Out of Pod Experience

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2877190/Teenage-Little-Pony-fan-posted-heartbreaking-YouTube-video-APOLOGISING-internet-trolls-tormented-days-threw-train.html

The only reason I'm posting this is because he's got an Eve poster in the background. He was one of ours!

Look, we all play Eve. Some people are nicer than others here, and I know and respect that. But going too far as to push someone off the edge? At the end of the day we're all people and we should always pay respect that there is in fact a person on the other side of the monitor, not just letters on a screen or a voice in teamspeak.

All I'm asking is please remember that the next time you or someone you know starts ramping up on someone else. Dial it back a notch and remember that your point of view, or proving yourself right or belittling someone else is NOT that important and you can always just walk away. Sure there's anonymity in the internet, but when people are so depressed they're doing this, being a friend can pay out way more than anything else we can do.

When your self worth comes solely from the internet and the comments therein - whether it be facebook, youtube, etc - you're going to have a bad day.

That being said, when you take away accountability through anonymity there is no barrier for conduct. Add in mob mentality and you have a snowball effect that can quickly get out of hand.

On a side note:
I think it's good to highlight this negative behaviour, and bring it to light as awareness lessens troll's ability to be effective but, like the article in OP's post and many before it, there is no links to helpful resources to teach people how to recognise & handle trolling.
I did a quick search and found numerous pages on the subject (eg: first result) but for those who's search-fu is a bit lacking I would of thought it be pertinent, if not mandatory, considering the subject matter and the people likely to read it - namely: parents.
The article had a golden opportunity to be part of the solution but chose to link to a site that is primarily there to help in troubled times. Now, I don't have a problem with that per se but I would of thought teaching people to be able to recognise a troll, thus avoiding being drawn in, and consequently, it's negative effects would be just as important as dealing with the subsequent aftermath.
Pfft, call me crazy - I would of thought this would of been obvious while writing the article, but I'll refrain from making any presumptions on the writers motivations and cognitive processes.


In closing, OP's points are succinct and I agree wholeheartedly

It may not have been clear but I was advocating both forms of help.
I agree with you totally with what you've written, it's just that I believe both avenues should be presented as a resource on articles of that nature

The article said the victim had a learning disability, and relied on the internet as his only form of social interaction. That's an especially vulnerable kind of person. We have quite a few people with various disabilities in the EVE community, so we should be aware and know when to back off.

Indeed. One thing I can't avoid is when some players boast about getting others to fly into some rage and then remark "Eve is not for them". This usually comes with some self aggrandizing sense of accomplishment or some claim that the game or maybe the entire world is better off somehow.

But then question begs to be asked. If someone is not suited to play the game and may be at some handicap or lack of development to handle this game, then what does that make of the people whose game it is to antagonize them into a frothing rage and possibly drive them off?

Or as one professor who opened my eyes to the world once said, having started out in life as the person who worked for CBS and answered the mail for the Archie Bunker show: "You know, there were TWO bigots in that house".

And that leads me to wonder, yet again, how we could protect at risk youth without screwing things up.

The only thing I can do personally is not give other people online a hard time.

the only thing i hate about trolls is that they live under bridges and stink up the place. get a address and some dignity, you filthy creatures.

Gives me an idea. I should get some business cards, a suit and a suitcase.

Pop out from under my bridge and hand people my card which would say:

"Alpheias - Professional Troll. Taking it to the next level."

There's a pretty big difference between not caring and going out of your way to ruin the experience of others. I don't particularly care about anyone outside my friend circle, other than in a fairly nebulous and relatively weak sense of community or shared humanity, but that doesn't mean I should antagonize and needle people outside said friend circle.

pretty much this.


a bit harsh indeed, but the saying "if you can't handle the heat, gtfo of the kitchen" applies here.