From the readings and from your experience, what exactly is trolling? How does this behavior manifest itself and what are its causes and effects?
What ethical or moral obligations do technology companies have in regards to preventing or suppressing online harassment (such as trolling or stalking)?
Is anonymity on the Internet a blessing or a curse? Are “real name” policies useful or harmful in combating online abuse?
Is trolling a major problem on the Internet? What is your approach to handling trolls? Are you a troll?!?!?
Anonymity is at the heart of many Internet issues, but anonymity itself does not create conflict; it only enables it. Anonymity removes the ramifications for violating the social norms that protect the dignity of all peoples, allowing bigoted, violent, or ignorant individuals to voice their opinions without fear of reprisal. Worse still, the connective nature of the Internet allows those who share prejudiced beliefs to discuss them, reinforcing their backwards views and shielding them from the larger, more tolerant and progressive societal conversation. In addition, the text-only nature of most Internet communication deprives it of contextual information on sincerity and veracity, allowing strangers to inflame other strangers with barely effort at all.
However, anonymity is also one of the Internet’s greatest strengths. In no other medium can one’s identity be so easily veiled without reducing one’s ability to communicate, and this has enabled many conversations that could not otherwise take place. Whether it is whistleblowing on immoral activities, support for lived experiences of discrimination, or organizing protests of unjust situations, the anonymous Internet has been a powerful force for change. I’m not sure that removing the ability to be anonymous in order to combat negative speech is worth the loss of the Internet as pressure-release for oppressive regimes and discriminatory practices. Requiring a sort of identification to follow you around the Internet opens up a whole host of privacy issues, ranging from advertising tracking to corrupt governments hunting down dissidents. It’s an enormous amount of information to place online, and the potential for misuse is enormous.
Trolling, then, represents a manifestation of some of the grosser aspects of humanity, which is allowed to burst forth hatefully because anonymity causes the individual behind the troll to be stereotyped and vilified. Instead of screening out trollish communications, attempts to end trollish behavior should strike at the underlying causes, such as self-esteem issues, prejudices, and pleasure derived from angering others. These psychological issues affect more than just Internet behavior, and so just treating one manifestation of them is simply hiding the symptoms of a deeper problem. If needed, crowd-voted communication platforms such as Reddit and Yik Yak offer ways to screen out trollish comments without completely sacrificing the open forum the products create.
Encountering trolls can be a frustrating experience, because the reality of the human on the other side is obscured and often deliberately ignored. However, the experiences reminds all of the larger reality that there are people out there whose lives are filled with hate; the Internet just brings us closer to them. We must meet these people with love and compassions, though not necessarily over the same communication: denying trolls of the attention they crave may help to teach them of the uselessness of their comments.
Zach's Ethics Blog 