I just watched an interview with some pious lefty screaming about trolling and how people should go to prison because 'words hurt' and its damage and they are victims etc etc. By the end of the interview I think she'd only be happy if the internet is turned off forever.
But her view of how trolls are evil, and my ... *clears throat* ... yes, I have trolled in my life. But I don't think its evil. In fact I have a theory. And that's why I made a poll.
My theory
Personally, I troll because I have a curious mind. I want to know how other people think and feel about things. And a great way to do that is to get a rise out of them on the internet. When someone loses their tempter, that's the only time they'll tell you what they really think of you or your ideas. So I might set up an account on a forum somewhere or comment in news or youtube. And my comment might not necessarily be my opinion. Its an idea or discussion point. So example. Need to pick something people can't normally talk about. Something taboo. Could be racism, homosexuality, something that isn't done in polite conversation. For this example I'll pick sibling incest.
So if you ask people is it ok for people to have consensual sibling sex, society says no. However when you ask individuals, many of them say yes. If you then ask them if they would do it themselves even if they liked their sibling, they all say no. How is it ok for other people but not ok for you? It gets complicated.
Getting to the bottom of what other people think is very easy on the internet. You can't ask your mates if they'd like to have sex with their sisters. You certainly can't ask your parents if incest with siblings is fine. You can't ask
a policeman or a colleague at work. Even your best mate will look at you with suspicion after a conversation like that. But I think if you have a curious mind you want to know what goes on in other people's heads ... and there is nothing like trolling to prize that out of them. Be it the IQs of different races, transgenderism ... what is it, is it an illness, is it perversion, are they born that way? You can't poll lots of people quickly on a subject like that in real life and they will often lie or throw accusations your way. One thing about the anonymity of the internet is that not only does it mean that people can lie a lot, it also means they can be utterly honest in a way real life doesn't allow for.
And this is why I think politicians and rabid leftists misunderstand the internet. To me it is a manifestation of the human mind. Of all minds all at once. Every thought possible is on here. Every opinion. And none of it is real. The internet is no more real than any of my thoughts because that is all it is ... a collection of thoughts. Some offensive, some taboo, some wicked, some creative etc. And when you have the mind of humanity at your disposal to play with and experiment with, I have to think only a moron wouldn't troll with it.
Finally, I made this thread as I make most threads to find out how other people think about things. And in this case do you all troll like me? Do you deliberately wind up people on the BBC or youtube or wherever in order to find out more about how people tick? And as always I'm asking because I have an opinion and want to see if its unique to me, rare or very common. Maybe people do it for other reasons? But, if many people do it for my reasons and everyone in the world has tried it at least once, that's 3 billion troll posts right there. And that explains why the internet is so full of trolling. Its just people exploring the dark recesses of the human condition ... and so why would you look to censor that? For those that can't handle it, stop using it. Same as watching a horror movie if you're sensitive. but that also tells me the internet isn't as dangerous as many make out. We've all thought about killing someone at one time. Very few would actually do it. Its just a thought, and so are the things written on the internet.
I should add, I don't ask the question because I want the answer. I ask the question because I always want to know what other people think the answer is. That's more interesting to me.