SlideShare a Scribd company logo
1 of 37
Download to read offline
@stubbornella




                       DON’T FEED THE TROLLS!
Thursday, May 31, 12

when I worked at yahoo there was a mailing list called devel-frontend. It should have been a great place to share
information across teams, but it was so nasty no one would dare to ask any questions. They were afraid. So everyone
sat in their corner, not sharing, and not learning as much as they could have. Sad!

I’ve included my twitter user name “stubbornella” above because there is a test I’m going to show you that I think
you’ll want to try later. I’ll tweet out a link to it after the talk.

I’m a consultant. I mainly spend time going in to big companies and helping them sort out their giant CSS files, my
job inherently rubs people the wrong way. I’ve worked hard to learn not to take that personally and I want to share a
bit of it with you today.
DEF. TROLL - PEOPLE WHO SEEK
                                 CONFLICT




Thursday, May 31, 12

At a yoga and mediation retreat in California, I spoke to an Italian researcher about the difficulty she was having with
the other academics she worked with as part of the EU in Brussels. She said that the senior person in her domain was
aggressive and forceful. She felt she had to match his vitriol in order to keep from being run over. At the point I met
her it had been going on for six years. She was exhausted.
SOME PEOPLE ARE ENERGIZED BY
                        CONFLICT.
                                        If you aren’t, you will always lose,
                                      if you play the game by their rules.




Thursday, May 31, 12

What I noticed from the italian researcher’s description was that this guy pretty clearly thrived on conflict. The more
she fought back, the more energized he became. The inverse was true for her. She thrived on collaboration and
connectedness. The more they fought, the more drained and depleted she became.
WHO ARE YOU?




Thursday, May 31, 12

Do you prefer a collaborative or combative environment? Figure out what kind of person you are, and you’ll know a
lot about how you want to interact with the world. (though, even if you are collaborative, sometimes you will still
choose to deplete energy when conflict is required). Decide what tone you want to have, and carry it through to your
interactions.
TROLLS FEED ON ATTENTION
                         You get more of whatever you give your attention to.




Thursday, May 31, 12
IF YOU ONLY RESPOND TO ASS-HATS
                       Your life will soon be full of ass-hats




Thursday, May 31, 12
intentionally redirect your attention




                       SOFTER, GENTLER, MORE
                       CONSIDERED OPINIONS
                                          tend to get lost in the fray.




Thursday, May 31, 12

We need to intentionally turn toward them, give them the recognition they deserve. The best ideas are not always the
loudest.
SOMETIMES A TROLL IS NOT 100%
                       TROLLISH




Thursday, May 31, 12
RESPOND TO THE HUMAN
                                                   Human
                                                    13%




                                                               Troll
                                                               87%


                                           Troll                               Human
Thursday, May 31, 12

Even within a single person we need to turn our attention to their human bits rather than their trolly bits.
“This is stupid. You have no idea what you are talking
                       about.

                       The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to
                       avoid an IE7 bug.”




Thursday, May 31, 12
“This is stupid. You have no idea what you are talking
                       about.

                       The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to
                       avoid an IE7 bug.”




Thursday, May 31, 12
Potential responses
                                                                 #1:
                       “This is stupid. You have no you. Who are you calling stupid? You
                                              F*&% idea what you are talking
                       about.                             can’t even spell.

                       The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to
                                                               #2:
                       avoid an IE7 bug.”    You don’t have to be rude. I’ll fix the IE7
                                                     bug in the next patch.

                                                               #3:
                                             Thanks for the bug report, I’ll fix the IE7
                                                      bug in the next patch.


Thursday, May 31, 12
BLOG: DON’T PUBLISH EVERY
                              COMMENT
              You are responsible for your readers and the tone of the discussion in your space.




Thursday, May 31, 12

I felt obligated to let anyone speak in my blog comments until finally I realized, this is my house -- if people can’t be
civil, they aren’t invited. I am responsible for keeping that community collaborative for my readers.
TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET?
       When you reply to someone who is being a troll, you give them more attention. You are
                              also responsible for your followers.




Thursday, May 31, 12

Maybe the best thing for a troll is to be ignored!
MAILING LISTS
                If a mailing list goes off the rails, release something cool. Distract, distract, distract.




