How to Handle the Internet's Worst Trolls | Gameforumer.com - Gaming

The deplorable behavior of a vocal minority has given Xbox Live a well-deserved reputation. Fans know to keep their headsets off it they don?t want to listen to an endless stream of ignorant slurs. Other online game communities maintain equally poor reputations ? ever been a new player in a game of League of Legends or DOTA? As players, we have the luxury of taking our attention elsewhere ? either to single-player or to other games entirely. The developers of these games don?t have that option, the community picks the game, not the other way around. Bound to serve their game?s fans, regardless of how poor, game makers must learn to handle their native populations? trolls and anti-social behavior.

Mike Drach, Producer on the popular ForumWarz game, learned through a long process of trial and error, how to manage the one of the most unruly communities, and shared the lessons he?s learned in a presentation at the Game Developers Conference. With communities becoming more important to the industry, Drach explained how to cope and make the most of the fan base you?re given.

Never take it personally:
Even when it seems impossible, Drach stressed the importance of not letting criticism get under one?s skin. Even after a section of the community undertook a massive off-site campaign that filled sections of the game with crude drawings of dog feces ? the implication being that the game was crap, Drach stated that taking the matter personally would only encourage more unwanted behavior.

Show no weakness (but don?t show off):
?The worst thing you can do is seem ?butthurt,?? said Drach using the community?s favorite loaded word to describe anyone who takes exception to their behavior. Showing that criticism or harassment bothers you will only bring more attacks. On the other hand, making a large show of how little you care will only encourage trolls to escalate their behavior. ?Sometimes the best response is not to engage at all, and never stoop to their level.?

Choose your mods wisely:
Prominent community members don?t always make for good moderators. Reaching out to everyone, even lurkers who read but don?t engage the community can help a game find a good team.

Let the haters hate:
?If you community has trolls, give them the chance to be themselves,? he said referring to the split nature of his game?s community. Normal talk goes into the Civil Discussion forums, while the trolls head over to the Role-Play forum. You?ll find this particular strategy in use in communities all over the internet. Creating a specific lazes faire forum attracts the worst of the worst, allowing the rest of the community to go about their business and actually enjoy the game.

Throw the book at them.
Build and maintain a long list of forums rules so that you can deal out bans to the worst users and justify it to the rest of the community. It?s also important to expressly maintain the right to ban or discipline any forum member for any reason in order to allow yourself the chance to respond to unexpected behaviors.

Keep your enemies close:
As troubling as trolls can be, banning for every infraction will destroy a community quickly. Oftentimes, the most incendiary posters will change their behavior if a moderator or developer simply asks them to knock it off. If that doesn?t work, Drach recommends taking time to think about a problem before banning. Other tools like ?hellbans? (user?s posts are invisible to everyone but themselves) or disemvowelment can do the same job without the problems of bans which can lead much more difficult to control offsite trolling.

Don?t underestimate your users:
The soft touch advocated the last lesson helps prevent retaliation against game makers by community members. Alienated fans, particularly those with a history of anti-social posting, can create headaches for mods when they post shocking or illegal content, orchestrate hacks or scams, or even post personal information about developers.

While ForumWarz isn?t your average AAA online-action title, the principles of community management he laid out could apply to any online community, especially to hardcore games entering the free-to-play arena like MechWarrior, Tribes, and Battlefield.

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