Sole Purpose of a Troll?

The word "troll" is subjective, but in the particular case that we are looking at in class is the internet troll. In Farhad Manjoo's article, he describes trolls as "agitators who pop up, often anonymously... apparently intent on wreaking havoc... their aims are unclear, their intentions unknown, their affiliations mysterious." I think Manjoo's statement conflicts itself because he says that trolls' intentions are unknown, yet he says they are apparently intent on wreaking havoc. I believe that the sole purpose of trolls is to elicit a negative response and provoke other internet users for their own amusement. A while back when I actually had time to be playing massive multiplayer online games, I remember falling victim to trolls. What certain people only can do to others including me definitely made me distraught at a young age. Other than this seemingly petty situation, I have not been a victim in serious trolling.

Lindsey West deserves praise in the way she deals with her countless number of trolls. I think that her article "What Happened When..." was written for others to empathize with her along to make a claim, but I still don't understand how she was able to keep calm in her circumstance. The hatred towards her became an orthodox thing that she would refer to it as "white noise". However, since she is a feminist who writes about "big, fat, bitchy things that make people uncomfortable", I might go against her in this case. But I have not seen her written works. Anyways, the fake twitter account of her father definitely crossed the line, but she still continued her career. I still wonder why people would spend so much time to try and shut her up, while they can be doing better things in life. Lindsey West gets paid doing what she does, but her trolls probably do not get paid for spreading hatred. What they do is a choice, which is Miss West's claim in this article. What people choose to do and say affect the world we live in.

Why do such people exist? Trolls are difficult to contain, so they will always be there. As what Manjoo says they "reflect base human society in all its ugliness." In a society like ours, there will always be those who will troll for the heck of it. Technology today just provides more means for them doing so.