Thursday, May 31, 12

I’m pretty impressed by the OOCSS google group. We have managed to have almost entirely collaborative interactions
over the last several years. When things have seemed less productive, I do not reply to that mail, instead, I release
something cool, or ask an open ended question (that is ideally more interesting that the trolly-thread).
HACKER NEWS
                       These people don’t care about your project, they are purely there for trolling.




Thursday, May 31, 12
WHY DO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES
           HAVE MORE OR LESS TROLLING?




Thursday, May 31, 12
RECOGNIZING TROLLS
             There are several different types. Once you recognize them, they become part of a
                                           pattern. Not as upsetting!




Thursday, May 31, 12
JEALOUS TROLL
                       “I did everything you did, only five years ago and better.”




                              http://www.flickr.com/photos/34585748@N00/321902708/sizes/z/in/photostream/
Thursday, May 31, 12
THE GRAMMAR NAZI
                 “Go back to school and learn to spell, then maybe someone will take your ideas
                                                   seriously.”




                                           http://www.flickr.com/photos/cali4beach/6039415545/

Thursday, May 31, 12
BIASED TROLL
                       Humans are subtly biased - pattern matching machines. We
                           expect others who do what we do to be like us.



Thursday, May 31, 12

Sexist, racist, etc. This kind of troll has a big blind spot. Usually, they can’t see that they aren’t treating people fairly,
or are failing to be compassionate about someone else’s experience.
SCARY TROLL
                                                 “How long are you going to lead the web astray
                                                          before you just disappear?”




                       http://www.flickr.com/photos/56380734@N05/6937763971/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Thursday, May 31, 12
GET SUPPORT
                                      ideally, without feeding the trolls




Thursday, May 31, 12

Get to know others in the community, talk to them privately, let them know you are being trolled or bullied, find ways
to isolate or exclude the troll if ignoring or confronting his/her behavior doesn’t work.
TAXONOMY OF TROLLS
                       http://tantek.pbworks.com/w/page/19403022/TrollTaxonomy




Thursday, May 31, 12
AND, INTERNAL TROLLS
                         Harder to identify, because most of us have a
                         vested interest in believing we’re not ass-hats



                              http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/3786803863/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Thursday, May 31, 12
WE’RE ALL TROLLS SOMETIMES




Thursday, May 31, 12
INTERNAL TROLLS FEED ON
                             INATTENTION
                         To avoid feeding your inner troll, you must *notice* it.




Thursday, May 31, 12
WOMAN IN TECH




Thursday, May 31, 12

A few years ago, I wrote an article about my experiences as a woman in tech. Talk about a way to bring out the trolls!
It was also amazing because I met so many female developers I never would have otherwise known. Anyway, it
generated so many comments on my blog that moderating them became a full time job for 3-4 days.

Someone had linked in the comments to Project Implicit, a research project out of harvard, and since I’m also a data
geek, I wanted to see what I could learn about the state of my brain.
PROJECT IMPLICIT
                                                    Uncovers bias.

                                       http://goo.gl/2601D


Thursday, May 31, 12

Project Implicit has a very creative way of teasing out biases, and if you are open enough to seeing yourself clearly it
can provide you with a very interesting view of yourself.

It is a little game in which you sort words & pictures into different bins.
Thursday, May 31, 12

The first test I did was to see if I was racially biased. First, I sorted white people and black people into different bins.
Agony,
            Joy,                                             Terrible,
        Love, Peace,                                         Horrible,
        Wonderful,                                            Nasty,
         Pleasure,                                 Happy       Evil,
         Glorious,                                            Awful,
         Laughter                                             Failure,
                                                               Hurt




Thursday, May 31, 12

Then I sorted positive words and negative words into bins.
NEXT, THEY COMBINE BINS




Thursday, May 31, 12

So, you might sort positive words and white people to the left, and negative words and black people to the right.
Then they flip it. All the while, they’ve been measuring exactly how long it took for you to do the sort. A kind of
psychological timing attack.

