Trolls

Week 39

TROLLS

Keyboard warriors, trolls, cyber pagans... I just like to call them a waste of space. Actually what I call them usually a four letter word.  In the UK, there are plans to bring in new laws about punishing trolls.  This has been met with cries of 'we're loosing our free speech' to 'thank fuck for that!'

Ever been on the receiving end of a troll?  It's bullying. It's hard to fight back when every where you go online, you are followed by your bullies and then bullied more.  Walk away, I was always told. Yeah, that's in real life, on the internet, people don't let you.  They find other bullies to join in and attack you.  You leave the forum/group and guess what... yep, they find out what group you're in and join that with a new name and bully you there too.

I have folders on my computer called 'facebook' - this contains screenshots of the REALLY bad things that have been posted.  I found some forum posts from nearly 10 years ago too.  It's a bit sad that I have to have a folder with this shit in but necessary.  The one I have for Warband trolls is huge. Currently we have a group of so-called druids who's group was created for the sole purpose of slagging Arthur and the Warband off.  Doesn't matter that they don't know us, they hate and therefore we are fair game to them. I have read some truly dreadful things on there in the last month - the latest one is accusing one of us of being a known peadophile - oh but they didn't name that person, oh no, they know how to cover their arses.

Trolls are to be found on the internet. It doesn't matter what community you're in WoW, pagan, biker, mum forums, pet forums, religious... all of them, suffer from trolls. People that go in to deliberately stir shit up, just for kicks.  I think the pagan trolls are the worse though.  In the days of forums, they could make up a name and hide behind it. Facebook makes you use your real name now but there's a fair few out there that have names like PhoenixWillowMoon etc etc.  These people go to our sacred places, they join in the rituals, they make friends with everyone. You think 'yeah, that person's really nice'.  Then they fall out with you over something, most of the time you don't know why because they never said and then make it their life's work to destroy you.  The internet facilitates this. People are all too ready to believe the worst in people. They join in. They end up hating you too and they've never met you, know nothing about you, except the lies that the troll has told them.

This is why I keep a folder. This is why I take screenshots. When lies are told about me or my friends, I will share this proof.  I hate liars. Some times, a person will come along who warrants special attention.  I don't like arguing, I'm good at it but I really just want a quiet life. I'd rather just leave a group than get in a keyboard battle with some prick.  Last month, someone who had been a friend, went from friend to hater in about 48 hours. No warning. No idea why. So I let them get on with it, didn't post it online what had happened and just left it.  You know how your mum said that bullies want to invoke a reaction, that's why they push and poke at you?  Well walking away doesn't work with these people.  When you walk away and don't respond they then get mad and can't help themselves by then posting up loads of shit about you.  I read what they said. I fumed. I couldn't respond directly as they'd blocked me, so I created a website (explicit language) dedicated to debunking the lies being told.  It was very satisfying getting all the screenshots together, posting up her past words and then comparing them to her new ones.  She showed herself up as a liar.  I'm sure the little nest of liars and vile haters can see right through her and it's plain that they are using her for info.

And what a vipers nest it is. You've never read such hateful words. All unfounded, all unwarranted, all untrue.  Naming people, making accusations in writing is called libel. Do you know what else these saddos do for kicks? They go on YouTube and find any post that has Arthur in and leave nasty comments.  Amazon book reviews, photographs on people's Facebook... you name it. I've had to disable comments on my channel because of that person. That's how dedicated they are with their hatred.  I do not see the point in wasting all that energy. Why create several groups up for the sole purpose of hating on our little group? Why bully and threaten people so they leave our little group?  Oh you'll love this one, there's a group called Pagans against bullying and harassment on Facebook - guess who admins it? Yep, one of the biggest bullies out there! Always playing the victim too.  This is a person who took a Family Guy quote and then called the police on that person saying it was a death threat. When the police investigated and found no fault, the person apologised and was that good enough? No, they then went on to put a complaint in against the police and that person's employer trying to get them the sack.  None of it worked but there was months of this shit... and that's only a fraction of what this 'victim' has done... and she's admin on that group. Irony is a bitch but not as big a bitch as that bloody woman.  One of my favourites was how she emailed everyone on the CoBDO mailing list telling them about what nasty things I had done to her... thing is, she wasn't even in CoBDO and no one on that list had any involvement in anything. She did it for attention. Four years later, at any time she can, she refers to it.  The really funny thing is, my best friend was on that mailing list somehow - she had no connections with anyone at all, she had taken her name off an email I'd forwarded her ages ago when we were friends.  Now that's some proper old fashioned vim!

The thing is, that's very difficult not to get caught up in it. You end being sucked into a cycle of defending yourself and then in turn attacking right back.  Having just read through all these emails etc from the last few years, none of it has gone away. They were inactive for a short time and then pop back up.  You offer the olive branch and they say no and they say it's because of something that never happened.  They spend ages slagging someone off, then leave your group and go to the people they've been slagging off for ages.  It's no wonder people don't want to get involved...