The Great Troll Experiment

I'm not sure that's the question the owner, administrators and moderators of Ovusoft.com forums were asking themselves at the start, but either way, they got their answer.

Ovusoft forums are a community made up of mostly women, most of whom joined the site looking for information on fertility, pregnancy and parenthood. In fact, the forums exist mainly to sell Ovusoft fertility software. But, with growing interest in natural fertility methods, and growing numbers of infertile couples in the United States and around the world, the forums quickly expanded beyond their initial role of supporting the fertility software.

By the time I joined in 2003, the forums were divided into many sections, and new ones were soon added. The topics ranged from fertility questions, to current events and debates, to buddy groups for photography and every other common interest the women there could think of. The boards were busy, new members constantly joining, and even though there were typical personality clashes, there was a real comradery among the members.

By late 2006, the number of educated, affluent women visiting the site several times a day were any advertisers dream. Yet Ovusoft officials didn't take advantage of the opportunity, and instead, began making strange decisions that ultimately drove off thousands of members.

Internet Trolls, people who deliberately cause trouble on public internet forums and other sites and often make up outrageous and untrue stories about themselves, began appearing more and more on the Ovusoft forums. Add to that a few drama queens, pot-stirrers and the occasional character that could only be described as insane or unstable, and the scene had been set.

One troll in particular set off arguments in nearly every thread she visited, making outrageous claims about bilking the taxpayers of welfare dollars which she spent on luxury items. Another created an alternate persona and faked a miscarriage. And another left users wondering whether she was a troll or in need of mental treatment when she began verbally attacking people of a certain faith and making statements that she wished some users would be attacked and eaten by alligators. Several other trolls faked pregnancies, tried to shill products and even stole pictures from some of the members.

At first, many of the members regarded the trolls as pathetic and annoying, but eventually, the amount of disruption they caused began to wear members down. They began complaining, in quiet private messages to moderators, about the number of trolls causing trouble on the boards. But nothing changed. Then they began making louder, obvious complaints in threads where the trolls had been baiting, lying and "pot-stirring."

Instead of ridding the site of the trolls, however, moderators and administrators responded by issuing warnings to the members who were complaining about the trolls. Before long, several regular, long-time members had been suspended and the trolls still roamed the forums freely, posting baiting threads and mocking members who had been banned.

By early 2007, the community was divided in two. Those who wanted to rid the forums of the trolls at any cost, and those who felt that the administrators and moderators were being unfairly condemned for failing to rid the community of trolls. New rules were put in place, but many felt they were unfairly applied to members who had openly criticized the Ovusoft administration. A thread was started asking members to talk to moderators and administrators, and just as quickly disappeared. Several long-standing members were banned from the site. Then, even members well-known for trying to "keep the peace" began speaking out, asking the moderators and administrators for answers. Their threads disappeared about as quickly as they were posted. Meanwhile, the trolls continued to post as usual, stirring up trouble wherever they went. It seemed no matter what they said or did, they would not be banned.

The death knell for the once vibrant Ovusoft forum community finally rang when a long-term member started a new community, promising fair and uniform rules, and member-driven decisions. Almost immediately, hundreds of the most active Ovusoft members began deleting their accounts and signing up at the new site. Within just a few days, the new forum had more than 1,000 members - nearly all of them migrating from Ovusoft forums. Even the owner of Ovusoft visited the new forum, noting that he wanted to learn why so many members were leaving.

Ultimately, Ovusoft administration banned one of the most visible trolls. But the others remain at the site. A few of the active members who left returned, but the community is not bustling and thriving like it once was. Many threads that would have received numerous replies in just a few hours now languish for days before they are answered. Although several buddy groups remain, the fellowship that once existed at Ovusoft has essentially died.

It's hard to say whether Ovusoft officials intended to conduct an experiment on letting trolls take over an online community, or whether it came about unintentionally. But either way, other online communities can take a lesson from the forum, and know for sure that allowing trolls to run free actually can destroy a thriving community.