Positive of Online Anonymity

     When there is something bad. There is always something good. Just like the light and dark. When many people think of online and anonymous. They automatically assume trolls which can be assumed as (dark). However, the (light) can be people such as victims being free to open up. Without being judged by their families. Online Anonymity has more good then bad it can create a sense of an online community. It is easier to be yourself with people not being able to judge you. Although, people may say it can lead to people living double lives and feeling more empowered. Then they normally would, and abusive speech. People can also feel more safe when it comes to speaking out against a crime they witnessed. Under the ability of being anonymous they can feel more safe to come forward. Online anonymity also protects free speech and offers a support system. For other people who are going through the same problems it can create a community amongst people who know you but will not judge you. A positive about online anonymity is that there is no pressure to say what people expect you to agree with or say. We can also gather information and speak amongst the online community without fear. It can also help people with shyness speak up instead of not saying anything. While many believe we should take down online anonymity. It will be like taking away the voices of people who can't speak up in normal circumstances. Which pretty much states that one side is more important than the other. We need to find a balance between having online anonymity, but limit it when people abuse it. In instances such as harassment.

Throwback

   I remember back in the day when clubs day, was the only thing dwelling on our minds, Mayfair had a huge epidemic of Troll accounts.The one most commonly known was “Mayfair Bops” and on this page this particular troll exposed private messages,  girls at Mayfair exchanged with their former love ones.This page was up for weeks with over three hundred followers, as you could imagine many people flooded the comment section with hateful messages to the troll.Since no one seemed to understand why this particular troll felt the need to “expose” girls,  just because he felt it was amusing.As days went on this page was the talk around campus,which is why when the page was deleted everyone was shock and questioning what made the troll finally delete the page? Now you could only imagine how flabbergasted everyone was when they learn it was actually two trolls and that they were on our school’s basketball team.And according to many reliable sources one of the trolls confessed,since he couldn’t handle the pressure of concealing his identity.He even gave up the password  and threw the other troll “under the bus.”Which resulted in them both being expelled from our beloved campus.

The reason why I shared this story was to show how online anonymity doesn’t define the troll,but the trolls defines it.And also how if we vocalize our opinions more, change will eventually be promoted

Negative Sides of Online Anonymity

Online anonymity has many negative sides, but there are also positives, one being that it makes self expression a lot more comfortable.  Being able to express yourself is an important right that every human should have.  The internet is especially a great place to express your thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  Having your voice by many people at once, sharing what you have to say behind a screen creates more power in your voice.  Rather than having people comment or respond because of who you are or how you look is so beneficial when wanting to receive honest opinions.  A negative in online anonymity would be the abusive language people use when they post whatever they want to say.  Conflicts are caused on the internet and peoples feelings aren't taken into consideration.  The language posted would be harsh or topics that shouldn't be talked about are mentioned to the public.  Just because you could say these things, doesn't mean it's right to say.  What to these people even want, they are just people hiding behind a fake profile picture trying to attract a crowd.  They just want attention.  What people need to simply do is just notice what they are doing online.  They need to think about how it would affect others around them.  One other thing about online anonymity is that it's hard to trust those who say what they.  Not knowing who these sources come from creates a more untrustworthy environment.  Overall, online anonymity, in my opinion, has way more negatives than it does positives. 

The Source of Cyberharrassment

We tend to associate the idea of trolling as originating from the ability to write anonymously online. However, is that truly the case? While it does indeed allow for such things to happen, it may not be the source of offensive comments on the internet. I believe that anonymity is simply a platform for trolls to do what they do. The source, on the other hand, lay elsewhere. Perhaps the issue lies not in anonymous writing, but in our very own culture-- that perhaps the aggressive behavior that is present online originates from real life stress. If that's the case, then we should focus on improving people's behavior in real life before trying to pin the issue on the ability to write anonymously. What do you guys think?

Is Online Anonymity Wack???

I honestly don't see any benefits of getting rid of online anonymity. It means you can see the name and the identity of the troller, but I mean in the end online anonymity gives the world a whole new experience of freedom. People aren't afraid of speaking their mind now that no one knows who they are. Speaking your mind no longer comes with any other consequences other than a few harsh comments and a couple of trolls! The best thing to do about the trolls is just to ignore it. They don't know who you are so they can't harass you unless they're spoken out to. Online anonymity also gives us ranting space! We can enter a chat room without anyone knowing who we are and rant about how much we hate our boss! Maybe that's not the best way to spend your time, but if you're extra angry that day then go ahead.
However, there is always something bad that comes with the good. Online anonymity limits "crime fighting" on the internet, saying that sources are unreliable because they are anonymous. False information is also an effect of anonymity. Sources are always jumbled up and can never be trusted due to trolls posting false information. Spam is also due to anonymity. Our emails are always overrun by spam mail. We can't even do anything about them!
I think the benefits outweigh the cons of online anonymity by a lot. We've learned to take care of online anonymity problems. In my experience I've never really had any problems with anonymity. Sure I get these spam mails, but I just move past them without it being too much of a problem. I've learned to ignore and deal with most of the problems and I think the cons aren't that big of a deal compared to what the pros bring to us.

