What does this dynamic [of social isolation] mean to the progressive troll? In his virtual world, he feels the need to “represent” as a loyal member of the online tribe. So when a hostile target comes into view – e.g., the self-proclaimed neocon Donald Douglas — there is a competition among the trolls to make the most vicious attack possible. Through these attacks, the troll who excels others in obxnoxious thereby enhances both his self-esteem and his status within the virtual community.RTWT.
A narcissistic quest for admiration — if only self-admiration — is therefore deeply implicated in the behavior of trolls. Their comments are neither informative nor entertaining, because that is not their purpose. They are engaged in destructive activity and expect to be admired for it by others who share their opinion that the target is worthy of destruction.
Their relevant peer-group (whose admiration they seek) are not people they actually know in real-life, but rather their fellow members of the ideologically organized virtual community. And this sort of behavior is not limited to blog trolls.
Robert's representative troll is c u n d gulag at Mahablog, and by implication Repsac3, who was also trolling the thread there.
And as "this behavior is not limited to blog trolls," Robert's further example is our old antagonist Barret Brown, who's now blogging at Ordinary Gentlemen. Barret responds to Robert: "R.S. McCain accuses me of being a violent militant." (Folks will recall that Ordinary Gentlemen is the blog home of uber weasel E.D. Kain, who, like Repsac3's nihilist horde, mounted a campaign of workplace intimidation against me. Barrett's an okay guy, but E.D. Kain's a spineless freak-nozzle loser who also fits into Robert's theory of narcissistic progressive hatred. Perhaps I'll develop that out a bit more later ...)
Added: From Robert, "Nothing Says ‘Merry Christmas’ ... quite like the threat of a libel action ..."
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