Blogging Tips

Dealing with the Not-Trolls

Written by Deborah Ng from Freelance Writing Jobs

Every blogger has to deal with trolls from time to time, but do you also have to contend with the not-trolls? Right now, I have a not troll visiting my blog on a regular basis and though he’s not vicious or even rude, he constantly questions my credulity.

What is a not-troll?

Someone who comments on blogs to stir up controversy, but in a subtle way.
Someone who politely questions your authority on various matters.
Someone who doesn’t call names, point fingers or make accusations, but manages to challenge your credibility with every comment.
Someone who acts superior over members of your community.
Someone who makes your community uncomfortable.
Someone who makes controversial statements and then publicly wonders why all the hostility.
Someone who drives traffic to his own blog by making you look as if you don’t know what you’re talking about.

The thing about the not-trolls is that they’re not usually worthy of comment deletion. They bring up valid points many times and they’re regular members of your community. Almost every one of their comments stirs the pot, and though they says it’s not their intention to do so, it happens every time and it’s obvious they delight in the debate.

Why isn’t a not-troll considered a troll?

A troll is generally rude and vicious. Not-trolls are polite, productive members of the community. Not trolls add to the discussion and generally make valid points. When they attack it’s very subtle and not too many people know it’s happening.

How do you handle the not trolls?

Ignore them. Like a child who acts up for attention, the not trolls settle down when it’s clear you won’t engage.
Politely send them a request to cease and desist. Invite them to take part in the discussion without the cloaked insults towards you and your community.
Put their IPs in comment moderation mode so you can read their comments first to decide whether or not to post them.
Ban them outright.

While one can generally spot the trolls right away, the not-trolls are a little more subtle. When they insult, attack or stir the pot it’s usually done so politely and almost respectfully.

Do you have a not-troll? If so, how do you handle it?

Written by Deborah Ng from Freelance Writing Jobs
Posted on March 9th, 2008 and filed under Blogging
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14 Responses to “Dealing with the Not-Trolls”

Author comments are in a darker gray color for you to easily identify the posts author in the comments

Sue @ TameBay says:

March 9, 2008 at 9:51 am

It depends on the frequency of the comments. Ignoring them is my preferred method of dealing. But sometimes it becomes obvious that the more you ignore them, the more comments you’re going to get, like a little child yelling for attention. At that point, I start moderating them. “Forgetting” to approve the comment for a couple of days slows them down, and generally means that everyone else has moved on from that comment thread by the time you approve them. And I have banned one person, but largely because when they weren’t being a not-troll, they were being a troll-troll.
Andy MacDonald says:

March 9, 2008 at 11:59 am

Another great article Deborah. Luckily for me, i havent incountered any not-trolls yet, and i hope to keep it that way; however i think blogging is the type of industry where you are always going to get these ‘not-trolls’ they are never going to go away, i think you need to just take it on the chin, and act as professional as you possibly can.

Of course, the other option is to delete all of his comments, but sometimes, a bit of bad comments here and there isn’t a bad thing. It shows that you are open to other peoples voices, whether good or bad. Though, when it becomes the time he becomes personally insulting etc, i think that is when the banning/deleting of comments needs to start.

A good read, thanks Deborah.
Jim | BloggingStartup says:

March 9, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Great description of a not-troll. They’ve not come visiting my blog…yet. But I’ve seen these folks on other more popular blogs. I like your recommendations for dealing with them. Sort of a progressive discipline model. It makes a lot of sense. I particularly like just contacting them to tell them to stop. Make it clear that you welcome their involvement in the community, but not the subtle trolling.
Abbey says:

March 9, 2008 at 2:00 pm

This is the first time I ever heard the term not-troll. Did you make it up? Sounds like they have a serious case of passive aggressive behaviour.
Amanda Fazani says:

March 9, 2008 at 2:00 pm

What a great way of describing such people, Deborah! I’ve had some experience of “not-trolls” myself, both in comments on my blog, on others’ blogs and in personal emails too.

I’ve always tried to deal with this “problem” as politely as possible. You’re so right in saying that not-trolls can make very valid comments about our posts and blogs which we can use as positive criticism in order to make us better bloggers for the long run. Luckily for me, the only comments I’ve ever had to delete are the occasional all-out-spam ones which occasionally slip through the net.

Thanks for posting this! It’s something I’ve had on my mind for quite some time now, and it’s great to know that others have the same views on this subject.
Barbara Ling says:

March 9, 2008 at 2:58 pm

One can always say,

“Thank you for your input.”

And when the complaint is repeated, again, “thank you for your comment.” And again, and again. Sometimes I’ll use “thank you for your input” a second time as well.

Can’t make everyone happy, alas.

Best wishes,

Barbara
Amy Derby says:

March 9, 2008 at 6:26 pm

I ignore these people on blogs I visit. I already moderate for spam and jerks, so if this type of person posted at my blog more than once I’d just delete the comments. I think asking them to stop would just be another joke to them, but that’s just how I see it. I’m glad I’ve only dealt with outright jerks. Passive agressive jerks are more aggravating.
Odzyskiwanie says:

March 10, 2008 at 9:26 am

It depends. At first I did care and tried to explain, but after years of blogging and participating in forum discussions, I got tired and my skin grew thicker so to say. Now I have a great way of dealing with them: I use a flash cookie that makes using my site from the computer that got it really hard. For example 9 out of 10 times someone tries to even access the site, it times out. If they manage to get in, there are several other steps to make their life hard, and the best thing is – this doesn’t look like I’m behind it
InfoDoorway says:

March 10, 2008 at 9:37 am

Wow, that’s sad that someone would continually comment on a blog to “challenge” the writer. I’m always just appreciative of the information I receive as it helps me implement new techniques on my blog. But if I disagreed with something I wouldn’t go as far as to question the writer. If anything, comment on a post and ADD additional information that may be helpful.
Cigar Jack says:

March 10, 2008 at 12:43 pm

I had to laugh seeing this pop up in my RSS Reader. I’m dealing with one of these guys right now.
Internet Marketing Joy says:

March 10, 2008 at 6:22 pm

Luckily, I haven’t really experienced being bombarded by trolls and not-so-trolls..^^