If it takes you longer to do the sort with a particular combination than it does with the other, it implies that that sort
caused cognitive dissonance, therefore bias has been uncovered.
I AM NOT RACIST




Thursday, May 31, 12
BUT, I AM SEXIST




Thursday, May 31, 12

I did the test and found it easier & faster to sort women and home-related words and men and work related words.
At first I thought “no way!” But thinking about these issues had changed me. I began to notice that I spent less time
replying to email from women, I subtly expected them to be less technical, less interesting, and therefore less worthy
of my limited free time. That is awful to admit, but it is the truth. I was sexist.

-- the test results fit with what I saw in my own behavior, but was very hard to hear.
CHANGE IS MADE BY SIMPLY NON-
            JUDGMENTALLY NOTICING THAT
                THINGS AREN’T RIGHT

Thursday, May 31, 12

I started noticing all the ways that I was subtly biased against women in tech, and, in doing so moved back to the
center. I didn’t try to overcorrect (which would be awkward), I just noticed and tried to be forgiving with myself
because sometimes, part of being human is to be a troll. We all have trolly bits.
GROUP IQ
Thursday, May 31, 12

If you find yourself having both troll inclinations and human inclinations, you might want to consider group IQ when
you decide how to behave. A study was done to test the IQ of teams relative to the IQ of individual members.

Certain teams performed above the level indicated by their individual IQs and others underperform markedly. The
difference researchers found in the groups was their level of collaboration & diversity (in particular the number of
women in a group is highly correlated to positive group IQ outcomes). I work to quell my inner troll and uncover my
biases so that I can collaborate more effectively.
@stubbornella



             WE CAN MAKE OUR COMMUNITY
                     STRONGER
                       if we learn not to feed the trolls




Thursday, May 31, 12

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

How to optimize your nonprofit website like a boss
How to optimize your nonprofit website like a bossHow to optimize your nonprofit website like a boss
How to optimize your nonprofit website like a bossWhole Whale
 
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective, Ajax ...
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective,  Ajax ...The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective,  Ajax ...
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective, Ajax ...Nicole Sullivan
 
5 Mistakes of Massive CSS
5 Mistakes of Massive CSS5 Mistakes of Massive CSS
5 Mistakes of Massive CSSNicole Sullivan
 
Attribution Theory ppt
Attribution Theory pptAttribution Theory ppt
Attribution Theory pptAbhishek Panda
 
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social MediaHootsuite
 
Designing Teams for Emerging Challenges
Designing Teams for Emerging ChallengesDesigning Teams for Emerging Challenges
Designing Teams for Emerging ChallengesAaron Irizarry
 
Visual Design with Data
Visual Design with DataVisual Design with Data
Visual Design with DataSeth Familian
 
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 20173 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017Drift
 
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Niche
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your NicheHow to Become a Thought Leader in Your Niche
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your NicheLeslie Samuel
 

Viewers also liked (14)

How to optimize your nonprofit website like a boss
How to optimize your nonprofit website like a bossHow to optimize your nonprofit website like a boss
How to optimize your nonprofit website like a boss
 
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective, Ajax ...
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective,  Ajax ...The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective,  Ajax ...
The Cascade, Grids, Headings, and Selectors from an OOCSS Perspective, Ajax ...
 
5 Mistakes of Massive CSS
5 Mistakes of Massive CSS5 Mistakes of Massive CSS
5 Mistakes of Massive CSS
 
Social perception
Social perceptionSocial perception
Social perception
 
Attribution theory
Attribution theoryAttribution theory
Attribution theory
 
Attribution Theory ppt
Attribution Theory pptAttribution Theory ppt
Attribution Theory ppt
 
Self concept
Self  conceptSelf  concept
Self concept
 
Self concept
Self conceptSelf concept
Self concept
 
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolutionConflict resolution
Conflict resolution
 
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media
12 Small Businesses That Found Success on Social Media
 
Designing Teams for Emerging Challenges
Designing Teams for Emerging ChallengesDesigning Teams for Emerging Challenges
Designing Teams for Emerging Challenges
 
Visual Design with Data
Visual Design with DataVisual Design with Data
Visual Design with Data
 
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 20173 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017
3 Things Every Sales Team Needs to Be Thinking About in 2017
 
