Trolls in the Dungeons at Goodreads

by Carla Douglas
@CarlaJDouglas

Image by Dunechaser (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

 TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS!

Do you remember that scene from the first Harry Potter book? Just as everyone at Hogwarts is seated for the Hallowe’en feast, Professor Quirrell staggers into the hall and gasps, “Troll – in the dungeons!” Then he falls to the floor in a dead faint, and uproar ensues.

What is it about trolls, that their might can stifle even the powerful and magical? They’re stupid, ugly, large and scary – and, like ants at a picnic, they’re guaranteed to show up anywhere people gather (online) for community and conversation.

Predictably, then, trolls have been making their presence known in the reviews at Goodreads and have recently stirred up their share of anguish. Others have covered this subject well – Porter Anderson’s Writing on the Ether: When Bad Things (Seem To) Happen on Good Sites outlines nicely the controversy and provides much needed perspective on what it means.

And in his post, The Bullies of Goodreads, Nathan Bransford appeals to reviewers to take a step back and consider authors as people, suggesting that some authors will decide it’s not worth risking publishing their work if this kind of hostility lies ahead for them.

I wouldn’t give the trolls additional space on the page, except that a commenter on our blog – remaining anonymous because of the trolls – suggested that reader reviews should be discontinued entirely, owing to the ease with which they can be manipulated, corrupted and used as a vehicle for personal attacks.

I would not like to see this happen, and it isn’t likely to. With more than 20 million members, Goodreads is a great gathering place for book lovers. It’s good for books, and it’s good for readers and authors, too. And although I’ve said in a previous post that it’s a bit like the comments section of an online newspaper, Goodreads is most often a social space where people meet to talk about books and ideas.

The aspect of Goodreads that resembles online comments, obviously, is the presence of the nasty, negative comments – the trolls. Recently, in an effort to suppress this kind of content, The Huffington Post declared it will make commenters use their own names. You can read GigaOM’s Barb Darrow on the subject here – why it won’t work and how it would stifle engagement and conversation. The Guardian, too, is skeptical of any serious plan to force people to reveal their real names. Read John Naughton’s detailed discussion, Banish the trolls, but web debate needs anonymity.

Is Goodreads responsible for any of the malevolence witnessed there recently? I don’t think so. Granted, they encourage reviewers to use provocative language – as I’ve noted before, they suggest that statements like “This guy can’t write a lick!” or “This book is absolute trash!” are well within review guidelines. Not constructive, perhaps, but pretty tame compared to the kind of personal attacks trolls are known for. In its guidelines, Goodreads is clear that it won’t accept personal attacks on authors or other reviewers, and they have taken down these kinds of comments when they’ve appeared on the site.

Trolls appear any place computer-mediated communication (CMC) occurs, and they aren’t about the books. If you are an author and you’re troubled by the online attacks you’ve heard about, here are three things to keep in mind.

Trolls are poor communicators. If they were effective or even just competent, they would take their arguments with the world elsewhere – maybe they would even write a book of their own! If you’re interested in learning more about troll behavior, read Guy Kawasaki’s (Ape the Book) excellent article, Top 12 Signs You’re Dealing With Trolls.

Trolls aren’t interested in your book. And while their comments are hurtful, the commenters very likely haven’t read your book and therefore have no basis on which to judge. I say this because trolls pretty consistently fit a profile, and they are therefore easy to predict. Earlier this year, journalist Dan Leger spent an entire month reading online comments. To learn what conclusions he drew after that month of torture, listen to his interview (7:00 min) with Carol Off at the CBC's As It Happens or read his column on the subject in the Halifax Chronicle Herald. 

You can trust readers to recognize trolls and troll behavior when they see it. Readers aren’t interested in engaging with that level of commentary. If they were, they would be trolls, too! If anything, harsh negative commentary may have the opposite effect, spurring readers to find out what the fuss is about and read the book themselves.

Enough talk about trolls. Here’s the troll in the dungeon scene from Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone (2001). Enjoy!


Related Posts

Goodreads vs. Amazon Customer Reviews: What’s the Difference?
Amazon and Goodreads: Guidelines for Reader Reviews
What Will You Read Next? Book Discovery in the Age of Too Many Choices