Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush



What goes through the mind of someone who trolls Facebook's RIP pages in order to leave messages like "Rot in Piss?"

What sort of person does that? What do they really look like? What do they sound like?

The BBC took it upon itself to try and meet one of these people, just to measure their charm level and the cut of their jib.

In a piece of footage unearthed by The Next Web, a BBC reporter tracked down a troll in Cardiff, Wales, who goes by the handle Nimrod Severen. Astoundingly, his real name is a lot less romantic: Darren Burton.



In a show that aired Monday night, the BBC showed how his postings to various Facebook RIP pages were brutal, bigoted, and sometimes racist.

Burton looks like so many large, smoking men whom you'd see in a British pub. He didn't deny the reporter's accusations that he posted vile material.

But what about the unknown (to him) people whose pages he trolls? "Do you think about the effect it has on them?" asked the BBC's Declan Lawn. Burton's response: "Yeah." What does he think about them? "F*** 'em," Burton said.

Burton then asked Lawn to consider whether he was, in fact, breaking the law.

Some might imagine racist speech is definitely breaking the law. England's soccer captain, John Terry, is facing a court case, after he was accused of directing a racial epithet at an opposing player. (Terry was stripped of the captaincy this week.)

Burton believes that Facebook allows him to say whatever he likes. "Facebook is an open forum," he insisted. He also believes that the courts wouldn't punish him, in his eyes, severely.

Referring to a previous case, in which time served was very short, he said, contemptuously: "Nine weeks? Nine weeks in jail? What's that?"

Somehow, people have come to believe that the Web is a place where everything can be said. Some companies appear to foster the notion.

For example, when Facebook was reluctant to take down Holocaust denial pages, the company's reasoning was: "The bottom line is that, of course, we abhor Nazi ideals and find Holocaust denial repulsive and ignorant. However, we believe people have a right to discuss these ideas and we want Facebook to be a place where ideas, even controversial ideas, can be discussed."

Some might take this to support the expression of ideas (however crude and cruel) that might generally be regarded as repugnant. Others would deem Burton's expressions as merely hateful and mindless and not ideas at all.

The whole BBC Panorama program is available in the UK, but not in the U.S.

So many enjoy their anonymity on the Web. It can give so much. But, in this case, there is something suitably chilling about putting a face to the words, a face to the nasty, heartless, pointless thoughts that pollute not merely the Web, but humanity itself.
Double edged sword this internet is.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
justice
OctoPoster
+978|6711|OctoLand
lol

somebody found his address and posted it in this group

http://www.facebook.com/NimrodSevernAKADarrenBurton

I think he is going to have a lot of shit thrown at him and his house.

Last edited by justice (2012-02-08 03:20:24)

I know fucking karate
1927
The oldest chav in the world
+2,423|6643|Cardiff, Capital of Wales
Before you ask, Ive never heard of him
Toilet Sex
one love, one pig
+1,775|6541

it'd be funny if he had his windows put through daily
Jaekus
I'm the matchstick that you'll never lose
+957|5148|Sydney
What a horrible human being. Anything he gets his way is fully justified IMO.
Benzin
Member
+576|5968

1927 wrote:

Before you ask, Ive never heard of him
now you have
Macbeth
Banned
+2,444|5555

Racism court
eleven bravo
Member
+1,399|5229|foggy bottom
land of the free, eh
Tu Stultus Es
Camm
Feeding the Cats.
+761|4938|Dundee, Scotland.

eleven bravo wrote:

land of the free, eh
Whoever told you that is your enemy
for a fatty you're a serious intellectual lightweight.
m3thod
All kiiiiiiiiinds of gainz
+2,197|6641|UK
america
Blackbelts are just whitebelts who have never quit.
13urnzz
Banned
+5,830|6467

m3thod wrote:

america
Fuck Yeah!
m3thod
All kiiiiiiiiinds of gainz
+2,197|6641|UK
negatory
Blackbelts are just whitebelts who have never quit.
Adams_BJ
Russian warship, go fuck yourself
+2,053|6592|Little Bentcock
New reporting has come to tracking down guys that leave unsavoury messages on a website?
KEN-JENNINGS
I am all that is MOD!
+2,973|6602|949

Meh, it's one of those human interest stories.
Adams_BJ
Russian warship, go fuck yourself
+2,053|6592|Little Bentcock
9/10 internet users probably wouldn't even know what a troll was
wah1188
You orrible caaaaaaan't
+321|6430|UK
It's from Panorama they actually cover quite a couple of interesting topics.
13/f/taiwan
Member
+940|5668
when are they going to do bf2s?
Kmar
Truth is my Bitch
+5,695|6570|132 and Bush

For some reason I was expecting something at least moderately clever or defensible out of his mouth.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
-Sh1fty-
plundering yee booty
+510|5443|Ventura, California
The vast majority of trolls are unintelligent idiots who cannot make an intelligent post and therefore resort to starting arguments.
And above your tomb, the stars will belong to us.
UnkleRukus
That Guy
+236|5006|Massachusetts, USA
Good self observation shifty.
If the women don't find ya handsome. They should at least find ya handy.
Beduin
Compensation of Reactive Power in the grid
+510|5720|شمال

13/f/taiwan wrote:

when are they going to do bf2s?
الشعب يريد اسقاط النظام
...show me the schematic
13/f/taiwan
Member
+940|5668

Kmar wrote:

For some reason I was expecting something at least moderately clever or defensible out of his mouth.
i was to. they caught him with what seemed to be his wife and child. i'm sure that had an affect on his behavior.

what exactly did this accomplish for the bbc though? seems like a waste of time and resources on their behalf.

Last edited by 13/f/taiwan (2012-02-12 08:50:53)

jord
Member
+2,382|6648|The North, beyond the wall.

13/f/taiwan wrote:

Kmar wrote:

For some reason I was expecting something at least moderately clever or defensible out of his mouth.
i was to. they caught him with what seemed to be his wife and child. i'm sure that had an affect on his behavior.

what exactly did this accomplish for the bbc though? seems like a waste of time and resources on their behalf.
they're a tv network, they make tv shows that are hopefully somewhat entertaining/widely viewed. they're not setting out on some campaign to end internet trolling.


youre a waste of time and resources xxx
13/f/taiwan
Member
+940|5668
what's the xxx for?
jord
Member
+2,382|6648|The North, beyond the wall.
they're kisses

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