As a blogger, I have received online commentary that’s just, well, mean.

Recently, I was called an “idiot” by a disgruntled person (or persona) on Facebook.

I’m okay with people disliking what I write. In fact, I welcome hearing a person’s opposing opinions and thoughts, but calling someone an idiot (and in general, using offensive language) does nothing but promote negativity, and stifles intelligent communication.

These people that say offensive, racist, homophobic, prejudice, mean-spirited things from behind the mask of their computers are called Internet Trolls. Internet Trolls attempt to distract from internet content, harassing and irritating people, and attempt to illicit an emotional response. They are frustrating, rude and (in my opinion) should find something more productive to do with their time.

Here’s a witty, oh-so-sadly-true, video that highlights how ridiculously off topic, random and mean-spirited their commentary is (Warning: Video Contains Offensive, Adult Language):

And because I enjoy irony, I’ll advise you to check out the comments left under this video on Youtube.

Many of the comments eerily resemble this video’s satiric material.

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Editor: Catherine Monkman

Image: (Flickr)