I haven’t been on the Internet much in the last few weeks due to getting through another year of my son’s birthday, the sudden death of my doctor, whom I was quite fond of and who was a great doctor, and the loss of a dear friend I have known for 45 years. So imagine my surprise when I found out that the passive-aggressive “last word” troll who has been following me around over at IM is still busily trying to get my goat with her childish behavior. Given that I am busy with food catering for a funeral and generally give Internet bullies a wide berth, I wouldn’t even bother with this post except that I woke up too early, and you guys haven’t had anything new to read here for a while.
Internet bullies are too prevalent now, roaming the “tubes,” in gangs or alone, leaving a putrid trail of nastiness that they are not held accountable for. Commenting on the Internet has become some kind of war game, with people determined to score points against opponents, even when it destroys all chance of rational discussion or civility. For some, it appears to be a full-time job. Restraint is a foreign concept. Obsessiveness and aggressiveness are the order of the day. And people are so habituated to their aggressive behavior that it gets carried into 3D interactions more and more. It is pretty sad, and it is the reason that my personal Internet usage has dropped considerably in the last year or so. The more bile I find on the Internet, the less time I want to spend there. I prefer to focus on humor, and Internet bullies tend to be lacking in that quality. Luckily, they aren’t welcome here.
For those of you patiently waiting for me to fire this blog back up after my holiday break, I’m almost there. The denizens of PlasticLand have been huddling together in the garage, probably wishing they could hibernate because it has been so cold. We could all use a play day soon.
By the way, if you’ve had too much Internet bile and need something soothing, I recommend On The Way to Critter Farm. Let Roxy soothe your furrowed brow. Let Chester make you laugh.
The Perils of Plastic 
Personally, I think trolls should be banned if they refuse to demonstrate a minimum of manners. I know, I know, first amendment rights etc. However, I believe that we all should be trying to make this world a better place. Applying a 5-point rubric as a sniff test might work. If a troll fails all four points, “poof” the’re gone.
1. The comment doesn’t add anything positive to the conversation, support another positive comment, or pose thoughtful questions.
2. The comment contains ad hominem attacks.
3. The comment is off-topic.
4. The purpose of the comment appears to be to disrupt the thread either by diverting the conversation and/or serial posting several similar comments in a row.
5. The comment attempts to refute the argument of the blogger without posting links to evidence to support his/her argument, thereby adding nothing to the discussion except disruption.
We’re all guilty of some of these from time to time, but someone who fails the sniff test entirely or 3/4 out of 5 deserves to take a forced hike. If the troll grows some manners, you can always allow access again. You would be doing all of us a favor. It would also be helpful if the rest of us would resist the desire to engage the troll. I know, sometimes it is just irresistable. Trolls want attention and thrive on our snarky responses to them. No attention, no fun.
Trolls are never allowed in my house. And the First Amendment does not apply to blogs. My house is a drama-free zone. It is a place to laugh.
Good on you! I wish more blogs would follow that philosophy.
Thanks for that link to “critter farm.” I spotted it on your blog weeks ago and went there. It is a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively), and I enjoy it very much. Sorry you’ve been through so much emotionally of late. It’s tough to lose people you love.
P.S. Trolls should stay under the bridge where they belong.
Trolls belong in airtight rooms with lobbyists while the air is being sucked out.
Someone at IM is implying that Gina is someone with a puppet site.
As the Gina posting at IM has been very active and you mention being off the net while mourning a dear friend and in remembrance of your son, I doubt it.
The dead live in our memories, and their spirit is with us always.
I know Brooklyn was using variations of my internet name posting against President Obama and pro Palin, as well as Curious. Lilly Anne, Lilly Pop, Lilly St Regis. I called her on it.
Someone mimics Sardine Can Woman is saying this.
lilly lily
I’m not sure what your comment means, sorry! Gina does not have anything to do with PoP, nor does anyone here care who Gina is.
The Last Word Troll had twisted panties over looking like a childish fool with no sense of humor. Unfortunately for her, her type is entirely boring and predictable.
Thanks for the words for sis, who is traveling this week.
I’m home and thinking about possible posts as I recover from an arduous couple of weeks.
lily lily, the last word troll who attempts to mock my name is either a liar or has very poor reading comprehension, because she said that this blog is about blow up dolls. She lacks a sense of humor and appears to be part of the new mean girl club over at IM. Silly child. You’d think that a Palin obsessive would appreciate humor at Sarah’s expense, but she is a gatekeeper so she lacks perspective. Her loss. And her use of “insulting” versions of my name just makes it easier to skim over her comments, just like Gina M, whose comments I also skip. The gatekeepers slow down my comment browsing because I have to jump back and forth over them, but then I don’t really care to lurk for days on end at the Palin posts, so it is a minor inconvenience at most.
While it may only be a minor inconvenience to hop over comments, the atmosphere in the comment section at IM has reached toxic levels and I am no longer willing to put up with the stink just to get information I can get elsewhere. So I’m looking around for a couple of liberal leaning blogs with more thoughtful guests and a tighter comment moderation policy. I’ve had several good years hanging out at Gryphen’s place, having good laughs and tracking the Loony Bird. But the bullies trashed all the furniture, and ate all the snacks, and plugged up the toilet. Time to move on.
Willing to wait as long as you need, take care.