How to Avoid Being an Internet Troll

Last Updated: June 3, 2021

On the Internet, especially on message boards and chat rooms, there are often trolls. These trolls can be anything from merely annoying to truly offensive, and are never welcome. These instructions will help prevent you from being recognized as a troll by online communities.

Steps

1
Know what trolls are, and what their activities are. After all, without knowing a troll's behavior, some would be confused with trolls just because they do not know how to behave. Be informed.
2
Rationally consider people's feelings. People behind the computers have emotions just like you.

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3
Stay away from the temptations. The temptations may be insulting somebody's work, or a thread showcasing low quality images from sites like DeviantART.
4
Be civil. This is fairly simple; it is just basic etiquette. Don't swear at others. Don't say rude things, such as "I hate you." Don't post any sort of content which you know is inappropriate. If you can't be reasonably polite to others, being anything but a troll will be impossible.
5
Do not respond with rudeness if someone is rude or inflammatory towards you. There are better ways to deal with a troll. Trying to get revenge on a troll just looks bad and only encourages more encounters. It doesn't matter that "they started it", it just matters that you behaved badly.
6
Stay calm if someone gives you some sort of warning that you are going too far. Figure out what you did wrong and make sure you do not do it again. Perhaps you need to take a break and calm down.
7
Stop arguing and take a break from the site if arguments start to escalate. Doing this will help stop the argument, and in many cases, the conflict will just fade away as nobody participates

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Community Q&A

Question

Does it count as trolling if you are having a polite argument, and your opponent throws an uncalled for insult at you?

Community Answer

Yes, but everything and anything could be considered trolling on the internet. There are two sides to every argument. When there's a troll, just ignore it.

Warnings

Disruption of a site community may result in blocking from the site.

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Failure to read the site policy could result in trouble. There may well be rules you do not know about, and you won't know to follow them without prior knowledge.

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