How to Handle YouTube Trolls
Having a video go viral opens up many new experiences. Recently, our church posted a video on YouTube that picked up a lot of speed in a short amount of time. In two weeks, the video, Dance Your Shoes Off, reached over 700,000 views (500K+ on YouTube and 200K+ on GodTube). In the first few days of its release on YouTube, I learned very quickly of a virtual subculture called the Trolls. They are an interesting group of people.
Between the Trolls and a community of angry atheists, our YouTube video was attacked with an increasing number of negative comments and ‘dislikes’. It became so bad, I had to shut down commenting for a 24 hour period before adding it back with moderation turned on. The comments included profanity, hate speech, and sexual remarks. The Trolls found our church Facebook page and posted pornographic images on it. Fortunately, I discovered this within a few minutes over their posting and removed them. In the short time I have encountered this devious subculture, here is what I have learned:
- ALWAYS moderate your comments on YouTube and perhaps other sites as well where possible.
- Once trolls hit your video, turn off commenting for at least 24 hours, then turn it back on. They may come back, but more often they will have moved on.
- Approve negative comments but only if they don’t include profanity, sexual remarks, or serious threats.
- Post a comment explaining why you moderate comments and what criteria you use to approve them. Ban those who are repeat violators.
- Don’t argue with them….that is what they want. You won’t win them over so don’t even try. Be respectful and loving and don’t lose your cool.
- Let the jury of your readers/viewers determine whose comments are more hateful.
- If you have copyrights to your media, exercise them. YouTube responds quickly to copyright complaints.
About Equip Them
Equip Them focuses on technology as tools for evangelism and spiritual formation in the church and family. It is the personal blog of David Drinnon, pastor and Director of Information Technology and Websites at Second Baptist Church, Houston, TX. The opinions and views expressed on this site are his own and do not necessarily represent those of his church.
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