Those several anonymity apps that last like a week

Yeah to be quite honest, as you can see I procrastinated on doing this blog until the last remaining hours its due. In fact, I nearly passed out 20 minutes ago before I decided to actually do this. I am currently listening to the Beach Boys in a playlist recommended to me by my best friend. So what are we talking about again? Oh yeah, I'm here to type about online anonymity and how it has a positive side of it. Not all people who hide their identity behind a screen harass people online. In fact, there are some people who like using their anonymous profile to hide things about themselves because they are not ready to share to everyone. Take that Sarahah app that lasted for 2 weeks before TBH took the spotlight. Or even that dumb app where you talk about people at your school called After School. People would confess their thoughts about a person without having the person receiving the comment know who it was from. Those apps are meant to make people curious finding out the identity of their secret admire--or enemy. They become intrigued reading things that other fellow peers think about them. In some cases, the comments or feedback are not always nice ones but you cannot really do anything about it. All you can really do is delete and move on. Yes it is true, the majority of have used those anonymity apps. It is an addiction to some of us because we crave the feedback from others.

Anonymous Trolling (YOU LOOK DISGUSTING)

In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response, or often for the troll's amusement. There has been many cases of anonymous trolling on the internet, and in social media. 

There is this Youtuber called Em Ford, but goes by the name My Pale Skin. You may recognize her on the video that went viral (YOU LOOK DISGUSTING), where she posted on her channel, and all the horrible comments went towards her on social media. The reason why I bring this up is because, she had multiple trolls, anonymous, and public. It all started with her having enough confidence in herself to post pictures of her on instagram without makeup, all natural. She then scrolled down to the comments, and found over 100,000 comments judging, bullying, and trolling her. Some of the comments were, "Eww! Her Face is so ugly", "Seriously...has she ever washed her face". She received hate for being confident in not wearing makeup, until that went away all in an instant. So to please her audience she let them take over her by putting makeup on again. Yes she did receive nice comments and all, but she received even more trolling comments than ever. Such as, "I love your makeup", "This is amazing...but so gross", "You're so ugly, that's why you wear makeup", "Imagine waking up next to her in the morning."

There is people out there who just say things without thinking, but there is trolls out there who say things with a feeling, of making others feel down. There is many people out there who can handle these types of attacks, but others can't. Some people have suicidal thoughts, and think that ending it only means to end their life. But most of the time that doesn't work sometimes people just forget about you but don't feel sorrow. Anonymous trolling has been taken to far. I feel that there should be boundaries, that sites should prevent rude attacking comments, to make the internet and social media a safer place.

This is the link to the video if you would like to better understand my post :) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTRwj9t-vU&t=11s 

What About the Good Things to Online Anonymity?

   We have recently been discussing and observing the more negative effects of online anonymity, but I believe a little bit of it doesn't hurt and can do lots of people some good. Yes, of course trolling is horrible. However, online anonymity is necessary in some cases. For example, I'm sure most of you use Twitter. People often tweet their opinion or something they did or said or whatever, right? There is always someone who quote tweets that person's tweet and the person that quote tweeted gets like a million retweets. If that makes sense. This always happens. Most of the time, it's funny, less serious things, but I have seen some retests that could make the person wish they never tweeted anything, because now they have all these people after them. I'm saying online anonymity is necessary because people can benefit from posting anonymously without everyone judging them. It prevents backlash essentially.
   Also, to be honest, the TV show Catfish would be nothing without online anonymity. There wouldn't be a show at all. In most cases, people end up getting their hopes up only to find that the "love of their life" isn't really who they say they are, which sucks. But we need online anonymity to keep people safe and comfortable with expressing themselves, and to teach people lessons.
   Many other apps wouldn't exist either. Remember Ask.fm?, the app that was popular when we were in middle school. Businesses depend on online anonymity.
    What do you guys think are some other, more serious benefits of being anonymous online?

Are there benefits to online anonymity???

Online anonymity can be very hurtful to the victims of trolls, but in Levent Sapci’s article, The Pros of Being Anonymous Online, talks about the pros and benefits to staying anonymous online.  One of these benefits, the most known, is freedom of speech.  Everyone has the right to say what they want.  Is it expressed in the Constitution in the 1st amendment.  Sapci asserts, “users are able to speak their minds using various opinion-sharing platforms like social media sites” (Spaci 2).  Another benefit Spaci talks about is personal security.  Spaci says if users of the web stay anonymous, they don’t have to worry about their identity being stolen or snatched.  These are just some benefits of online anonymity.

In my opinion, I feel like the benefits Spaci talks about are only for people who what to use online anonymity for good purposes, which is really not our society now.  Many people stay anonymous to troll and get away with it.  It’s hard to get rid of these trolls.  They are unstoppable and they are hungry for the response they get from their victims.  I feel like no matter what we to to stop trolls, they’ll keep coming back for more.  Its sad knowing this won’t stop but this is society.  The best thing to to is just ignore them, don’t show them you are affected.  They crave for the distress and the pain of the people they are hurting.  Trolling must stop no matter what!!!!

http://blog.hotspotshield.com/2016/07/25/pros-anonymous-online/

Kill Them With Kindness

A women named Lexi Manion has become a body positive advocate, who inspires others going through her own similar struggles. On October 6, Manion posted a side-by-side picture which featured an image of her wearing revealing clothes with the caption "confident" and the other picture in more comfortable clothes with the caption "still confident". The post had nothing to do with her health yet, that was all strangers commented on. They left, “You are so fat, WTF. How disgusting.” “Shouldn’t be confident with being that unhealthy.” “You fat ass!! Don’t show your fatness!!!” under her picture. This wasn't the first time Manion had received hateful comments, so in a way she had ways to deal with them, but they still got to her. A tactic of hers was to respond to the hate comments with sass and sarcasm, however that didn't help, so she tried to respond with reason, still wasn't helping. 

