What do you want us to say to the trolls? "Jews aren't descended from Cthulhu, that flies in the face of all science and common sense?"
Perhaps also "I hope you're trolling and don't actually believe that." and "I'm not going to debate it further since it's so ridiculous, but wanted to just mention lest anyone reading this somehow think this could be true".
Or "that is a silly theory"
The problem is that you have to be somewhat convincing to make it worthwhile, and that takes time. You could just say it's silly and let your authority (hopefully established by sensible sane informed comments within that thread) do what work it can.
One way to frame this is that it's not feeding the trolls if you don't let them upset you.
But how much will it really help to disagree with little argument? Anyone silly enough to believe the troll in the first place may not really notice that your arguments and authority are a lot better.
I'm still not sure this is worth the time it takes. This is probably the bigger reason informed people don't correct trolls.
I do think you've got a point in some places. I have heard people with wrong, harmful beliefs say they must be correct because nobody will debate them on the topic. That's because nobody wants to even engage in their ridiculous and foul topic, lest they become associated with it, or just waste their time.
So I guess I'd say this should be done with an eye to the situation.
I think the solution to this problem would be to make an original, thought-provoking contribution to the discussion. Instead of focusing on saying "this is wrong," try to add new information that is related to the discussion and that could stimulate readers' minds. Also, none of the persuasion examples you gave contained any avenues for third parties to contribute to the discussion, so I would structure my comments so they provide these opportunities.
This is the second article in my series where I analyze Internet culture.
In my previous article, I discuss how people disenfranchise themselves by participating in public Internet forum debates as if they were one-on-one meetings instead of what they really are – the worldwide distribution of knowledge for advancing the human race. In this article, I give an example of this phenomenon in action: the act of ignoring Internet trolls. I argue that this disenfranchisement has allowed the practice of ignoring Internet trolls to unjustly gain wide acceptance, all while preventing people from viewing their Internet discussions in a broader social context. I explore the consequences that ignoring Internet trolls has had on our social fabric. Afterwards, I propose methods for interacting with trolls safely.
On the Internet, there’s a common saying – “don’t feed the trolls.” It’s a way of saying, “don’t respond to people who are just trying to get a rise out of you.” It’s sage advice to follow offline and for many people, it seems to hold true online as well. After all, it dissuades troublemakers from responding to your posts online.
Yet while these people stay preoccupied with their personal online experience, they remain blissfully unaware of the terror they helped unleash on the broader Internet culture. The popularity of ignoring Internet trolls has created a bystander effect where people can get away with being hurtful and intolerant of others online. Instead of doing something about racism, pedophilia, violence, or any other twisted themes that could be promoted by Internet trolls, the most commonly accepted approach is to just let these problems sit and rot. Ignoring these issues isn’t going to let them go away, but as long as people stay ignorant as to where these problems come from and what they can do to stop them, they won’t notice a thing. You would think the Internet would have a lower bystander effect than the physical world, with it being anonymous and all, and maybe it would, but we won’t be able to take advantage of that until this “don’t feed the trolls” movement falls out of fashion.
I should also mention that trolls often don’t believe in what they are saying. Many of them just say whatever they can to provoke a reaction out of others. But remember, Internet comment threads are not one-on-one discussions like people make them out to be. They are a platform for sharing ideas to an audience can implement them into their own lives. So maybe the anon you’re interacting with doesn’t genuinely believe that all Jews are descendants of Cthulhu, but a different reader may think, “hey, they might actually be right!” By responding to disingenuous trolls, one can play a role in how others read those comments, improving the discussion in the process.
There’s a school of thought that ignoring trolls makes them go away, and from a self-centred perspective, this may be true. It makes them go away from the person who is ignoring them. But the troll may simply move on to a different target. Just because someone puts something “out of sight, out of mind” doesn’t mean that they solve the problem.
Now, you have to be careful dealing with trolls or else they will gain a lot of power over their lives. You don’t want to feel harassed or threatened constantly, do you? So, here are a few safety tips I’ve learned from reading about real-life trolling mishaps.
Don’t interact with trolls in a non-public environment. The trolls aren’t suddenly going to take a liking to you, so it’s pointless to interact with them in a one-on-one environment.
Be a decent person. If you appear rapey, disrespectful, etc., the trolls will feel more justified harassing you.
React to them in an emotionally neutral way. Trolls control people by getting them worked up. If necessary, start your comments with “*neutral voice*”.
Restrict responding to trolls, and talking about trolls, to one day of the week. Spend other days of the week talking about other things. This will prevent trolls from Flanderizing you. Show the world that you’re on the platform for reasons other than trolls.