Thread:Trigger009/@comment-24209129-20150920073611/@comment-995426-20150920161651

Well, trolls do like to masquerade as regular people. You know, until you know the tells.

And I should confess. That suspected troll I reported days ago? I wasn't 100% sure he was one, just that I suspected he was one. He could have just been an internet tough kid being a punk.

Unfortunately, all teenagers are technically (kinda) psychopaths, since their inhibitions (along with many other aspects of maturity) have not finished developing yet. I mean, yeah, you have to require people to behave themselves. But on the other hand, you can only realistically trust an average teenager in so many ways. "That's why we can't have nice things." Fortunately, teenagers can still mean better than true psychopaths, and they're still learning from trial and error, so it helps to correct errors with positive reinforcement. But again, unfortunately, on the nameless faceless internet, there are times when it can be impossible to tell a well-meaning 13-year-old editor from a 40-year-old troll/vandal with a severe personality disorder and an axe to grind.

I don't envy you your tricky role in striking a balance.