Section 17.3. Dealing with the Disrupters

17.3. Dealing with the Disrupters

As Groklaw became more popular and began winning recognition, along came the deliberate disrupters. I got my Ph.D. in trolls and astroturfer, you might say, so I'll share with you some things I learned in the University of Trolldom and Astroturfing, because it has a bearing on whether an open legal research project will succeed or fail.

Here's what I know. Trolls are mean. I can't stress that enough. If they see you trying to go to the right, they push to the left. Then they place comments whining that you won't go to the left or insist you ought to be going left but are going right when you shouldn't be. It doesn't matter at all that you are correct in wanting to go to the right. It doesn't matter that it's your decision to make. It doesn't matter that they are interfering with the work you've set out to accomplish. They are spoilers, and the bigger the blotch they leave on your page, the better they like it. There is nothing to do with a troll but delete his comments when you are sure trolling is the purpose. If you are weak in the knees and can't bring yourself to do that, trolls will destroy your open group project. It's that simple and clear. They enjoy destroying what you want to do.

When the open source project is legal research, you also must expect that the side you are working against will show up. They won't be wearing an ID tag. They are essentially spies. Here's how you will know: they work harder than anyone at first, and when they think you are lulled, they try to destroy your reputation and maybe your life, if they have the resources to do so. The interval when they are helping, however, has one purpose only: to gather information to use against you later and to form relationships with your volunteers, so they can undermine from within. It's absolutely essential to identify and either eject or corral such individuals. I can't explain how to do this in great detail until after the SCO wars are over, but it's not impossible to do. Of course, you need a strong stomach and a bit of a tinfoil hat.

I will give just one example. The very first such individual showed up when Groklaw was very new. He began by attacking Linux, then pretended to have an epiphany thanks to Groklaw, and then tried to stir my readers into unhelpful actions. For example, he suggested that everyone send Darl McBride certified letters protesting his actions. Certified letters. Right: SCO would have everyone's address.

Another time, he suggested everyone go to court in Groklaw T-shirts and take PDAs and phones to record the session, which they could stream to Groklaw live. That, of course, would have been a problem. First, the T-shirts would have made participants look undignified, but it would also have made them easily identifiable. This was not helpful. And recording a court session is a violation of court rules. I could just see the headline, so I had to put the kibosh on that fast. I did so by deleting his comments.

I know someone will put up a web site all about this now, but I don't care. You need to know that such things will happen, and you must be ruthless in making sure such individuals don't take over. They will try. Some will be fooled and will criticize you for stomping on the spy's ideas, which he will offer with so much mock sincerity, it isn't hard to comprehend how others accept it at face value. You can't explain publicly that you researched the individual and are reasonably sure they are a spy, and you must just take your lumps. Let them put up web sites. In the end, what matters most is that they are isolated.

Astroturfers are sometimes of that same mind, but usually they just want to steer the conversation their way. They don't want to be kicked off, so they are subtler. We have had a number of astroturfers. I call them the "I used to love Groklaw, but" crowd. Some of them look, at first, like spies. They work harder than anyone, take in all the info they can about you and how you work, and thendiverging from the spy paththey try to steer your project their way. If they fail, at some manufactured moment they publicly find fault with you and your work and loudly make their grievances known to the world, using your own web site and others to try to destroy your reputation. Sometimes they'll put up whole web sites about it. They're mean too, but it's just a job. Nothing personal. They just play-act the emotion.

All three groups will, sad to say, appeal to some of your readers. They deliberately manufacture issues they know will draw followers. If you leave their comments on your site, they will take over the conversation and readers will leave in disgust. If you moderate them away, they will loudly proclaim their love for freedom of speech, and some will join them, not realizing they are being played like violins. The purpose is to destroy your project and make sure it never succeeds. This is something that rarely happens in Linux kernel development, and in my experience it requires tweaking the open source process just enough to keep getting your work done.

Deciding what goes into the Linux kernel is a breeze in comparison to deciding whose ideas can be trusted in doing legal research. You must trust your instincts, and it is one of the most important reasons the majority can never rule when doing research.