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Niche
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your NicheHow to Become a Thought Leader in Your Niche
How to Become a Thought Leader in Your Niche
 

Similar to Don't feed the trolls

You are *not* an idiot
You are *not* an idiotYou are *not* an idiot
You are *not* an idiotAnge Albertini
 
10 secrets to sustainable open source communities
10 secrets to sustainable open source communities10 secrets to sustainable open source communities
10 secrets to sustainable open source communitiesElizabeth Leddy
 
Better Responses When in Conflict
Better Responses When in Conflict Better Responses When in Conflict
Better Responses When in Conflict Paul D. Casey
 
Better Response to Conflict
Better Response to ConflictBetter Response to Conflict
Better Response to ConflictKen Vermillion
 
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital media
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital mediaDigitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital media
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital mediaVernon Joseph Go
 
Chisme en el trabajoo
Chisme en el trabajooChisme en el trabajoo
Chisme en el trabajooeduardobarco
 
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: Edinburgh
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: EdinburghWhat Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: Edinburgh
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: EdinburghDawn Foster
 
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall Analysis
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall AnalysisIn April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall Analysis
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall AnalysisSarah Jimenez
 
People Hacks
People HacksPeople Hacks
People HacksAdam Keys
 
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexlBex Lewis
 
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building CommunitiesWhat Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building CommunitiesDawn Foster
 
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homework
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homeworkCuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homework
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homeworknoreenleozencuanzon
 
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolution
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and ResolutionTYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolution
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolutionosswatch
 
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip Down
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip DownWhy You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip Down
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip DownMartin Mongiello
 
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019BBC
 
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance Collaboration
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance CollaborationIntro to Wikis and More on Distance Collaboration
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance CollaborationKrista Kennedy
 
Systems Thinking & Social Media Notes
Systems Thinking & Social Media NotesSystems Thinking & Social Media Notes
Systems Thinking & Social Media NotesSysparatem
 

Similar to Don't feed the trolls (20)

You are *not* an idiot
You are *not* an idiotYou are *not* an idiot
You are *not* an idiot
 
Group Work
Group WorkGroup Work
Group Work
 
10 secrets to sustainable open source communities
10 secrets to sustainable open source communities10 secrets to sustainable open source communities
10 secrets to sustainable open source communities
 
Better Responses When in Conflict
Better Responses When in Conflict Better Responses When in Conflict
Better Responses When in Conflict
 
Better Response to Conflict
Better Response to ConflictBetter Response to Conflict
Better Response to Conflict
 
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital media
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital mediaDigitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital media
Digitally disrupted to disruptors: youth's role using digital media
 
Chisme en el trabajoo
Chisme en el trabajooChisme en el trabajoo
Chisme en el trabajoo
 
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: Edinburgh
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: EdinburghWhat Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: Edinburgh
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities: Edinburgh
 
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall Analysis
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall AnalysisIn April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall Analysis
In April 2009 Jane Mcgonigall Analysis
 
People Hacks
People HacksPeople Hacks
People Hacks
 
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl
#PremDac16: Can you see me? with @drbexl
 
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building CommunitiesWhat Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
What Science Fiction Can Teach Us About Building Communities
 
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homework
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homeworkCuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homework
Cuanzon, noreen leozen m. selfie homework
 
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolution
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and ResolutionTYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolution
TYPO3 Communications Workshop: Conflict and Resolution
 
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip Down
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip DownWhy You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip Down
Why You Deserve A Strong Emotional Strip And Rip Down
 
Mindfullness
MindfullnessMindfullness
Mindfullness
 
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019
Newcastle University PGR Conference 04072019
 
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance Collaboration
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance CollaborationIntro to Wikis and More on Distance Collaboration
Intro to Wikis and More on Distance Collaboration
 
Chismes laborales
Chismes laboralesChismes laborales
Chismes laborales
 
Systems Thinking & Social Media Notes
Systems Thinking & Social Media NotesSystems Thinking & Social Media Notes
Systems Thinking & Social Media Notes
 

More from Nicole Sullivan

More from Nicole Sullivan (8)

CSS Power Tools
CSS Power ToolsCSS Power Tools
CSS Power Tools
 
Taming CSS Selectors
Taming CSS SelectorsTaming CSS Selectors
Taming CSS Selectors
 
The Fast And The Fabulous
The Fast And The FabulousThe Fast And The Fabulous
The Fast And The Fabulous
 
What is Object Oriented CSS?
What is Object Oriented CSS?What is Object Oriented CSS?
What is Object Oriented CSS?
 
