Last Updated on 2015-03-21 by Kassandra

Previous Post:  The 7 Truths About Problems And How to Overcome Them

Next Post:  Would You Like to Play a Duplicitous Mind Game?

---

How do you recognize a troll?

Better yet? How do you stop one?

.

.

.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Yeah, you heard me. Those trolls can be stopped.

I’ve been using the internet since before I hit puberty, so I’ve had my fair share of trolls trolling on me and my friends.

Sometimes they may start as well-meaning, peaceful creatures …

Sometimes they may initially present their true nature so you are prepped to whom you are speaking …

But really … How do you recognize a troll?

No, they may not look like this:

Or this:

Or even like these magical creatures:

But I ran into one today that inspired this post. The details of what transpired are not important. What’s important is the process I went through in a very short few minutes that I would like to share with you so you might learn from my mistakes.

Personal Emotional & Physical Cues

I was getting frustrated.

I could feel my breathing become shallow ….

I could begin to feel my lips purse together and wrinkles forming upon my brow.

My body temperature may have rose a bit, but I don’t know if that’s physiology or just that I’m getting over being really sick … LOL!

When Could I Tell?

Well, aside from the emotional and physical cues for myself personally …

Grammar and spelling for one.

I personally find it to be super lazy to not use capitalization or full sentences, and SERIOUSLY INVADED WHEN SOMEONE ALWAYS USES ALL CAPS.

You’re yelling.

The whole internet world knows it.

Just cause your friends do it … you going to jump off that bridge too? (Not all peer pressure is a good thing.)

When they clearly had no idea what they were talking about …

Like here:

I didn’t get mad until the name calling began (what you saw here was just the end of it and I’m not really sure who that was directed to) …

But then she called me dumb …

I graduated in 4 years with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (programming) from Texas Christian University [where most students with this degree graduate in 5 years] with a minor in Italian (which required 5 weeks of study in Italy to acquire).

And I was only able to go because:

• I had a high GPA in high school
• I was able to test out of a full semester of college before attending any post-secondary (past high school or trade school IMO) course
• my father passed away the month before I turned 13 … From the inheritance I received after splitting it with my 3 step-siblings (whom I love and adore like they were my own flesh and blood) and my father’s Goddaughter… I put all of it into my education. ((And I STILL came out with a ton of school loans BTW))
• I studied hard (even with the distractions I attracted to my life) and didn’t really take a lot of time to have fun while I was in college

>>> What’s the cost of your education? <<<

 

And in that same statement call me an ignorant broad …

… her lack of vocabulary as well as her understanding of her current internal dictionary was just so painful at times. o(>_<)O

The Show Stopper?

When I realized where we had ended up:

from discussing how this video was atrocious …

… to how for “different cultures” it’s different?

I realized I had been trolled.

She may not have intentionally meant to …

She probably truly believed that we were wrong and she was right …

But she was trollin’.

---

How did I stop her?

 

1. By chilling out.

2. Smiling.

3. Not feeding the troll. DNFTT

4. Using logic against her.

5. Not adding more fuel to the fire after her “final post”

 

Because we all know it’s never the “final post” … right?

Do you have any funny troll stories to share?

Perhaps you were the troll?

Leave a comment below!