem with a troll, than I’m aware of. Maybe that means I’m the troll?

Not just ignore them. Avoid troll communities. If you pass there for sure you will see annoying immature individuals

I just ignore them. If they start to bother me personally, I don't respond to them I just block them. Engaging with internet trolls is precisely what they want you to do, so ignoring/blocking them prevents them from getting what they want. They'll become bored and move on.

How do you deal with annoying birds out in the wild?

Block report and move on. Encourage others to do the same. "Democratically extinguish the thread by ignoring it and anyone who would fan the flames". Hopefully the mod team is active enough to silence anyone who's actively trolling.