Trolls who feel they deserve an honorary Grade 7 certificate
Dear Editor,
IT is interesting that when one goes to look at the comments made to postings by people on social media, there are some people who comment on my postings faster than one can have read the article posted! The majority of such comments are by trolls.
There is an article by BBC Bytesize which describes trolls and cyber bullies as being “..... people who leave intentionally provocative or offensive messages on the internet to get attention, cause trouble or upset someone.”
The dancer and model Fatima Timbo says “I think people troll because they’re insecure in themselves, they want to get a kick out of being negative towards someone else.”
Typically, trolls in Zambia and elsewhere will post comments like;
1. “You have been bought!”
Such trolls lash out without any cogent argument, against public figures they see as successful, who are happy, who are enjoying their life simply because the trolls can’t.
2. “You are finished!”
Urban Dictionary says trolls “Attempts to condescend. The Facebook troll will seek to find refuge in condescending remarks that repeatedly scorn his or her critics as beneath - but all the while continuing to respond to them.”
3. “You are just a hater!”
British author Paul Graham says of trolls, “If you disagree with something, it’s easier to say ‘you suck’ than to figure out and explain exactly what you disagree with. ......... In this respect trolling .... happens at the intersection of ambition and incompetence.”
4. “We don’t care, we just don’t like it!”
These are the type of trolls whose most powerful argument on an issue would be something like, “Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall. That’s why Bill 10 will have a big fall.”
Trolls will sometimes comment, “I have no time to read this!” It leaves one wondering, ‘ No time to read but enough time to comment on the posting?
Comments like these is the reason the Norwegian public broadcaster are trialling a system that makes people answer a question about the article before they’re allowed to comment. This will hopefully ensure that any potential trolls are at least informed.
You find that trolls will not address the points raised in the posting but instead they will attack the messenger. It appears that they do not have the intellectual capacity to put up arguments to counter what is in the main article. No doubt this has something to do with their IQs.
I am like Kenneth Goldsmith who says, “I’ve been trolled lots. But I understand trolls for what they are and I don’t let them get to me. They take my bait, so I’m in charge of the discourse.”
I know that this posting will serve as bait or an invitation to trolls who feel they deserve an honorary grade seven certificate.
SAKWIBA SIKOTA.