The psychology of trolls
Random blogger consistently replies to trolls
Do you see how unexpected this interaction is? It’s so bizarre, it almost defies belief: Someone sends angry emails, you respond with compassion, and they instantly change. What’s happening here?
Of the trolls I write back to, more than 50% eventually end up saying something like Cliffy did.
“Life is not going that well.” “I’m having a tough time.” “I didn’t even think you were actually reading this.”