Lexi Manion admired the love and kind comments she received, so she decided to turn the tables. Manion contacted those who wrote the worst hateful comments, and decided to kill them with kindness. She messaged them with compliments like “I love how you spell your name – it’s so unique and pretty!” “I love that dress on you – you’re stunning!” “Your smile is absolute sunshine!” Manion had low expectations, but a few apologized and responded back while others didn't. 

I believe the best tactic of Lexi Manion's doing was responding with kindness to her haters. This idea not only made her feel like a better version of herself, it also made the trolls feel guilty of their wrong doing.This also gave an amazing inspiration to others, in her same situation, on how to deal with trolls. Instead of dealing with the trolls with hate return, she emphasizes that its better to deal with them with kindness and happiness, that'll really "kill" them.

Check out Lexi Manion's inspiring video ⤵

Video: https://www.instagram.com/p/BcQLs7QB4D7/

Article: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a13098330/lexie-manion-fat-shaming/

Although there have been many stories and examples that has made online anonymity seem like a danger to the web by inviting online harassment through trolls who exploit this right, anonymity has many benefits that contribute to the online community. It allows for collaboration and the sharing of ideas between people enabling them to speak freely and truthfully without filter or fear of retribution. Many times people feel the need to hold back on what they post because they fear the feedback they might receive directed to them.  As author of "Online Anonymity Serves Us All", Gabrielle Coleman, states,"Anonymous expression has been a foundation of our political culture" (Coleman 5), posting anonymously removes this fear of retribution, empowering people to share their opinion on controversial topics or political issues which is key to our nation's democratic values of speech. This ultimately creates an environment online where conversation flourishes and people can contribute their voices for all to hear. 

How Online Anonymity Can AND Will Affect You

Remember when Ask.fm was popular? Remember how just months ago a new trend had started with Sarahah or tbh? If you've used at least one of those apps then congrats, you've used online anonymity to hide who you are! Online anonymity isn't always a bad thing, unless you knowingly use it to harm someone and make them feel less of themselves.

Now you may be thinking, "I haven't done this, why should I care?" Well, there are many reasons why you should, especially if you said yes to using one of those apps previously mentioned. Although you may have never been harassed by an anonymous troll, you may know someone who was. Hatred seems to be the driving force of a lot of the events going on around the world and it could be affecting someone you know by just a click of a button. 

For those who haven't used an app that allows anonymous posting, there is a high chance you could use anonymity to your advantage in the future. Whether it be in a medical sense or turning to the dark side and leaving a negative comment on something, you will likely be anonymous at one point in time. All of us can be affected by it, no matter if it's directly towards us. If you do happen to become a victim to the words of a "hater" then just remember that by commenting back with the same amount of anger will only fuel the flame. By responding negatively you're giving them more than what they want because you've been damaged by their words and it only empowers them.

Why we need online anonymity

Lately we've been talking a lot about the benefits of online anonymity. With that comes trolls, however, I believe that being able to post anonymously is essential. There are so many benefits that come out of being able to hide your identity online. People are able to feel a bit safer having certain discussions without revealing who they are. Victims of crimes or of anything are able to reach out to others and seek advice, or help. They can talk to others who have been in the same situation, without judgement.

Being able to post anonymously also empowers others to speak up on other issues, maybe even political issues. I know a lot of us can relate that if we were to truly speak up our opinion, we might get a lot of backlash and possibly even hate. I know that if any person were to speak up on their opinion on Twitter, they get a lot of negative feedback, sometimes horrible. Sometimes it isn’t even in political issues, but it could be anything random. This is a huge reason why a lot of people want to be able to post anonymously, and I agree!.

About 10 percent of teens engage in anonymous self-harassment. That’s a finding in a 2011-12 study by psychologist Elizabeth Englander at the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Research Center. It’s an average, because she found a higher proportion of boys (13 percent) than girls (8 percent) engaging in it. “About half of these “digital self-harmers” had done this only once or very infrequently; the other half reported that they had cyberbullied themselves more regularly or had one, ongoing episode which lasted at least several months.”
Anonymous cruelty offline too. Technology is “not uniquely capable of enabling anonymous bullying; school environments can do so as well,” Harvard’s Berkman Center reported in its review of the bullying research this year. “In a national survey of over 1,000 12-17-year-olds, 12% who reported being bullied at school said they did not ‘know’ their bully, as did 22% of those who report being bullied on the way to and from school.”
Anonymity not that prevalent in cyberbullying. The Berkman lit review also referred to a survey of more than 1,400 12- to 17-year-olds showing that “73% of participants who were victims of cyberbullying knew the identity of their bully.” The context of what happens between people online is not really a Web site or app; it is everyday life – for young people, what’s going on socially at school.
Anonymity decreases as kids age up. Another study by Dr. Englander found that, in 3rd grade, 72 percent of cyberbullying victims said they didn’t know who the bully was, but the percentage went down to 64 percent by 5th grade, a trend that “continues through high school.

