What Is a Troll on Facebook?

No, this isn't the kind of troll on Facebook; it's much less grotesque.

Social networks such as Facebook allow computer users to cast a net far and wide in communicating with each other. The gamut of human interaction can be accomplished on the Web. Then there's the downside: the gamut of human interaction can be accomplished on the Web, including the worst of human behavior. One breed of Facebook Internet ne'er-do-well is the Troll.

Willingness to Argue

The primary feature that defines a Troll is a willingness to argue that borders on glee. A Troll will start an argument, then continue to keep the argument alive over several comments. The Troll's goal is to provoke an emotional reaction and keep it burning as long as possible. Be warned though: argument is a normal human interaction and isn't a guaranteed sign of trolling. Not every argument has a Troll, but every Troll argues.

Public Forums: The Troll's Natural Environment

An argument that takes place on the wall of a personal profile probably doesn't involve a Troll. The average person who has a Facebook account for personal use can reasonably be expected to have vetted their Friends list. Besides, a personal profile wall is going to be limited to the owner's circle of friends. No, the Troll's antagonism is a public spectacle. He will gravitate to Fan pages, open Groups and open Events in order to reach as many users as possible. The exception to that rule is when a personal profile has so many Friends that it could be considered de facto public, such as the profile of a famous person.

Contrarians

There can hardly be an argument if everyone involved in a conversation agrees. Someone has to disagree, and the role of a Troll is to be disagreeable. But a Troll's antagonism goes beyond garden variety disagreement; he has to be the lone soldier in enemy territory. A real life example would be the 2010 "Donald Glover 4 Spider-Man" Fan page, a grass roots campaign to get black actor Donald Glover an audition for "The Amazing Spider-Man" movie. The entire conceit of the page was to support the idea of Glover as Spider-Man, but the group was joined by people who would state, simply, "Peter Parker's white." Rather than create an alternative page, the Trolls argued the point on the opposing side's home turf.

Shock Value

The surest way to spot a Troll is when he posts a statement for shock value. Shock value walks close to contrariness; after all, disagreeing with a group on their home turf can be shocking. But true shock value comes from opposition to a point you might think everyone would agree on. The clearest example of Troll shock value can sadly be found on Facebook events created to find missing persons. If an Event is created for the sole purpose of pulling together support and effort in bringing home a family's lost daughter, the Event's Troll is the person who says "She's probably dead."

References

• Facebook: Donald Glover 4 New Spider-Man