First, stop, take a deep breath, and realize that it's nothing personal. There are people on the Internet who will follow others around just for the sheer "fun" of getting a rise out of them. If you react to them, you are playing into their hands, and making the game fun. That said, here's what we recommend: Step 1. Alert the Answerbag staff using the Feedback link at the bottom of the page, or emailing admin[at]answerbag.com. Please let us deal with the trolls and don't try to "fight back" or chase them around giving them negative ratings. This will just lead to escalation. Step 2. Relax.

I just post the following:

ignore them!!

I vote for C. Although, sending unsolicited e-mails sounds pretty attractive as a way to make everyone think "hey, that SB really got his knickers in a twist. Maybe he needs a hug..."

Id say, blow it off, the people that are trying to get you upheived, will be glad to see you distressed. Don't bring yourself down to their level.

I say you should take out a billboard complaining to all the motorists on the busiest interstate highway in your town. That way you can get maximum exposure for you pitiful plight.

though I feel your pain I vote for choice C

I vote for B. A rigorous email campaign so I can garner some sympathy points to offset the severe shock and trauma! However I'm afraid it may back fire in your face. If I'm not mistaken, there are laws about using Interstate e-mail to defraud and defame others. Carrying on a smear campaign is a tort (potential for civil action)! Of course I doubt there are many people who would actually try to file this suit. But if things got too far out of hand, there are people who would pursue it I'm sure.

NOTE: Although the two questions are dissimilar enough to not be duplicates, the powers-that-be have declared my original question (which accrued fifty billion points before the staff shuffled all the answers to their current home) read: "I've been DR'd eight times in the past six days. Should I a) scream "Help! Call 911 - I'm being trolled!!" b) send out unsolicited email notices to people who won't care, or c) just suck it up and blow it off?" A bunch of people replied to that question, so - if any other answers here seem a little off, now you know why. Sometimes "duplicates" aren't true duplicates. No biggie. Just thought you'd like to know. EDIT: When I asked my question about being DR'd eight times in six days, I was more or less poking fun at a user who's been emailing other users about how high-level Answerbaggers have been trolling AND downrating (her words, not mine) her account. I checked this person's stats Saturday night - information, BTW, that's available to everyone on AB and found that in reality, she's actually received only TEN downratings in the last 27 days! Here's the thing, and we all do it to some extent, unconsciously: I'm certain she believed people were indeed trolling her account. See hard evidence of a few negs on your feedback page, and BOOM! Fright, anger, and doubt creep into your mind, and infect your thoughts. Next thing you know, that shadow in the corner of a half-darkened room is a sinister, ten-foot tall ghostly thing, waiting to wrap icy fingers around your throat. But flip on the light, and the shadow's gone. Fear and anxiety conjure up smoke and mirrors inside our minds. Not to get preachy or anything here, but there's a passage in the Bible that says, "Know the truth, and the truth will set you free." In this case, I hope learning the truth set this person free.

i vote for c.

I think Answer C would be your best choice here Jodie. It may not do much when you call 911, and it may cause even more distraction if you choose Answer B. They're just points anyway. But then again, if massive trolling is occuring, there's always the feedback and the e-mail as well too. =)

I'm being trolled right now by a punk named happygolucky. He is anything but happy go lucky. He is an unstable idiot. He can only DR me 2 points at a time though. Anyway, yeah, good question. I don't really have a good answer though sorry. I'm not begging for points. He's only gotten me for a small amount so far.

Sorry to hear that. I guess you can do what I am doing, option C. I hope you get enough +'s to ease your pain ;-)

blow it off of course

Eh I've been DRed probably 6-8 times TODAY so I wouldn't worry about it.

You should definitely send out emails to everyone because we would love to hear about your downrating stories! You could make new friends too! :)

I propose a solution that involves the use of a blow torch, a HAM radio, and several tons of dynamite attached to a jetpack worn by a bear flying over loch ness during a chess tournament. Gracie, who took my jetpack..

I'd try to make sure I wasn't being rude in my answers and write better, more helpful ones if I could. Or else if I don't think there was anything rude or controversial in my answers, realize several people disagreed with me and just suck it up. It happens. It happens to everybody. It doesn't lower your point total, only your percentages. Oh well. Life happens here on AB.

