A Twitter friend of mine has a Web comic. I envy her because having a Web comic is always something I fantasized about. I like drawing, I like writing and I like the Internet. What could be better? I even drew a few panels once. Then I realised how much time and dedication it took, and decided that perhaps it was something I should leave until retirement.
Still, at the back of my mind, I always had this kind of nagging that maybe, one day, it was something I would do. No more.
A few days ago, this friend of mine shared a link, and within that link was a reference to the time she'd been trolled.
I followed it and immediately every ounce of envy I'd had for her transformed into tremendous respect. For there, in the comments, were nuggets of wisdom like: "Congratulations to the dipshit who writes this... leaving aside the awful pacing, ridiculously bad art and the complete lack of any creative input...being on this site makes me sick. Stop making comics, stop thinking you're funny and most of all stop inflicting your worthless creations upon an Internet already saturated with worthless morons like yourself."
Cruel critics
This wasn't the only comment. The post in question had been put up on some message board, and it seemed every member of said board felt the need to add his or her two cents.
"Holy shit. Please stop making comics."
"Your comic is bad, and you should feel bad."
"This post gave me cancer."
"I am not exaggerating when I say that this comic is the most horrible thing I've read all year."
"My eyes puke aids when reading your comics."
On and on it goes.
What are you doing people? Why are you breaking the Internet?
Brave few
According to the so-called 1% rule, only one in 100 people online create content as it is. The rest might share it and consume it, but there are only a tiny number of people who are taking the time to put up the cat pictures, videos, blog posts and, yes, Web comics that the rest of us enjoy. Not all of it is good, sure. But the thing is - they say it takes 10 000 hours of practise to become really good at something.
If trolling isn't breaking the Internet, it's certainly stopping it from being its best self.
Some of the best Web comics out there, with the huge cult followings, started out as no more than doodles with pixelated backgrounds. The first videos that a YouTube artist posts are usually not very good. As humans, we learn by doing, by gathering constructive feedback and by dedicating our time and effort and energy to providing material, free of charge, for others to enjoy.
The problem is, when everyone who makes an attempt to put something online is bombarded with unconstructive criticism, harassed and bullied, how many of them are going to put in the extra effort to become good at what they do?
How many kids who start out practising magic on YouTube are going to give up before their second video? Who will let their imaginations run wild in creative blog posts, only to throw in the towel before they've been at it a month? How many future great entertainers and authors are going to be sent to desk jobs because some people on the Internet thought it was funny to chastise them for trying?
We call them "trolls" and the word brings to mind something ugly and stupid. But it's not monsters who write this stuff. It's people, just people like you and me, secure in their anonymity and the distance created by the Internet. They stop seeing those on the other side of the "series of tubes" as people with feelings. They think that getting a rise out of someone who's poured their heart into something is fun, and that the amusement of their fellow trolls is worth more than a person's dignity.
For the longest time, the adage has been, "don't' feed the trolls". Don't give them the rise they seek, don't feed into their intrinsic desire for attention. Otherwise, you're confronted with "ignore it", "let their comments be like water off a duck's back". "You know they don't mean it". The onus has been on the producer of the content to shake it off and keep producing. Some producers might be strong enough to do that. My Twitter friend is still posting her comic. I know I would not be.
Web sites work around trolling by implementing systems where you can't be anonymous, where you must earn credits or be a member of a site before you can post, where your post can be voted up or down. All of this is to prevent other humans from abusing the system. Sometimes comment systems have to be shut down altogether. It seems a pity because those who want to say constructive things are also muzzled. Discussions that could be interesting and intellectually stimulating are rerouted or closed.
If trolling isn't breaking the Internet, it's certainly stopping it from being its best self. It's stopping us, as humanity, from being our best selves.
Sometimes, freedom of speech is cited as an excuse for trolling, but just because you're able to say something, it doesn't mean you need to. There is so much hate and horror in our world. Please, let the Internet be an escape from that.
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