Hakuna Matata

Hakuna Matata is a phrase that I've been living by ever since I saw the movie as a kid. If you don't know what that means we can no longer be friends. It means "no worries". When it comes to the issue of trolling or just negative people online, I strongly believe in having no worries. Now people handle it in different ways so confronting works for some people and staying silent works too. For me in my opinion, I let them talk all they want, because the only one who can determine if they can progress further is me. I actually laugh and feel honored. You would take the time out of your possibly boring life to troll me. I thank you. I don't think life is like too short, I mean the saying is true when they say "life is too short", but to me it's like life it's going to keep going so why worry about other people. Another thing is, I don't know them. Even if I know them, I don't know what they are going through. Now at the same token it's not right for them to lash out on other people but sometimes these trolls are going through something. Like I said, it's not right but you don't know what is happening with their life. That is just my opinion. I also honestly believe things like this will never go away, that doesn't mean we can't do anything about it. I think Manjoo quoted Mr. Phillips of Humboldt State in saying that "trolls are just a symptom", the main sickness is human beings. However, humans are also the cure.

IGNORE, DELETE, BLOCK, BYE!!!

If you are going to have social media you must know the three simple steps in order to deal with haters and they are:

1. Ignore what is said about you, because you know it isn’t true.

2. Delete the comment.

3. Block whoever said it and say BYE!

• In order to deal with online trolls, you should just delete their comments and block them. You shouldn’t have to tolerate ANY kind of negativity directed towards you and allow it to happen again.  A lot of people would say to stick up for yourself and write back to trolls if they talk bad about you or start rumors, but you shouldn’t. Why waste your precious time and energy on someone who is talking crap you shouldn’t have to hear? Sadly if you are going to have social media you have to expect comments to possibly be written about you. However, if you respond to trolls you are just giving them what they want, ATTENTION. What difference does it make if you do respond to them? Will it make you feel any better? Honestly, if you do respond to other peoples’ comments I feel like it bothers you even more, because once you start to question if what they are saying is true, that’s when you get emotionally involved and defensive. You should never think someone’s opinion about yourself is true, because you know who you are and that is all that matters! You don’t need to prove to anyone else otherwise!

Can Trolling be Put to a Stop?

     Unfortunately, the simple answer (as of now, that is) is no.  While people have taken a few different angles to try and do so, their solutions have either proven to be ineffective, come with negative consequences, or both.  There are two common suggestions that people bring up in order to stop trolling: ignoring the trolls and trying to ban them and monitor comment sections.
    The problem with ignoring trolls is that it does not directly confront the issue.  It's somewhat passive, so to speak.  Now, sometimes, passive solutions can be the best for some problems, but in the case of trolling, it doesn't seem like it would stop a troll from going to another site and finding a different target who might "take the bait".  Furthermore, people have been suggesting this method for a while and trolling, if anything, is still on the rise.  There is no proof that this method works.  In her article, Lindy West perfectly sums up this problem by asking the questions "Does ignoring trolls actually stop trolling? Can somebody give me concrete numbers on that?"(Paragraph 13).  Also, when addressing the logic of this "solution", I might add to those questions by asking "Does ignoring trolls make them reconsider their actions and make them find out that their behavior is unproductive?"
     On the other side of the coin, there is the somewhat smaller group of people who want to track down trolls, ban them, and monitor comments.  The problem here is that banning trolls fails almost instantly, as the troll can just wait a bit, create a new account, and continue their uncivil behaviors.  Monitoring comments has some problems with the logistics of the method.  It would require a ton of micromanaging, since people can comment at any time on any day, and any number of people can comment on a post.  This means that a large number of people would have to be on watch everywhere at all times to filter out every troll comment. While one might be tempted to remove anonymity to decrease the likelihood of trolling, that comes with the cost of the democratic principle of free speech, as many people who want to speak on controversial issues in private(well, sort of) will be unable to, eliminating some valuable discourse.  For protecting free speech, trolling only becomes a small price when put into perspective.

Chicken Nuggets with BBQ Sauce

I am coming to you to address a serious national issue. There is a popular fast food item that is (in my opinion) being dressed with horrible dressings other than BBQ sauce. Chicken nuggets are ranked one of the most ordered fast food meals in the United States. There is a good reason for that. They are unbelievably delicious and they also serve to be a great mental food. Junk food such as chicken nuggets have a physiological influence on our moods. They help create peace on our worst days. However, I honestly believe that people ruin the joy of a delicious nugget when they consume it with other dressings other than BBQ sauce. BBQ sauce was created by the first American colonist in the 17th century. Which makes it one of the oldest sauces created for the enjoyment of dipping purposes. BBQ sauces was not only created for a topping and a dipping sauce, but it was created for enjoyment. Unlike much of those other sauces that people contaminate chicken nuggets with. Therefore, we have an obligation as a nation to continue on with the cultural tradition of our founding fathers. Unfortunately, other sauce are interfering with the rich culture of our beloved United States. For instance, ranch is another sauce people are currently using with their chicken nuggets. Ranch was invented in the early 1950's which would clearly make BBQ sauce the original sauce. Perhaps the way to make America great again is not within the government but within our sauce. Together as a nation let us not contaminate our culture with nonsense but let us live out our life with chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce.

Net Neutrality

I assume many of you have heard of this whole net neutrality deal. As of today, the Republican-controlled Federal Communications Commission has voted to repeal net neutrality, giving Internet service providers the right to block or slow certain websites, and charging extra for others to run faster. So what does this mean? We won’t see these price changes immediately, but it will take action in early 2018. However, numerous protests across America are currently fighting for the right to keep net neutrality. Big corporations such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Netflix are already planning strategies on fighting Congress to keep net neutrality.