Eight times in six days? That's like once per day. That doesn't seem like much :) I would just blow it off as regular AB stuff.

hey at least it's not like YA where you get violations where they remove your answer and you have no clue why and can't get an explanation from anyone. Here's two more points. :-)

Bastards! They got you too! Sound the alarm!

i wouldn't worry about it you have certainly racked them up here!!! there is a method to your madness...

don't worry about it --it seems to be happening to a lot of people. It says far more about the people doing it than it does about you:)

your lucky your not on yahoo or the trolls would have had you suspended by now !!

10 in a week is often fatal, whatever you are going to do you need to do it soon!

I'd go with C but it's been a while since I've gotten that much hate thrown my way! Feel free to Email me bout it if you like to tell me bout it, even to just get it off yer chest Lass.

Report it via Feedback (link at the bottom of the page) http://www.answerbag.com/feedback_edit and completely ignore the trolling in the mean time.

Ignore em..

buy an ax?

Report it in feedback or report it to a CL.

Just ignore it.

fight back like a Banshee. and cut off it's head.

Don't feed the trolls!!! Ignore, ignore, ignore..... If you are being severely trolled like 8-10 DRs all in a row over different questions and you are concerned you can approach the staff about it from the Feedback button at the bottom of YOUR profile page. Take a screen cap of the evidence so you can show them or save for future reference. But remember, just because you've been DR'd a few times, it doesn't mean you have a troll, just someone who disagrees with you.

Ignore it... If it's bad, report it (for example http://www.answerbag.com/a_view/2841769 - 4 DRs in a row? That's WAY past coincidence and totally ridiculous. Go to that question, feedback it, and report the trolls. Remember it's the weekend, so it might take the staff a bit to get to it. And for questions like this, on which EVERYONE was DRed for even answering, report IT. WE may not be able to tell who's doing the DRs, but the staff, I'm sure, CAN. (They just don't show it to us for fear of DR wars.) If there's no valid reason for the DR (the questions are good - and they are, or the answers are good - and they are), the trolls will get theirs in the end. Like I said before... Just continue being your sweet self, keep that occasional "hot head" in check, and YOU will be fine. (And if the trolls go away for a few days, then come back, consider that they MAY have been PBed, blame you and are back at it... Report 'em again, so they can be PBed again, and later, if they continue, banned.) You could also take a couple of days off. Most trolls don't have a good attention span and will go away when they're not getting to you or your friends.

Nothing you can do except thank them for their kind attention if you cannot ignore them.

Trolls feed on attention. Asking how to combat them gives them attention. Just ignore them and they'll move on to someone else. After all, the negative points don't impact anything.

Track the troll down, tie him/her up, and throw human feces around his/her house. What? Never seen southpart?

Ask us to up rate you! Screw them trolls

They just jealous cuz you so cute!!! *********** PS, not sure if you know this. But you can turn the ratings off so you don't have to see it.

Just keep calm. Don't make eye contact, and don't subscribe to the theory that points even really matter. Do your thing, and they'll do theirs. Don't let it bother you. That's why they do it...because they know it gets to you.

There's a group of billy goats that kick troll a$$. WIsh I had more leverage to help remedy, but ya got me wee lil 2 :) Trolls nip at me too.. no biggie, points are kinda pointless...unless... do you get free T-shirts for being rank? teehee

I'm in the same boat Freedom. It's as if you're an outcast if you speak your own mind.

These questions should help: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/326229 http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/100647

*** Y * A * Y *** you have arrived!! Good job, ABer.

Please don't let the trolls silence you or change you! Ignore them. Sooner of later it catches up to them. You can also contact Admin using the feedback link at the bottom of the page, send them a link showing trolling, and ask for their help. They have a lot of requests to process, so please be patient.

That means you have made into the elite A/B club, WooHoo, way to go, congratulations! Your movin on up!

Wow, you've got your own groupies now! Just ignore them. They are sad, bitter, lonely people who can't stand it when people they decide they don't like are actually happy when they are miserable. Send feedback, flag them if they are offensive or abusive. And when all else fails, make sure you have some of this...