Pourquoi la performance?
Pourquoi la performance?Pourquoi la performance?
Pourquoi la performance?
 
Design Fast Websites
Design Fast WebsitesDesign Fast Websites
Design Fast Websites
 
7 Habits of Exceptional Performance
7 Habits of Exceptional Performance7 Habits of Exceptional Performance
7 Habits of Exceptional Performance
 
After YSlow "A"
After YSlow "A"After YSlow "A"
After YSlow "A"
 

Recently uploaded

Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAAnypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAshyamraj55
 
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve Decarbonization
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve DecarbonizationUsing IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve Decarbonization
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve DecarbonizationIES VE
 
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1DianaGray10
 
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxCybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxGDSC PJATK
 
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDEADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDELiveplex
 
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1DianaGray10
 
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...DianaGray10
 
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioComparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioChristian Posta
 
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdfNanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdfPedro Manuel
 
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and HazardsComputer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and HazardsSeth Reyes
 
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )Brian Pichman
 
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Website
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a WebsiteCOMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Website
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Websitedgelyza
 
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership BlueprintEmpowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership BlueprintMahmoud Rabie
 
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdfMachine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdfAijun Zhang
 
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online CollaborationCOMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaborationbruanjhuli
 
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 Workshop
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 WorkshopNIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 Workshop
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 WorkshopBachir Benyammi
 
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdf
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdfIaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdf
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdfDaniel Santiago Silva Capera
 
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.YounusS2
 
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxIntroduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxMatsuo Lab
 
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptx
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptxBuilding AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptx
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptxUdaiappa Ramachandran
 

Recently uploaded (20)

Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAAnypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
 
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve Decarbonization
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve DecarbonizationUsing IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve Decarbonization
Using IESVE for Loads, Sizing and Heat Pump Modeling to Achieve Decarbonization
 
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1
Secure your environment with UiPath and CyberArk technologies - Session 1
 
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxCybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
 
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDEADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
ADOPTING WEB 3 FOR YOUR BUSINESS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
 
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1
UiPath Platform: The Backend Engine Powering Your Automation - Session 1
 
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
 
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioComparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
 
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdfNanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
 
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and HazardsComputer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
Computer 10: Lesson 10 - Online Crimes and Hazards
 
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )
Building Your Own AI Instance (TBLC AI )
 
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Website
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a WebsiteCOMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Website
COMPUTER 10 Lesson 8 - Building a Website
 
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership BlueprintEmpowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
Empowering Africa's Next Generation: The AI Leadership Blueprint
 
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdfMachine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
 
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online CollaborationCOMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
 
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 Workshop
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 WorkshopNIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 Workshop
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 Workshop
 
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdf
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdfIaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdf
IaC & GitOps in a Nutshell - a FridayInANuthshell Episode.pdf
 
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
 
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxIntroduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
 
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptx
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptxBuilding AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptx
Building AI-Driven Apps Using Semantic Kernel.pptx
 