Personally, I believe that net neutrality serves as such a significant right in today’s technology-driven society. Our current Internet freedom allows us to fully utilize the Internet, speaking our opinions and communicating with one another free of charge. It upsets me that big corporations will have an even greater economic monopoly on the Internet, all while controlling what we can see online. It’s disturbing to know that Internet service providers have the right to skew information such as blocking opposing political opinions they do not agree with. In my eyes, I see the repeal as taking a big giant leap backwards in our society, as limiting our voice to what our Internet service providers give us.

What do you guys think about the repeal? Should big corporations be allowed to control what we see online, or should we continue the fight against it?

Being anonymous online can be used for good too?

Yes, surprising, but yes. Examples can be like nurses in a chat forum trying to find a solution to an operation. It can also leave attention on the message the person is trying to convey than the actual person that holds the account itself. I just wish people would use anonymity for good than for bad. That would be the solution to the problem at hand if there was any solution, is to use anonymity for good instead of bad. That way no one gets hurt and it is used for meaningful messages that are important to hear than those nasty actions that are called trolling, and that is why we must get trolling out of here and only spread wisdom if anybody wishes to be anonymous online. Being a troll online does not make anybody cool at all. It is just plain annoying and it needs to be stopped. I am sick and tired of this stuff getting in the way of other important things. People's jobs are at stake because of this. And it's not their fault, they just want their money and they are paper chasing. So anyone, everyone, who is a victim of trolling or has a job that consists of online trolls commenting on their work, i feel sorry for you and encourage you to turn the other cheek and spread love because that's what these trolls need, love, because they have nothing else to do so they are probably lonely and no one loves them. But let's be truthful here. Anonymity can be used for good to. And i hope everyone uses it for good when the scroll down to the comment section. Thank you !

Can we benefit from being anonymous online?

I believe that we can certainly benefit from being anonymous online in several ways. For instance, if you are on twitter trying to give out ideas on how to tackle controversial issues like net Neutrality or the accusations against Roy Moore, you won't be often judged as much due to people not knowing your identity in the first place. If your seeking for help on how to solve a math problem or not knowing how to access amazon for Christmas supplies, most likely someone will respond to you and help you without hesitation.  If you want to donate to an organization or gathering support to help someone in need can easily garner millions of people who will take their time to do what's best for someone else. Being anonymous online helps us to quickly find solutions to our daily problems and can easily be more helpful than to go up to a stranger in a convenient store that can steal your identify or murder you at point blank range. However, being anonymous online poses a threat as they can cause disruptions on social media where people are united to fight against a cause whether it be on marijuana or something else. Also, what happens if they committed a crime that is threatening to other people? What happens if they continue to do these horrific acts by annoying people through death threats? What will be the future of the internet if trolls continue to dominate how we interact and the ability to not be harassed by them? So many questions but little to no answers as trolls derive from what society considers gratuitous.

How Joel Embiid Trolls to Push His Talents

I don't know if you guys follow basketball, but Joel Embiid is the starting center for the Philadelphia 76ers. He is a franchise player and a very serious player. He is very interesting because for him to push himself, he trolls. He is a playful troll who is the type who toes the line of talking trash. While some people troll to put down others, Embiid trolls to push himself higher. He was motivated by the mentality of Kobe Bryant, and replicates his "mamba mentality." Bryant's description is "...it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself...that's what it is...it's a constant quest to try to better today than you were yesterday." Embiid's road to the mamba mentality roots from his personal experience watching Bryant play and watching him play sparked his learning of basketball and pursuit of greatness like Kobe Bryant. The way Embiid becomes the best version of himself is through trolling. He constantly is joking but is actually serious in his comments on social media. He criticizes others so when they retaliate, he is pushed to greater limits to back up his trolling. Ramona Shelburne, ESPN senior writer, sums it up perfectly when she says “All this trolling, this button-pushing, it's just a warm-up-- his [Embiid’s] way of summoning the greatness to back it up.” This positive trolling only sheds more light on the diverse, complicated, and different aspects of trolling. Trolling encompasses more than just harassment, and Joel Embiid is showing that to us.

References:
ESPN: "The Greatest Story Ever Trolled" by Ramona Shelburne
ABS CBN Sports: "So what does Mamba Mentality really mean?" by Paul Lintag

In the Los Angeles Times article, “Are Online Trolls a Reason to Ban Anonymous Comments?”, Jon Healey  brings up the fact that “requiring people to comment under their real names is no guarantee that they’ll behave less like trolls.” Not many people care anymore if their trolling is done with their personal account. He continued to say that in 2011, Los Angeles Times attempted to decrease trolling by making people connect to their Facebook account in order to comment. However, this didn’t do much to decrease trolling because people still said offensive things so they discontinued it. He explains that, “[...] I think the right solution to bad speech is more speech. I cling to the view that readers have critical-thinking skills necessary to separate signal from noise, and they’re so inured to trolls that they’re not fooled or driven by them.” He brings up this point that we have heard so many times on how to deal with trolls - ignore them. He’s saying that as critical-thinkers, we should be able to distinguish what comments are worth wasting your time on. Is the comment something that you can get knowledge from or it is just a troll trying to get attention? In all, the article states that ending anonymous comments won’t stop trolling.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-anonymous-comments-good-or-bad-20141202-story.html

Solution to Trolling?

