Posts Tagged ‘trolls’

Cleaning up my feeds, I came across a month old Kottke post where he muses about the broken window theory as it relates to online communities.

For those unfamiliar with it, in its most simple terms, the broken window theory postulates that if a window in a neighborhood is left unmended, other windows will soon be broken, too. More generally, it emphasizes perceived community standards as a basis for action: if I think this is a community of respect and good-nature, I am more likely to act similarly.

In a recent post, I argued that viewing anonymity as the proximate cause for negative behavior is not only false, but dangerous. However, Kottke writes,

Unchecked comment spam signals that the owner/moderator of the forum or blog isn’t paying attention, stimulating further improper conduct. Anonymity provides commenters with immunity from being associated with their speech and actions, making the whole situation worse…how does the community punish or police someone they don’t know? Very quickly, the situation is out of control and your message board is the online equivalent of South Central Los Angeles in the 1980s, inhabited by roving gangs armed with hate speech, fueled by the need for attention, making things difficult for those who wish to carry on useful conversations.

Certainly it is true that trolls benefit from anonymity, but I can think of plenty of trolls from my online experience who are happy to disrupt communties openly.

But I think Kottke misses the point of the theory. The broken window theory advocates quick post hoc reparative action. Trolls should be condemned and spam deleted, so that the next would-be troll doesn’t see the “broken window.” Online or off, would-be trolls and criminals will inhabit the community, but the broken window theory exhorts us to constantly fight against them, regardless of name or identity.