Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6218837-20141221005607

I've spent a lot of time on this wiki. A lot. And I do realize that we do have a key problem - we tend to "feed the trolls."

For those of you who don't know what feeding trolls is, it's giving them what they want: a reaction, usually in offense. This can range from raging tirades to discussions: "You remember [TROLL X], man? Yeah, they were bad."

And feeding the trolls is basically playing right into their hands: it's giving them: That's why it's a bad thing?
 * 1) Satisfaction at getting to you.
 * 2) A green light for you as easy prey.
 * 3) A reputation.

You may be reading this and nodding your head (inwardly), but you don't know how to avoid feeding trolls? I can help. It's fairly easy. Thank you for reading this. I hope it helps - and that's what my job is. 
 * Keep all conversations to a minimum.
 * Let the admins be the ones who deal with the troll. Admins should keep it strictly professional: "Please stop or you will be banned." They shouldn't say "What are you doing?!" or "You jerk!"
 * Try to avoid discussing the trolls in public. The Graveyard page is a prime example of this: it commemorates every troll in the minds of the people, which is what them darn trolls want!
 * If at all possible, try to "kill the troll with kindness." If they begin to troll you when you are without an admin, be sure to tell them "Hey, how's it going?" and act very normal. They'll get bored of your inert disposition in a while.
 * For example, one time, when a troll asked me a question that the answer was clearly no to (you don't want to know), I said "No thanks, not right now." This defused them, as I didn't shriek in revulsion.
 * Don't let trolls linger! Just don't bother with them very much, and don't let them get to you. Otherwise, they're getting what they want. If you are hurt, just ignore them and vent in private. They won't know.