Is there really a solution to trolling? I don't believe there is. The Internet is a wide network connected to different sources all at once. To get rid of trolling would be the same as having world peace. It's not impossible, but it's very unlikely. There are millions of sources where each troll comes from and we don't have enough individual control to completely get rid of trolling from our lives. It would be like giving one homeless man food. That solve's one problem, but there will always be hungry people.
However, is there a way to deal with trolls? My solution that I really think works best is just ignoring them. Trolls really don't benefit from trolling when they don't get a response and that'll most likely just make them go away. I'm not saying to ignore the homeless, we should help them as much as possible. Of course, there's a difference between trolling someone and totally harassing them. When it gets to the point where a "troll" is invading on someone's personal life and targeting their family and friends, then that becomes harassment. However, that mainly only comes with the jobs of many who work on the Internet for a living. For those people, it really is crazy how they deal with all their hate every single day.

Victims of Trolling

When I hear the word trolls, the first thing that comes to mind is an animated troll with crazy, colorful hair.  When I hear internet trolls, I automatically think about a person who seeks attention or backlash from a person that they are trolling.  Trolls are attention seekers, those who try to cause tension just to entertain themselves or to even mess with someone just for the heck of it.  Trolling is found all over social media and is made public for anyone to see.  My advice to victims of trolling is to, first, try and ignore it and if it doesn't work then delete what you posted, maybe even report the troll.  If those don't just delete your account or the app itself, so you won't be reminded of these comments and move forward.  Try having no association with them whatsoever.  My question is "why do people post certain things without an expectation of those responding or opposing their views?"  They should either protect their posts or post less carelessly.

The Greatest Troll Ever

As far as I know, there are millions of trolls out online and perhaps even out in the real world. I, myself do not think of myself as a troll but I have witness trolling through the many years of me using the internet. Anyone who goes online will always see a troll regardless if they want to or not. There are funny kind of trolls where they like to mess around and make harmless jokes that do not offend anyone. One of the greatest trolls that I have ever seen is some anonymous guy that named himself "Ken M". He is someone who messes around with people and those who recognize him for his infamous trolling go along with it. His way of trolling is to comment something random in any sort of article or a fast food chain and annoy people. Although not all trolls act harmless, sometimes trolls are made to entertain others online. Sad to say that not all trolls are as funny as Ken M, others choose to bully people and harass victims until they take their own lives. Ken M should be the definition of a troll and those who call themselves trolls as an excuse to make their victim feel crappy about themselves should be called bullies instead. As for now, here is a link to look at Ken M's work on trolling.
The Work of Ken M

A Personal Experience with a Troll

     Now the story I have to tell, isn't one that began with me. I have a friend, Liya, who has a twitter account and is very active on it. Throughout having her account, she would acquire more and more followers who fell into two categories of people: those looking to find a genuine friendship and those who were only there to use her for retweets and likes. She is a very accepting person and is open to making new friends with someone if they're as genuine as she is. The only time she has a problem with someone online is if they're blatantly ignoring someones wishes that they've stated before. In this case, she had mentioned many times that she hates when people only direct message her to promote their own tweets.
     In this situation, the troll, Jade, had talked to Liya on occasion but they had never grown to be close friends, which seems unfortunate, but is a good thing in the long run. After a while of not talking, Jade sends Liya her tweet in hopes she'll retweet it and Liya decides she's had enough of this and decides to say something. From this point on, Jade began calling Liya "toxic" and telling her friends lies about what had been said to her about the situation. The events were then explained to me and I got involved, asking Jade to leave Liya alone. Her response to that was a barrage of messages to myself and Liya, all with different emotions coming through them. Some were compliments towards me (which she thought would help for whatever reason) and others were messages from her friends making Jade to be the victim and calling Liya a bad person.
     While it's nothing close to the harassment faced by Lindy West and many other people in media today, it can take different tolls on people based on their mental state at the time. Now this didn't scar us in the slightest but it did get a reaction from us and Jade could have been doing it just for that reason, making her a typical troll. I do understand that by getting involved, I signed myself up for random messages from another one of her many accounts after I had blocked them one by one. Finally after around 2 days, she gave up and retreated to her trolling corner and Liya and I had won the war against our troll.

The Effects of Anonymity

     While I was finishing the room for debate assignment yesterday, I began to seriously contemplate the positive and negative effects of anonymity on online discourse.  I was most intrigued by the article entitled "Anonymity Online Serves Us All", by Gabriella Coleman.  After being told of the negative effects of online anonymity time and time again, I feel that some of the good that online anonymity can do has been somewhat neglected.  While I understand that some people are facing seemingly overwhelming harassment online that can't be traced down, however, this factor of not being traced down is what also saves us all.  For example, we now have more protection from a practice  known as "doxing", or releasing all of a person's private information without their consent.  Threats like doxing can be much more damaging than some incivility in a comment section.  I don't meant to devalue the struggles of those who face online harassment, rather, I hope to show why I feel that anonymity is priceless.
     One occasion where having anonymity is useful is when you want to talk about an issue that might be uncomfortable discussing openly, as seen in Coleman's article.  The writer mentions "medical patients and mothers discussing sensitive issues" and being much more able to seek help under a pseudonym than with their own identity that can be seen by anyone. The goal is to be able to comfortably talk about otherwise stigmatizing subjects.  I might also add (even though it has been mentioned previously countless times), that a breach of anonymity can hinder our ability to have necessary discourse on controversial issues.  As Coleman puts it, "Anonymous expression has been foundational to our political expression since its inception."  If we are unable to express our views in a productive, yet protected fashion, we may as well not have a First Amendment.  Imagine amplifying the effects of trolling when you have an opinion the troll disagrees with.  They could possibly find out much more information about you that could be extremely harmful.
     However, I may have the wrong idea entirely.  If you have any contrasting thoughts on the subject, I encourage you to comment.

