Summary
In the article, “Antisocial Behavior in Online Discussion Communities”, the authors characterize antisocial behavior in online discussion communities by analyzing users who were banned from CNN.com, Breitbart.com, and IGN.com. Banned users were found to use controversial language and kept their posts in individual threads, which would get more replies than the average user. Additionally, banned users’ behavior worsen over time as communities became less forgiving and tolerant, resulting in increasing rate of the banned users’ posts being deleted. Using the data collected regarding banned users’ behavior, the authors were able to identify antisocial users based off their post history and certain habits. The data collected and analyzed in this article could assist in better understanding of antisocial behavior and help maintain better, more positive online communities.
Reflection
I found this article to be very interesting as I never thought that there would be a correlation between trolls and antisocial behavior. I especially was interested by the authors’ comment regarding the possibility that rejection from a community might feed a user’s negative antics. Users that purposely try to get attention through posting controversial statements would feel encouraged by the lack of response to try more to get the reaction they are looking for. It almost seems like they enjoy the attention and the fact that they caused other users to get riled up. Thus, I am curious to how the antisocial users would have a chance to redeem themselves as suggested in the article. It is possible that banning might encourage users to try again and make a new account to redo the same problematic behavior as they might see it as a challenge of not getting caught as long as possible.
Questions
- If ignoring a troll encourages more posting then what is the best way to react to one that would allow them an opportunity to redeem themselves?
- What do trolls gain from posting controversial posts?
- Does banning problematic users actually make a difference in regard to the online community’s environment?
