Trevor’s Axiom: The Art of Trolling
In a world where more and more interactions are done online, it’s a surprising fact to learn that we are yet to find a way of getting rid of trolls — to those who aren’t trolls, of course.
No, I’m not talking about the timid fishermen who buy their baits online, but for the sake of mentioning them, let’s start with why “trolling” online is called “trolling” in the first place.
And no, I didn’t know trolling had something to do with fishing either.
What Is Trolling?
The term “trolling” was originally used to describe a way of fishing by drawing one or more baited fishlines through the water. Today, trolling has almost the same meaning, except we don’t catch fish; we catch people and not through water but the internet.
Online trolling is an act of posting inflammatory, insincere, and digressive messages in online communities to provoke or manipulate readers into displaying emotional responses.
We’ve all seen or heard of those rude people who stalk our posts and leave nasty comments for no apparent reason other than to piss us off. Some of us are those rude people who stalk posts and leave nasty comments.
We may hate or like them, despise them, or love them, but we can’t deny that they’re doing a pretty good job at making an online fuss.
But Why Do People Troll?
Well, researcher Ben Radford has been studying the clown phenomenon for years and found that “bad clowns” have evolved into internet trolls.
Trolls don’t dress up but they do tease and exploit human foibles for their own amusement. They also do it “to speak the truth” and gain a response. Just like clowns do with makeup, trolls hide behind anonymous accounts and fake usernames.
In studies conducted in the fields of human-computer interaction and cyberpsychology researchers have found that internet trolling is a form of deception-serving entertainment.
Professor of Behavioural Addiction at Nottingham Trent University, Dr Mark Griffiths stated:
“Most people troll others for either revenge, for attention seeking, for boredom, and for personal amusement.”
Trolling is also connected to aggressive behaviour, sadism, trait psychopathy, katagelasticism, dark humour and the dark triad. They take pleasure in upsetting or harming others. It gives them the feeling of power. They enjoy causing pain and emotional suffering.
It all comes down to humans being needy and selfish brats who just look out for their own needs. We like attention — some of us don’t choose what kind. There is also something humans like that’s called a reward.
Are There Types of Trolls?
Psychology says that people are generally motivated by positive social rewards in their daily interactions with others. In other words, we feel good when we engage with others in a positive and friendly manner.
There is also something called negative social potency. It’s pretty much the opposite of positive social rewards. What it means is that to feel good, individuals must bring suffering to others. People with that psychological trait troll because they enjoy hurting others and will get pleasure from upsetting those they targeted. Responding to them will only encourage them to continue.
The second type of troll, according to CCDH targets public figures who have large social media followings in the hope that they respond. The trolls then have their hateful messages re-broadcast to a wider audience when the target of their trolling, or their followers, respond.
Then, there are the “concern trolls”. They are people who hide behind the false flag pseudonym and their actual point of view is opposed to the one they claim to hold as a troll. They usually post in an attempt to sway the groups' actions or opinions while claiming to share the same goals as them but with professed concerns.
The griefers are very specific in their goal. They thrive from ruining games and experiences for other players. They usually use verbal tactics like insults and other tactics like killing their teammates as well as cheating their way through the game or leaving a group game just before it’s about to start. They don’t enjoy playing the game but enjoy ruining it for everyone else.
Newbies! Many make fun of them without knowing that the newbie is the first to do so. These trolls infiltrate forums and chatrooms. They present themselves as “new members” and ask the most clueless questions until the whole conversation turns into an argument and then collapses in on itself. Their role is sympathetic and in need of help. With this strategy set, they’re waiting for others to start throwing insults their way. That’s when they start pointing fingers and playing an innocent victim.
Sneaky trolls are common in political forums but are spread in other communities too. They pose as someone genuinely interested in the topic, only to write a message that undermines the discussion. They are usually pretending to be sympathetic to other members of the community while simultaneously dissing that same topic and opinion on the other part of the forum.
To end this wild list, welcome the colluding trolls. They work together and join forces to bring complete chaos and destruction to whatever their target is. Using every textbook and anti-textbook tactic they disguise themselves to infiltrate every corner of the targeted community or to turn one community against another one. The war is no enemy to these fellas. They are enjoying every second of victimizing online communities.
What does Trevor’s Axiom Have To Do With It?
From the outside, trolling seems like a group of actions done by a troll. It can also look like a group of actions done by a group of trolls.
That’s because it depends on creating a chain reaction of responses that will do the job for them. In extreme cases of trolling Trevor’s axiom is a theory that might bring an answer to this wild collision that happens when people troll like a boss.
Although the axiom isn’t real, the phenomenon behind it is.
Creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker explained Trevor’s axiom;
“It’s a way in which one person can create a massive reaction on the Internet. Look, person A trolls person B, but it’s not about person B, the troll is trying to push buttons to try and get a reaction from hundreds, eventually creating person C, whose overreaction and self-righteousness will elicit a reaction from persons D through F, who weren’t trolls but can’t help rip on person C. Their reactions lead to outrage person G through N, and it keeps going, generating massive energy, it’s like the fission reaction that leads to a fusion explosion, all bringing out the worst in humanity.”
So, in other words, Trevor’s axiom is a theory of virality created by trolls. Its only purpose is to create chaos for their own entertainment and the entertainment of those that are like them.
It is indeed an online art form created for doing bad things and prevent the troll from getting caught in the aftermath. Although trolling never helped anyone, it granted us with a humorously fictional axiom that in its substance makes a lot of sense.
In the end, all theories that we know today were once just a humorously fictional thesis created by eccentric humans with a lot of spare time on their hands. Who’s to say that Trevor’s axiom isn’t one of them?
