Do you know the best way to piss off someone in a passive-aggressive manner? I know it! It’s “The Internet Troll” – A new breed of exasperation and sometimes entertainment depending on your encounters. The point of trolling is just to sarcastically vex people regardless of how! These Internet devils roam the web looking for their target and those that happen to fall prey to their clever manoeuvre soon find themselves in a feverish conversation with a person they’ve never met. They make sure they are heard, post provocative mostly ridiculous things, attack you personally and the worst of all try to justify themselves with CAPS LOCK letters because they believe only their opinion matters the most. This can lead to the most toxic relationship online one can have without even taking any efforts to impress the person. How strange is that?

Trolls have always been present throughout history upsetting people in their own horrifying ways. But the invention of the internet gave trolls a convenient vehicle to mask their identity, with some added fuel!

Nobody can afford to ignore their online reputation, be it individuals or companies. To protect yourself or your brand from trolls, the best thing you can do is assess the situation and figure out the best method for responding. If you act irrationally with an emotional response, trust me your troll wins because that’s what they want to happen. We must deal with trolls in a calm, cool, collected manner and here’s how!

1. Focus your energy somewhere else

Trolls come around to get you angry, frustrated or uncomfortable with their cheap thrills. (We are not Sia, we don’t love cheap-thrills).

Why would you want to give them intention they so desire? No matter how hard it might be, ignoring a troll is the best way that most likely will let the troll go away. However, this approach can sometimes backfire giving a signal that you lack spinal strength and invite further trolling.

If you choose to answer, be careful! They’ll be looking for an excuse to keep the trolling rolling!

2. You got somebody’s back

You don’t necessarily have to fight back against the troll if you have got your reader’s back. Rely on your army to bell in and fight battles for you. This can be an awesome thing to happen if your supporter is well trained in ass kicking.

3. Let the facts speak for themselves

Put down your troll with a cold hard truth. Citing real-life facts on these internet monsters shine bright in front of their baseless and provocative arguments discouraging them to get involved on your platforms. Keep a spirit of fairness, transparency, and consistency!

4. Diffuse with Humor

To master the art of handling trolls, master the art of humor. Being humorous and witty at the same time can prove to be the most effective internet battling art to light up the situation and also rid the trolls of their fuel.

5. Be creative

Creative Knockdowns can be a perfect thing to let your troll know you’ve messed with the wrong person. Arm yourself with the knowledge to drop on your own word missiles.

6. Establish a policy

Almost every platform on the Internet has community policies that clearly detail what kind of comments are allowed and be outlined on your website and social media accounts. Create one and also remind users of being respectful in your social space. If they don’t point them back the comment moderation rules. Still the same! We’ve special treatment for them outside.

7. Block or ban them

You cannot let anyone screw your day with their nasty comments. To knee jerk, the desire of trolls, ban them altogether or disable comments from your posts. However, this eliminates any sort of discussions among your online community.

8. Delete comments

Not a recommended approach because there’s nothing a troll likes more than a reason to troll.

9. Online Tools

There are anti-trolling tools and hell banning tools available online to prevent trolls from taking over your online community. These tools have the power to monitor activity on your site and approve or remove inappropriate comments. Try Perspective, Robot9000, SMC4 software to end up internet cage fighting.

10. Build a friendly community

Trolls are a bitter truth of internet and you’re probably going to encounter them one day. Staying on the offense is important but remember the whole world is looking at you to see how you handle them. Be positive and responsible to try to build a supportive community that will stand by you.

11. Listen

Sometimes you are not dealing with a troll but with someone who is overly sensitive and wants to be heard. Hear them, try to help and they’ll most likely appreciate it.

12. Correct mistakes

We all learn. If someone catches a mistake or is offering constructive criticism, correct it and let the person know about it. This can surely turn them towards your loyalty.

Trolls are not likely to go anywhere soon. Try to implement the above strategies that are fair and effective and can help you stay focused on your goals instead of the trolls.

Have you ever had to deal with an online troll? How did you handle it? Share in the comment section below.