Opinion: Don't Be A Troll

For the longest time, when you asked me what a troll was, I’d reply it was a funny looking little fella living under a bridge that played traffic cop for goats coming and going. Nowadays, “troll” has a whole different meaning, but more on that later.

We now live in the digital age and the jargon of old may have different meanings as new forms of communication have taken hold. Remember when Spam was just a lunch meat of mysterious origin? We’ve shortened language for ease of quick typing or to fit in social feeds. LOL, BTW, IMHO, LMAO (LMBO for the church folks), etc. all have meaning now as the way we deliver and receive information is undergoing a revolution like no other.
For a time longer than I would care to admit, I thought LOL meant Lots of Love. Well, after a few awkward eMail exchanges, I learned that LOL stood for Laughing Out Loud. So much for my belief for a while that I was loved by many.

There are those who believe the recent events in online history have coarsened the language, shortened it, and have taken meaning from it. I am sure that more than a handful of you reading this column believe this. Right or wrong, unless you just plan to unplug totally from the digital revolution we live in, these are all things we will have to learn how to navigate. So we must understand the jargon and appreciate that the rules of normal journalism have changed.

Back to the troll, it has a new meaning I have more recently become acquainted with. The goal of the troll in this case is to upend reasonable conversation between folks online whether it is eMail communications, discussion boards, social networks, or in comments on a news story.
The troll’s sole purpose is to cause chaos and discord. I guess that’s not terribly new. For ages, some folks have enjoyed this. But, a different type of troll is one I found disturbing. These are called “concern trolls.” These people take on the persona of their opponents in online conversations. Perhaps you’ve seen this in the comments section of a news story related to a more heated political issue. You can’t imagine that someone seemingly of your political slant would say such hateful over-the-top things. There’s a chance they didn’t — they could be a concern troll. Their goal is to make their opponents look terrible and, well, like trolls.

It is a brave new world and one that can be a little intimidating when you are immersed in it. Sometimes the rules for these forms of communication are made on the fly. That’s how fast information travels these days. But, if you are plugged in and even understand the basics, you can appreciate this online well of knowledge and simply ignore those who seek to disrupt and tear down lines of communication.

As an editor, I find this form of news reporting exciting because you can join the conversation and share your insights or opinions on the topics at hand. The ability to debate adds a deeper level of understanding to the news of the day. Just remember, cooler heads always prevail and aren’t drawn in if a person tries to derail a conversation.

Finally, at our site GrowingProduce.com we will do everything in our power to bring you the most accurate and useful information as possible. And, we invite you to lend your voice in our comments section or at our online forum ProduceCommunity.com.

Be aware: We now live in the digital age and the jargon of old may have different meanings as new forms of communication have taken hold.