Don't feed the trolls

  • 1. @stubbornella DON’T FEED THE TROLLS! Thursday, May 31, 12 when I worked at yahoo there was a mailing list called devel-frontend. It should have been a great place to share information across teams, but it was so nasty no one would dare to ask any questions. They were afraid. So everyone sat in their corner, not sharing, and not learning as much as they could have. Sad! I’ve included my twitter user name “stubbornella” above because there is a test I’m going to show you that I think you’ll want to try later. I’ll tweet out a link to it after the talk. I’m a consultant. I mainly spend time going in to big companies and helping them sort out their giant CSS files, my job inherently rubs people the wrong way. I’ve worked hard to learn not to take that personally and I want to share a bit of it with you today.
  • 2. DEF. TROLL - PEOPLE WHO SEEK CONFLICT Thursday, May 31, 12 At a yoga and mediation retreat in California, I spoke to an Italian researcher about the difficulty she was having with the other academics she worked with as part of the EU in Brussels. She said that the senior person in her domain was aggressive and forceful. She felt she had to match his vitriol in order to keep from being run over. At the point I met her it had been going on for six years. She was exhausted.
  • 3. SOME PEOPLE ARE ENERGIZED BY CONFLICT. If you aren’t, you will always lose, if you play the game by their rules. Thursday, May 31, 12 What I noticed from the italian researcher’s description was that this guy pretty clearly thrived on conflict. The more she fought back, the more energized he became. The inverse was true for her. She thrived on collaboration and connectedness. The more they fought, the more drained and depleted she became.
  • 4. WHO ARE YOU? Thursday, May 31, 12 Do you prefer a collaborative or combative environment? Figure out what kind of person you are, and you’ll know a lot about how you want to interact with the world. (though, even if you are collaborative, sometimes you will still choose to deplete energy when conflict is required). Decide what tone you want to have, and carry it through to your interactions.
  • 5. TROLLS FEED ON ATTENTION You get more of whatever you give your attention to. Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 6. IF YOU ONLY RESPOND TO ASS-HATS Your life will soon be full of ass-hats Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 7. intentionally redirect your attention SOFTER, GENTLER, MORE CONSIDERED OPINIONS tend to get lost in the fray. Thursday, May 31, 12 We need to intentionally turn toward them, give them the recognition they deserve. The best ideas are not always the loudest.
  • 8. SOMETIMES A TROLL IS NOT 100% TROLLISH Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 9. RESPOND TO THE HUMAN Human 13% Troll 87% Troll Human Thursday, May 31, 12 Even within a single person we need to turn our attention to their human bits rather than their trolly bits.
  • 10. “This is stupid. You have no idea what you are talking about. The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to avoid an IE7 bug.” Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 11. “This is stupid. You have no idea what you are talking about. The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to avoid an IE7 bug.” Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 12. Potential responses #1: “This is stupid. You have no you. Who are you calling stupid? You F*&% idea what you are talking about. can’t even spell. The padding in the first exampel should be a margin to #2: avoid an IE7 bug.” You don’t have to be rude. I’ll fix the IE7 bug in the next patch. #3: Thanks for the bug report, I’ll fix the IE7 bug in the next patch. Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 13. BLOG: DON’T PUBLISH EVERY COMMENT You are responsible for your readers and the tone of the discussion in your space. Thursday, May 31, 12 I felt obligated to let anyone speak in my blog comments until finally I realized, this is my house -- if people can’t be civil, they aren’t invited. I am responsible for keeping that community collaborative for my readers.
  • 14. TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET? When you reply to someone who is being a troll, you give them more attention. You are also responsible for your followers. Thursday, May 31, 12 Maybe the best thing for a troll is to be ignored!
  • 15. MAILING LISTS If a mailing list goes off the rails, release something cool. Distract, distract, distract. Thursday, May 31, 12 I’m pretty impressed by the OOCSS google group. We have managed to have almost entirely collaborative interactions over the last several years. When things have seemed less productive, I do not reply to that mail, instead, I release something cool, or ask an open ended question (that is ideally more interesting that the trolly-thread).