Gun Control Laws...Again???

       As I was thinking of what to blog about, I overheard the news on the TV in the kitchen discussing new updates and political issues on gun restrictions. So why not?
       In Mrs. Pinkwasser's government class, some of you may know that a recent topic of discussion has been about gun control, for it has been brought to light due to all of the recent mass shootings, school shootings, and other gun-related violence in public places. You've probably been asked a million  times, "Do you think stricter gun laws would decrease the amount of shootings in the United States?" I personally have a simple perspective, as I do believe it would somewhat decrease the violence. I say somewhat because something tells me that a lot of people who have a motive to harm others for no particular reason, illegally have these guns in their possession, so what would a law really do? Criminals don't care about laws. That's the way I look at it. Marijuana is/was supposed to be "illegal" in the United States, but does that stop high schoolers and other young adults from buying, selling, or smoking it? No.
      I recently asked my father what his insight on this was. He says yes, that stricter laws would slow down the occurrences of shootings. He says the problem is that they need to stop selling the guns like AK-47's and other semiautomatic rifles that can be altered into automatic weapons. These weapons are not necessary for self-defense, "they're just cool to have, but it is the 'cool' putting people in danger." He claims that they can't do anything about the people who already own these guns, but they can possibly stop selling the bullets for them. Put some laws on that!
      It is terrible that the world's answer to everything is killing people. It sucks even more that so many people believe background checks are and will put a stop to all of this. It is the people who have absolutely no criminal record that are committing crimes. If I remember correctly, Stephen Paddock's history was "squeaky clean."
    What do you guys think? If gun laws can't fix this, what can? Speak up.

I am Cardi B

   Right now you’re here reading my pathetic blog post because of  the title,and you’re probably questioning why you even clicked on this in the first place?Well BOOM you have been trolled and believe it or not it’s your fault.

   In my opinion, people who are victims of “trolling”  leave themselves vulnerable for “attack”, this is something I tend to see frequently on Twitter.Due to everyone “clapping back” when they see a post that they do not like.It seems as the person isn’t  expecting such a harsh response, but boom they got one !!And that’s because they decided to go out their own way to comment on a thread or by bringing up a topic that is bound to turn some heads.So yeah I'll say it again it’s their fault, they knew what they were getting their self into when deciding to comment on a Twitter thread.Just how you knew this post wasn’t going to be about me being Cardi  B ,since it clearly says my name next to the title;But here you are reading.Just to make this clear this isn’t a post justifying trolling, it’s more to show that some people troll because they’re “triggered.”

Example:

https://twitter.com/arianalubellitv/status/917544446648094720

Under the Bridge

Trolls live under a bridge, where they can never be seen. Should they ever leave the gap in which they live, they'll be exposed to the others that live above. Online trolls are no different. They live under their bridge so they can hide whilst barraging mean insults and comments on others. Online anonymity is their impregnable shield. It allows them to avoid the humiliation that comes when they come in to contact with those that they attacked. It renders them nigh invulnerable on the webs of the internet. Removing it would create a bridge between the real world and the internet; one that would have no arcs for trolls to hide underneath. However, it is that same anonymity that protects us, as regular users, from the dangers of the internet. It bars away the dangerous stalkers and predators from accessing our private information. It is a double-edged sword that both gives and removes danger from the internet. What do you, my peers, think? Should we simply remove Online Anonymity and force the trolls from under the bridge? Or are we fine with the status quo?

While reading "What Happened When I Confronted My Cruelest Troll", I felt a lot of different emotions from shock, anger, and disgust on how Lindy West's online trolls have harassed her, not only on her work but for her looks and more. She states that, "the volume and intensity of harassment is vastly magnified for women of color and trans women and disabled women and fat women and sex workers and other intersecting identities" which displays that as we have always been pushed from a young age to embrace our differences, it is these differences that may make us victims of trolling. Society, while striving for diversity and uniqueness, has also created an idea of normal with the "fieriest trolling" coming from straight white males who victimize those outside their circle of normal. So, although we have been told that it's okay to be different, is it really? 

Everyone's Different

On every topic whether it be abortion, religion, gay marriage, gun control there have been multiple arguments and many different opinions. That means that not a lot of people will agree with one another. Whenever someone states their opinion online and we don't agree with them, we should not attack them by leaving inappropriate or hurtful comments. It makes more sense to argue with that person by stating your opinion and why you believe your opinion is true, but attacking the person simply because you didn't agree with them is not right.

In ERW today, we began reading Lindy West's article "What Happened When I Confronted My Cruellest Troll" and I wasn't surprised that she was being trolled since she is a writer and she publishes her work online. However, I was surprised to find out that someone trolled her by using her father's name who had already passed away and created a fake Twitter account. This troll also had the guts to call her father Donezo meaning he was done because of his battle to prostate cancer. To think that someone would not only go out of their way to troll her but to make an account under her father's name is just cruel. I could only imagine how much that hurt her to see her father's name pop up in her inbox even though she knew he was dead. No matter how strongly you disagree with someone it does not give you the right to attack a person and constantly insult them. Argue back and state your opinion but don't tear someone down.

The Sad Lives of Trolls

     When we think of internet trolls. We think of mean people who like to ruin other people's life. This is due to them having failures in their own life and they will resent anyone who they believe  to have achieved any kind of success. They usually have dark personalities and are antisocial. Maybe it's just me, but I feel bad for them. The fact that they have to break someone else down to get a sense of joy is terribly sad. They are so broken and can't seem to find an escape out of their life. Sometimes it's hard to see the bad guys point of view. But once we hear their story we can see them in a new light. From that one fairytale we know so well(Sleeping beauty). To hearing a new stories  perspective of  Maleficent( bad guy in sleep beauty). We can get a new perspective from something we thought we knew so well. I'm not saying online trolls have the right to do what they do. But what I'm saying is if you read a trolls comment. Just assume their life isn't that great, so they want to take down any bit of happiness you have. Just look at the comments and keep going. Don't let them swallow you into there world of pity. If their words hurt you just remember, " Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you have ever been to stand back up taller than you ever were."(anonymous) If someone knocks you down you will be stronger. Knowing that their words don't affect you.

    In the article Yes, anyone can become an internet, posted by Stanford News and written by Taylor Kubota declares that anyone could become an internet troll. Taylor states that, the internet gives people away to post anonymously and with this tempting power, that only a click away anyone can uses the unchecked power. There have been studies about who becomes a Internet trolls and the results are shocking. When they did the test almost everyone became trolls in some sort of way, but it was also do to people being in a bad mood and also it seems that people tend to troll at night when they are in the worst of mood, just go to bed. the list goes on and on to why trolls do what they do, it just never ends.The study also tries gives some ways to prevent trolling in some way, like shadow banning that doesn't shows that the post has been flagged to the person who has been trolling, yes that is a good idea right there. This post has just blow my mind even though, I knew people can become trolls, It is just that the studies that have been done and research is just flawless, I mean the post is from stanford. Some people just don’t know how to take out their anger and just have to take it out on other people, just because your in a bad mode doesn’t mean you take it out on others, Just leave others alone.

Are minorities a main target for trolls?

Fortunately, trolls aren't mainly targeting minorities, but that also makes it unfortunate since they can target anyone they please. With the advances of social media, people are very vocal about their opinions. People post about their favorite sports teams or about their favorite songs at the moment but these are based on opinions. Yes they are personal opinions but they may change over time. Nonetheless it is very frustrating to get comments like "that music is gay" or stuff like that. Now if opinions can change, how is it different to get trolled about something you can't change? That's where I draw the line between Trolling and cyberbullying. The article "Internet trolling: quarter of teenagers suffered online abuse last year" by Aisha Gani, shows us that minorities or people with disabilities receive online trolling all year round. This type of trolling carries more weight than making fun of your favorite songs or sports teams. Our favorite songs can change, but we can't change the color of our skin or the fact that we can see or not. Most of the online damage is caused from trolling (the annoying, ignorant comments) But what people fail to see is how cyberbullying is affecting minorities. Fortunately, the article also talks about how there is a growing number of people online who support those who have been verbally abused by cyberbullies. So if you were to come across a negative comment, try to comment something positive to balance it out. 

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/09/internet-trolling-teenagers-online-abuse-hate-cyberbullying

Isn’t Our Government Great?

Our government is so great. For instance, we get free healthcare. So if you are severely sick or you are on the verge of dying do not worry about it! The government has your back. Also, since there is no concerns for taxes you are guaranteed one-hundred percent of your paycheck. So there is no need for a constant concern about stretching your money out to last longer from the salary from your job. Beyond the issue of finance there is a complete trusting relationship between the people and their government. The United States' government never leaves anything confidential. They always inform their people with everything they are doing. In the twentieth century there were a few wars that the United States fought in. What makes the United States such an astonishing country is the fact the government gave citizens the choice to fight in the wars. Therefore, each citizen got the opportunity to want to put their life on the line for their country (you can thank our past presidents for that choice). BUT WAIT! None of this true. In fact it is the exact opposite, is it discouraging to say that the United States' government comes off as being completely against their own people. So here I am as a troll pointing out the flaws in our government. I figured it would be quite alright since I have every right to speak my mind. Regardless of the damage it can cause, but is it okay because my first amendment says so.

5 Out of the 10 Types of Online Trolls

1.  The Insult Troll

Ø  This type of troll hates on anyone and anything for no apparent reason. They pick on others to try and get a rise out of them, just because they know they can piss people off.

2. The Persistent Debate Troll

Ø  Also known as “Mr. Right,” these trolls tend to argue with others online to try to prove what they say is right and why everyone else is wrong. They don’t accept any type of defeat in an argument even if they know that they are wrong. Therefore, these trolls always have to have the last word in an argument.  

3. The Grammar and Spell Check Troll

Ø  These trolls love to correct others to make themselves look good. They like to point out mistakes made online and use them against the people who made them.

4. The Forever Offended Troll

Ø  This type of troll appears to not get what “Don’t take it personal” means. They love to play the victim even when they know that things that have been said were only jokes. Their goal is to just make others feel bad for them, which can piss off certain people because they usually know that these trolls are faking it.

5. The All Caps Troll

Ø  These trolls aren’t out for blood, but like to stir things up by yelling at others online using cuss words. Sometimes they do it because they don’t have anything else better to do, or to get people to disagree with them.  

>>  Source: https://www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894  <<