There should be a shotgun behind the sofa.

Ignore them. They'll go away... eventually.

i will uprate you plus 3

A couple more points just for you :-)

get used to it, there's plenty here that will downrate you for just about anything...but here's some points!!

Well being I am just a greenhorn here. I may not be able to help much here, but I'll give ya my two cents. 1. I would say just try and not feed the fire, & most likely it will soon go out. 2. If it for some reason it continues. I would say contact the staff in feedback & let them deal with it. Thats one of the reasons their there for. Like I said before tho, I am just a greenhorn at this, trying to learn more each day. And with all my FRIENDS out here. I know if I need any advice, they will be just a few clicks away......Good Luck & Take Care my FRIEND. .......Plus 5 for your question......................M.C.S.

usually post several troll questions after ive had a severe downrating, sometimes it brings them out of the woodwork. it doesnt really bother me as it seems im getting a gathering of friends who uprate the questionanswer that has been trolled anyway, the only ones i have with bad ratings are ones i spelled badly and dont make sense.

try a 12 gauge enema

i usually get pissed off and just ignore it. one of my questions got downrated -1 then -5 then uprated +5 made me laugh.

Run a trolling motor over them!!

the best way to deal with a troll, is dont do a darn thing. dont retaliate by going to a moderator. dont give them any written responses. dont get involved in any dialogue what so ever. just ignore them. its about karma.... just let it go. so you lose some points, big deal. you can make them up quickly just by asking a few questions. dont by a whyner with a question saying woe is me, why am i being downrated. that is really lame. just let it all slide. I think the trolls are staff, just trying to get you agitated. so just play the game and ignore them. totally.

Tell a coat...

Embarrass them.

Tell a coat.But i checked your feedback and i don't think you are being trolled :P

Send a feedback (link found at the bottom of the page) inform the staff. As only they know who rates who. Keep in mind that being down-rated does not mean your being targeted by a troll. When several question and answers in a roll all negs then you may have a troll if in fact your questions or answers was not deserving down-rating. Best thing to do is nothing as the negs we get do not take points away from our totals just the question or answer itself which does not affect your total point earned. If it bothers you simply shut off your ratings by going to your profile page and clicking on the checked box beside where it says ratings and you will not see them. Any public attention such as pointing out you been hit keeps the trolls happy and coming back. knowing your bothered will keep them hounding you like a stray dog. Don't feed them and the troll dies as it has nothing to gain by causing you grief.

Spit out the lure.

nothing!

I don't know who they are so I can't chase them. they do know I'm upset, I think all of AB knows. I try not to takes it personal, but 7 or 8 timeds in 24 hours is pissin' me off. One, I wouldn't care, but all those??

Dr. phil put it succinctly. Those who give you problems are only as annoying as you allow them to be, and extra attention and/or labeling/name calling is emboldening terrorists, er, trolls.

I always just ignore it now. The points don't come off of your total anyway, they are just used to rank answers.

report the activity using the feedback link on the bottom of the question page.

You need to get yourself to an alchemist immediately. Troll blood contains evil humors and if you were infected this might result in a slow but very painful petrification process. This is not fatal, of course, but if you don't nip it in the bud, a Philosopher's Stone may be required to "quicken" your blood, and let me tell you, that can be a very expensive procedure (though non-invasive. I hear that these days they can have you out of the ceremonial chamber and back home in less than a fortnight!) Most larger villages have a 24 hour Emergency Alchemist on staff. If you are not within a days ride of one of those, your best bet is to go to your local barber or surgeon for a blood-letting. (I also hear that experimental studies with leaches (yes, leaches!) are producing some promising results.) The blood-letting is only a precautionary measure and will not, of course, reverse the petrification process but it will slow down the crystallization and buy you time to get to a board certified alchemist. And of course it never hurts to sacrifice a small woodland animal to your primary diety.

go get a rabies shot.

hey it happens, not the end of the world!

rickroll him

take a deep breath and move on. dont sweat it. the more you sweat, the better the chance you will get another visit from other trolls.