Dealing with Internet Trolls - the Cognitive Therapy Approach
unarmed.shlomifish.org
unarmed.shlomifish.org
A number of near-trolls are also sincere contributors, but are just incapable of responding to social cues or accepting group consensus.
Indeed. As a moderator on a fairly active IRC channel (on Rizon!), I've seen my fair share of trolling. I remember an instance a few months ago where the room was engaged in trying to persuade a naive person to some viewpoint, gradually growing increasingly frustrated at his lack of acceptance of any points. Then, after a good 20 minutes, he said something to the effect of "Gotcha! I agree with you, but was just trolling.".
In my experience, the most effective method is to mute a troll before they have a chance to stir anyone up. Unmute them a few hours later to give them another chance to participate.