TIL: (Bad Mood x Prior Exposure to Trolls) -> Trolling

[timelets]

Through an experiment simulating an online discussion, we find that both negative mood and seeing troll posts by others significantly increases the probability of a user trolling, and together double this probability.

A predictive model of trolling behavior shows that mood and discussion context together can explain trolling behavior better than an individual’s history of trolling. These results combine to suggest that ordinary people can, under the right circumstances, behave like trolls.


Cheng J, Bernstein M, Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil C, Leskovec J. Anyone Can Become a Troll: Causes of Trolling Behavior in Online Discussions. CSCW Conf Comput Support Coop Work. 2017;2017:1217-1230.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5791909/

As it says in Psalms 1, "Happy is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful."