The Webmaster of Curezone has some excellent information on how to recognise an internet troll, but sometimes these trolls become stalkers. This is some good info on dealing with this type of troll.
At its mildest, a stalker is simply a troll that has attached itself to an individual. At worst, boring, at best, flattering. Find out about trolls. But a stalker can be a serious predator, using the Internet to pursue a real or imagined vendetta, or other perverted agenda. Risk assessment is an essential first step.
How dangerous is it?
Start by thinking about who it is; is it someone you have simply upset on the Internet, someone with whom you've had a relationship? Is it someone you knew before, or have met in the real world?
Think about where you see it - newsgroups? forums? chat rooms? email?
What does it say? Is it a matter of direct insults? Is it lies and rumors? Does it reveal information not generally known that you want kept secret?
When - and how often - does it appear?
How is it threatening? Is it simply annoying, or do you fear direct contact, betrayal or what? Think about the worst it can do ... how bad is that?
Why are you being stalked - is it simply spite and boredom, is it envy or resentment? Have you done anytghing thast you think may have set it off?
Once you can answer these questions, you will havce a clearer idea of what you are dealing with, and how quickly you may need to act.
What To Do - General Advice
1. In virtually every case, the first line of defence is to do nothing; simply treat it as a troll and ignore it - most will go away fairly quickly. remember, these creatures are a form of troll; if they fail to get rapid feedback, their inclination is to move on- they usually have neither the stamina nor the intelligence for a difficult situation.
2. But - however mild this stalker appears - always save every message you receive. A good way to do this is to create a new folder in your mailbox, and move all mails or copy newsgroup postings to that folder. I'd advise keeping this folder for at least a year after the last post, possibly longer. This can be a useful store of evidence, if later required, and can help in identifying the stalker.
3. Consider your options. Retaliation will make you feel better, but can be risky; as it make inspire, provoke or enable the stalker to strike further. For example, using the stalker's guestbook to warn them is risky if you have a guestbook that is open to attack. But if it is reasonably safe, then attack - let the stalker know that you are not afraid of electrons!
4. By definition, a stalker is a coward, like all bullies, like all who attack from behind, or in the dark. Be sure to mention this in every attack.
5. Stalkers make it personal - You make it impersonal. Minimise any private response you make; maximise every public response.
6. Not invariably, but usually, stalkers are none too bright; as JR would say, "The Elevator Don't Reach the Top Floor" - few intelligent people would go down the road to stalksville. Some, of course, are severely mentally ill. If you suspect that, then do not engage the stalker in any kind of dialog - just keep careful records and make appropriate reports.
7. Be Reasonable - Your attacks should be in response to the stalker's - and their first line of defense will be to accuse you of stalking - so don't go over the top. You'll usually be amazed how easy it is to attack a stalker, but exercise restraint. If they write in your forum, and it's safe to respond - then write in theirs. But be honest, brief and to the point - even if you post in every thread.
8. Keep records of all that you do, as well as what they do - and consider writing a web diary, or opening a web page to expose them. They may well have a reputation to lose - if they deserve to lose it, help them to lose it (example - The Zeppo).
9. Share The Laughter - However unnerving a stalker may be, if you look at them coldly in the light of day, they are pretty ridiculous. Some are Nothing But Ridiculous (example - Spiro). Savour that; turn it around, let them - and the world - see how ridiculous they are. Every time you mock them, you gain, and they lose. Share The Laughter.
10. Be consistent - once you have identified their weaknesses (besides being a loopy, cowardly piece of slime!), use the information against them, in every response.
11. Be careful - one of the first defences of a stalker is to claim that you stalked them, and any defence by you may be used against you as claimed cyberbullying.
An Internet troll is someone who posts offensive, controversial, or divisive material on an Internet community. Trolls are an unfortunately common occurrence on many communities across the Internet, and there are various steps which can be taken to combat them. If you are currently struggling with an Internet troll, the best thing to do is to walk away, since trolls feed on attention, and they will usually disappear if they are ignored.
The evolution of the Internet troll was a slow process which began as computer users started to more widely adopt the Internet. At first, the term referred merely to someone who was “trolling” for a response or opinion, in the same way that fishing boats cast out large nets to troll for a catch. Over time, trolls grew more aggressive, and the term began to be used specifically to refer to someone irritating or hurtful. In this sense, a troll could be compared to the nasty creatures of Scandinavian mythology which are also known as trolls.
There are a number of different types of trolls. In the most classic case, a troll harasses an Internet community for a few weeks, posting contradictory opinions or statements on bulletin boards in an attempt to stimulate a response. Internet trolls are differentiated from people who genuinely wish to present a different viewpoint by their attitudes and aggressiveness; their goal is not to discuss a situation, but to frustrate the members of a discussion board. They often use fallacious arguments or attack the users of a site when they attempt to defend themselves from the troll's activities.
Internet Troll
Troll 2
In some cases, a troll becomes a recurring figure who is well known by long-term members of a bulletin board. The individuals often tell newcomers to the community to ignore the troll, who may use various tactics to get a rise from newbies. In more serious cases, an Internet troll may try to drive a wedge through a community, often with the assistance of sock puppet accounts. A sock puppet is a fake identity which is used by someone who does not want to post under his or her regular name; some trolls have multitudes of sock puppets to make their side of an argument look like it has a large number of supporters.
Does the Anonymity of the Internet Allow People to be Meaner?
The Internet community does offer users a number of outlets to express their personal opinions and thoughts, from chat rooms to message forums to comment submission forms. Many of these interactive web pages encourage or even require participants to remain anonymous or create alternative identities. The anonymity of the Internet may provide a level of privacy for users in the real world, but it can also enable certain participants to become much more aggressive or mean-spirited than they would be without the promise of anonymity.
There is no doubt that the anonymity of the Internet has allowed some users to express their opinions with others more confidently or without the usual social filters found in the offline world. However, the same anonymity of the Internet can embolden others to ignore Internet etiquette and post malicious or deliberately inflammatory messages for the sole purpose of hurting other posters or chat room participants. These mean-spirited or patently offensive Internet users are known as trolls in the Web community, and website moderators spend much of their time online deleting offensive messages and suspending the accounts of those who leave them.
A similar phenomenon to trolling may involve anonymous posters who get caught up in controversial or contentious threads. The original topic of discussion is often replaced with personal insults, obscene responses and ad hominem attacks. These so-called "flame wars" or "flaming" could arguably be fueled in large part by the anonymity of the Internet, since a similarly heated discussion in real life between identifiable people would most likely not escalate to that level without outside intervention. It is much easier to vent anger or frustration on an anonymous chat room troll than it would be to vent the same feelings on a contentious real world co-worker.
What keeps many people from expressing intense emotions such as anger and frustration in real life is the fact they are known entities in a surprisingly small world. The anonymity of the Internet essentially levels the playing field for all participants, which could empower some users to express the darker sides of their personalities in ways that would be unthinkable in real life. The ability to post angry or mean-spirited thoughts without tangible consequences could prove to be too much of a temptation for certain personalities. While it could be argued that the anonymity of the Internet does not necessarily promote meanness or anger, it does allow users with the capacity for strong emotions to express them more easily, and with less regard for the consequences of their actions.
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