28 votes

Online trolls actually just assholes all the time, study finds

3 comments

  1. [3]
    joplin
    Link
    That’s fascinating and a little surprising. I mean the fact that assholes online are assholes in real life isn’t, but the fact that they found that the other leading theory (that not seeing who...

    That’s fascinating and a little surprising. I mean the fact that assholes online are assholes in real life isn’t, but the fact that they found that the other leading theory (that not seeing who you’re talking to leads to people being meaner or their messages being misunderstood more easily) doesn’t seem to hold up. I would have guessed it was a bit of both, but it seems like it’s not. It also seems like there’s a self-selection bias. People who don’t like conflict don’t participate in forums that are geared towards political discussions that are likely to lead to conflict. This sounds a lot like the evaporative cooling effect that was mentioned here a few weeks ago. (I think it was here?)

    11 votes
    1. [3]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. joplin
        Link Parent
        Ah yeah, that’s the one. I searched for “evaporative cooling” and it showed 2 posts that were about the physical phenomenon.

        Ah yeah, that’s the one. I searched for “evaporative cooling” and it showed 2 posts that were about the physical phenomenon.

        3 votes
      2. [2]
        Comment deleted by author
        Link Parent
        1. Gaywallet
          Link Parent
          Quite a few, by my count.

          Quite a few, by my count.

          9 votes