"Hello Everyone and welcome to another edition of Privacy Tips, the sister podcast for Stupid Sexy Privacy. I’m your host, BJ Mendelson
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Now, my friends …
The Troll Conversation is a tough one to have.
Every person is different.
Every troll is different.
And every situation involving a troll is different.
A long time ago, I tried to create a Taxonomy of Trolls:
90% of the time, you'll find yourself dealing with a garden variety Troll.
When you do, you should just ignore them.
This is especially true offline.
If you encounter an offline troll — like say at an upcoming protest — just walk away.
Those trolls are there to play "Gotcha."
They want you to react. Usually so that they can then feed content into their Alternate Reality Grievance Machines.
Our goal is to deprive them of that content.
This rule also mostly holds for online Trolls.
Mostly.
If you're like me, and you think it's fun to troll the trolls? You can do that too.

But I don't think you should.
Life is short, step away from the distraction rectangle and the ugly people it empowers.
That brings us to Goblins and Ogres, the subject of today's Privacy Tip.
Privacy Tip: How To Handle Goblins & Ogres
9% of the time, you will encounter a Goblin.
The difference between a Troll and a Goblin is that a Goblin maintains a persistent presence. If you post something, they post something. If you go somewhere, they follow.
If that's happening offline, you should immediately contact the police.
This is not a perfect solution, so we'll be talking more about the role of law enforcement in managing Goblins and Ogres in a future episode.
Because of a Goblin's persistence, and the sometimes lacking response by law enforcement, additional intervention may be required.
For example, If they're persistently posting disinformation about you, the response shouldn't come from you. It should come from your friends, neighbors, and other community members who can respond to what they're saying, calmly and point by point.
Sometimes, you can and should take the Goblin to court.
This is where a good understanding of libel law comes into play. So we'll discuss that in the future too. For now,
That brings us to Ogres.
Creatures you'll encounter 1% of the time. These are clear threats to your health and safety.
Ogres are the ones that require the use of law enforcement to properly deal with.
For example, when you're dealing with an Ogre, you should visit the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center and file a complaint. We’ve included al ink to do so in today’s post.
We're going to spend a lot of time on Goblins and Ogres throughout this series.
With trolls, you know what to do: Ignore them.
Today I just wanted to give you an overview.
I also wanted to share three important points:
-In a world where we need to protect ourselves from Fascists and Weirdos, we're going to need to develop thick skin. Trolling is a part of their Playbook. Not reacting is going to be a big part of ours.
As Sun Tzu teaches, you want to fight on terrain you control. We do not control most of these Internet platforms.
The Fascists and Weirdos do.
-We want you to use these platforms and devices less. We know this is easier said than done, which is why some of our upcoming episodes focus on doing a digital detox.
Using these platforms less takes the fascists and weirdos toys away from them. Your Time is valuable. Your attention is valuable. The less time you spend on these platforms, the better.
Finally, -There are times where action is required. As I write this, I'm working on a Pro Se lawsuit to bring charges against a Goblin.
I've also used my skill set as an investigative reporter to bring to justice to another.
So I don't want you to think I'm suggesting we let the Goblins and Ogres win.
There are instances where action is necessary, and I'm going to show you how to act when it's appropriate to do so.
-BJ
"Today’s episode of Privacy Tips was recorded in Hollywood, California and is sponsored by DuckDuckGo.
It was written, produced, and hosted by me. B.J. Mendelson.
Before we go, I want to give a shout out to the production team at Stupid Sexy Privacy which includes Andrew VanVoorhis, Rosie Tran, and Amanda King.
And, of course, our friends at DuckDuckGo.
If you enjoyed today’s show, we hope you’ll take a moment to leave a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you may be listening.
This won’t take more than two minutes of your time.
You see, we have this crazy goal, and we need your help to achieve it.
We want 5% of Americans to be 1% better at protecting themselves from fascists and weirdos.
Leaving us a review can help make that happen.
That’s because your reviews will help other people find this show.
So, please take a moment to leave us a review, and we'll see you next time on Privacy Tips