The best way to deal with trolls...
Here's some solid advice on how to deal with people like "Gimpy" and just trolls in general. It's probably the most effective method, if people follow these guidelines. Do note that I don't intend to talk to him, or about him any more after this. Spark will be informed VERY SOON, and the Kiwi cops as well.
People like this are usually angry at you, because you didn't applease them YEARS ago. You will literally encounter oddballs online that feel they were wronged by you, often more a QUARTER OF A CENTURY ago, and still want to cause shit in your e-life over it, and hang around parts where others are aiming to belittle you, like on YouTube and Wikipedia. Yeah...
The best method to is to ignore them and not use your megaphone, even if it's evidently annoying. Unfortunately, he (Gimpy) is hanging around this forum and also certain wikis, due to these sites being poorly moderated. That makes him a low-life coward and quite frankly, a piece of shit. But here's what to do.
Quietly update your members about what's going on, a total of ONCE. Repeatedly crying about it and causing a scene invites them back, because they think it bothers you, and the community. This also looks bad if you want members to feel welcome. Ignore any external abuse elsewhere, like on YouTube, but report the hassle quietly. Again, don't air your disdain. Do you know why trolls get bored if you don't reply? It's because you aren't giving them the time of day.
Never reply, even if they say something insulting about your recently deceased uncle, or whatever it is. Trolls love attention and they get that by bringing up subjects that they feel weakens your personality. In my case, referring to my time in jail and fights with Resident Evil fanboys makes him think he has an edge. They will say anything to get their victims to react angrily, even if that means pretending to be from another country, saying they are the opposite sex, having came down in a flying saucer from the rings of Saturn, or uploading childish videos with fake "clues" about who they are pretending to be, because they know their day is close for getting nicked. Whatever! Ignore them. 100% disregard their BS.
Mute them if you can. Usually, they will continue to create more accounts and spy on your activity, or rant at you, not knowing you have silenced them. Go about your day as if the a-hole(s) was never even there. Never reply. Don't physically outright block them. Muter them is better. PM people in PRIVATE, and say to them that there's a "killer on the loose" (a Thin Lizzy reference :D ) and that's it. Do it in private, and if you can, delete the posts he makes quietly, and delete any posts that mention the troll. That includes, naming his or her alts and real name. Never reply directly to these idiots. No matter what...
Keep a note of the harassment by adding it to an invisible section. Moderators can do that, but sadly, we have none on here at the moment. This is useful for reporting. Deleted content = lost evidence. And like I said, no one should be replying to this waste of oxygen. He's a nutter. People like this will attempt to catalogue all your misfortunes and harass you wherever you go, because it amuses them. Watch what you say on forums. Try not to talk about personal issues. That's a bit tricky of course, if you want to say something to other users. But sharing stuff online is a hazard when it comes to fruitcakes like this moron.
And last but not least, if you have real info about the person that is pestering you, like their actual name and ISP info, contact the appropriate party. But please don't reply. Telling this guy he's a real piece of shit is quite satisfying, I know. But it's never gonna make him bugger off.
I hope this is viewed as solid advice, and remember: As hard as it is, don't even reply. Never reply and if these trolls respond to word game threads, ignore that person's post and skip to the next real posting. Never respond. It's just providing food for a prat.
Enjoy your evening... ;)