  • 16. HACKER NEWS These people don’t care about your project, they are purely there for trolling. Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 17. WHY DO DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES HAVE MORE OR LESS TROLLING? Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 18. RECOGNIZING TROLLS There are several different types. Once you recognize them, they become part of a pattern. Not as upsetting! Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 19. JEALOUS TROLL “I did everything you did, only five years ago and better.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/34585748@N00/321902708/sizes/z/in/photostream/ Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 20. THE GRAMMAR NAZI “Go back to school and learn to spell, then maybe someone will take your ideas seriously.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/cali4beach/6039415545/ Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 21. BIASED TROLL Humans are subtly biased - pattern matching machines. We expect others who do what we do to be like us. Thursday, May 31, 12 Sexist, racist, etc. This kind of troll has a big blind spot. Usually, they can’t see that they aren’t treating people fairly, or are failing to be compassionate about someone else’s experience.
  • 22. SCARY TROLL “How long are you going to lead the web astray before you just disappear?” http://www.flickr.com/photos/56380734@N05/6937763971/sizes/l/in/photostream/ Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 23. GET SUPPORT ideally, without feeding the trolls Thursday, May 31, 12 Get to know others in the community, talk to them privately, let them know you are being trolled or bullied, find ways to isolate or exclude the troll if ignoring or confronting his/her behavior doesn’t work.
  • 24. TAXONOMY OF TROLLS http://tantek.pbworks.com/w/page/19403022/TrollTaxonomy Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 25. AND, INTERNAL TROLLS Harder to identify, because most of us have a vested interest in believing we’re not ass-hats http://www.flickr.com/photos/shareski/3786803863/sizes/l/in/photostream/ Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 26. WE’RE ALL TROLLS SOMETIMES Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 27. INTERNAL TROLLS FEED ON INATTENTION To avoid feeding your inner troll, you must *notice* it. Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 28. WOMAN IN TECH Thursday, May 31, 12 A few years ago, I wrote an article about my experiences as a woman in tech. Talk about a way to bring out the trolls! It was also amazing because I met so many female developers I never would have otherwise known. Anyway, it generated so many comments on my blog that moderating them became a full time job for 3-4 days. Someone had linked in the comments to Project Implicit, a research project out of harvard, and since I’m also a data geek, I wanted to see what I could learn about the state of my brain.
  • 29. PROJECT IMPLICIT Uncovers bias. http://goo.gl/2601D Thursday, May 31, 12 Project Implicit has a very creative way of teasing out biases, and if you are open enough to seeing yourself clearly it can provide you with a very interesting view of yourself. It is a little game in which you sort words & pictures into different bins.
  • 30. Thursday, May 31, 12 The first test I did was to see if I was racially biased. First, I sorted white people and black people into different bins.
  • 31. Agony, Joy, Terrible, Love, Peace, Horrible, Wonderful, Nasty, Pleasure, Happy Evil, Glorious, Awful, Laughter Failure, Hurt Thursday, May 31, 12 Then I sorted positive words and negative words into bins.
  • 32. NEXT, THEY COMBINE BINS Thursday, May 31, 12 So, you might sort positive words and white people to the left, and negative words and black people to the right. Then they flip it. All the while, they’ve been measuring exactly how long it took for you to do the sort. A kind of psychological timing attack. If it takes you longer to do the sort with a particular combination than it does with the other, it implies that that sort caused cognitive dissonance, therefore bias has been uncovered.
  • 33. I AM NOT RACIST Thursday, May 31, 12
  • 34. BUT, I AM SEXIST Thursday, May 31, 12 I did the test and found it easier & faster to sort women and home-related words and men and work related words. At first I thought “no way!” But thinking about these issues had changed me. I began to notice that I spent less time replying to email from women, I subtly expected them to be less technical, less interesting, and therefore less worthy of my limited free time. That is awful to admit, but it is the truth. I was sexist. -- the test results fit with what I saw in my own behavior, but was very hard to hear.
  • 35. CHANGE IS MADE BY SIMPLY NON- JUDGMENTALLY NOTICING THAT THINGS AREN’T RIGHT Thursday, May 31, 12 I started noticing all the ways that I was subtly biased against women in tech, and, in doing so moved back to the center. I didn’t try to overcorrect (which would be awkward), I just noticed and tried to be forgiving with myself because sometimes, part of being human is to be a troll. We all have trolly bits.
  • 36. GROUP IQ Thursday, May 31, 12 If you find yourself having both troll inclinations and human inclinations, you might want to consider group IQ when you decide how to behave. A study was done to test the IQ of teams relative to the IQ of individual members. Certain teams performed above the level indicated by their individual IQs and others underperform markedly. The difference researchers found in the groups was their level of collaboration & diversity (in particular the number of women in a group is highly correlated to positive group IQ outcomes). I work to quell my inner troll and uncover my biases so that I can collaborate more effectively.
  • 37. @stubbornella WE CAN MAKE OUR COMMUNITY STRONGER if we learn not to feed the trolls Thursday, May 31, 12