[Noisebridge-discuss] Feeding the trolls

[Susan Werner]

I agree with beth here. Also, "don't feel the trolls" in this context 
sounds too much like "don't stand up for yourself", and men in 
environments (this mailing list and noisebridge) full of woman-hating 
and hella other oppressive and harmful shit trying to police how people
respond to being harassed is SUPER GROSS and is abusive in itself.

People who get harassed (here or in the space) can either shut up about
it or speak out, and often, neither option is very appealing. 

If they shut up, they can get told they deserve the abuse and that them 
staying quiet counts as consenting to it (it doesn't). They often get 
told that the abuser never knew they were being abusive, and that it's 
their fault for not calling them out on it. 

If they speak up, they get can told that they're "creating drama" and 
that they shouldn't "feed the trolls", and they become a target for 
being torn down and trashed and excluded and for more harassment and 
abuse. Everything from the words they use to describe the abuse to how 
they initially reacted to it is fair game for criticism. The person who
actually did the abusive things? Not fair game for criticism.

Unlike lots of issues dealing with making spaces safer and more 
inclusive, this is pretty damn simple: Making it possible for people to
report abuse and harassment from anyone is a necessary condition for a 
space to be anything near safe and inclusive.

-- 
su``not the rack''san

On Sep 29 12:50, M. Elizabeth Scott wrote:
> I feel like there's a big difference between standing up for what you
> believe in and "feeding the trolls". Obviously I don't speak for
> Rachel, but I happen to agree with a lot of what she's said, and this
> response feels very dismissive to me.
> 
> I feel like Noisebridge has a long way to go before it's truly a safe
> space for any kind of discussion, but I applaud anyone who is already
> trying to make that happen.
> 
> —beth
> 
> 
> On Sat, Sep 29, 2012 at 12:41 PM, Jehan Tremback
> <jehan.tremback at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Rachel, has it occurred to you that maybe whoever trolled you was not
> > pursuing a hardcore patriarchal agenda, but simply looking for a reaction?
> > They guessed that you were a person who would be likely to give them the
> > reaction they craved (because they have no life), and it looks like they
> > guessed right. You projecting your own political views onto their mindless
> > act of trolling likely caused additional hilarity. If you keep feeding the
> > trolls, they will thrive. This reminds me of the "eye of the tiger"
> > incident.
> >
> > -Jehan
> >