Troll Day: when is it, what are trolls and what is their origin. Nowadays very widespread, internet trolls are quite easy to recognize but the truth is that it is still quite unknown what their work is or what they are really for or why they even have a day dedicated to them.
And it may be surprising to discover that there is a day of the troll given that normally many of the most celebrated ephemeris belong to important days (see, for example, the Jacobean or Jubilee year) and it is not that trolls are not prominent elements of our 2.0 society. , but more than one person may not like to discover that they have until their special day of celebration.
Troll Day: when is it
Specific, Troll Day is celebrated every October 19. A day in which Internet trolls from all over the world apparently fill social networks with massive messages, as well as those websites where they usually “act”, but do you know what exactly a troll is?
Troll Day: what are trolls
According to Wikpedia a troll, in the jargon of the Internet and in particular of virtual communities, is a person who interacts with other users through provocative messages, irritating, off-topic, or just plain meaningless, with the goal of disrupting communication and stirring things up. These users, whom Tim Berners-Lee himself did not hesitate to define “disgusting”, take advantage of large scenarios -such as, precisely, social networks, public forums and blogs followed by many people- to carry out attacks aimed at unleashing controversies about the Network to promote hatred, fanaticism, racism, misogyny, homophobia.
The typology of the trolls, therefore, is far from being uniform.: at one extreme we find the “normal” netizens with a passion for pranks and jokes, perhaps a bit heavy, at the opposite extreme, however, there are those netizens who, through their behavior full of evil and hate, pretend set fire to online communities.
How to recognize trolls
In some cases, depending on the vehemence and scope of the attacks, a troll can intimidate the interlocutors and cause them to change their habits online or even in real life.
the trolls they usually enter into a discussion that has been going on for some time, in which many users already participate: in this way they ensure a large audience, made up of heterogeneous Internet users ready to respond to any provocation. However, as a general rule, his intervention has nothing to do with the ongoing discussion: the troll, who hides behind the anonymity of nicknames, limits himself to insulting other users directly and, often, personally, with the aim of unleashing the reaction of one or more participants. The ultimate goal is, in fact, to disturb the discussion, taking it along completely different tracks than the initial ones, also provoking two types of reactions from the rest of the Internet users: either bewilderment without knowing what to answer them or that the other person or the one receives the insult answer at the same level thus starting a heated discussion.
The troll categories
Trolls are roughly divided into four categories.
- Playtime troll. Also known as wasted time trolls, they are easily identifiable and neutralizable. They are characterized by low community attendance and non-linear behavior, alternating friendly and thematic interventions with discussions with casual interventions characterized by hatred and the desire for revenge.
- tactical trolls. In a certain way, they resemble trolls in their free time, but they plan -sometimes even for a long time- their interventions in forums and social networks of various kinds. Initially, tactical trolls enter the social “ecosystem” of the online community in a calm and collaborative way, establishing – in some cases – cordial relationships with other members of the social network. However, it is a studied tactic at the table, necessary to “catch” the other users and leave them displaced when the troll attack is implemented. To understand whether it is a “tactical troll” or a user annoyed by some comments and behaviors, the personal information present online must be thoroughly analyzed: in the event that they are incomplete, fragmented and give rise to obvious contradictions or dead spots.
- Strategic trolls. Like the tactical trolls, they carry out long-term, articulated plans of various kinds, but they differ from the previous ones because they act in groups and not as individuals. The ultimate goal, however, is always the same: “trap” other users and bring them down to their level made up of insults, insults, and threatening messages that end up driving calmer visitors away from the discussion.
- Domination troll. In some cases, trolls manage to reach the top of the “chain of command”, becoming administrators of discussion groups, forums and groups on social networks. Therefore, they can obtain personal benefits and “perks” by exploiting their dominant position with respect to other users. Thanks to their role, they can insult and denigrate other users with the certainty that their behavior goes unpunished. In other cases, however, they impose sanctions and measures in an arbitrary and unmotivated way, making their role weigh on the rest of the community in a discriminatory way, driven by the desire to take revenge against others.
Troll Day: what is its origin
Now we know exactly what Troll Day is and what these types of “characters” are that dominate and somehow “contaminate” the internet, but what is the origin of celebrating this day? The answer is worthy of a great troll since it is not clear at all. In fact, October 19 is not related to any date dedicated to the internet so that from what we know and have read, it is a day chosen at random from the many that are chosen to celebrate curious anniversaries like this one.