The Trolls Among Us
If you want to comment on this article, you shouldn't be allowed to be anonymous.
By Anne Applebaum Nov. 28, 2014
LONDON - If you are reading this article on the Internet, stop afterward and think about it. Then scroll to the bottom and read the comments. Then recheck your views.
Chances are your thinking will have changed, especially if you have read a series of insulting, negative, or mocking remarks - as so often you will. Once upon a time, it seemed as if the Internet would be a place of civilized and open debate; now, unedited forums often deteriorate into insult exchanges.
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***** Moderator's Note *****
"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game because they almost always turn out to be - or to be indistinguishable from - self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time." (Neal Stephenson, /Cryptonomicon/ )
Bill Horne Moderator