As the web without the trolls would be boring?

The general media has always treated these figures with great superficiality to highlight only the negative sides, so as to cause a shift in the meaning of the term at the popular level.
Used mostly with a negative connotation, trolls, for most people it's just a tie to be attributed to malevolent entities that act in the shadows with ulterior motives.
The network, however, is also populated by trolls "good" -even though it seems absurd to have to specify-whose sole purpose is entertainment.
One of their representatives that I follow for some time is Carlo Brunelli.
Its particularity is to be perhaps the only one in Italy to trollare following strictly scientific methods, so that Tranelli, the page where the public accounts of his experiments, can be defined with good reason: "a blog sociology applied in the field" .
I had a long talk-obviously-chat away with the creator of Pitfall taking the opportunity to let me tell a little 'its working methods and to outline an overview of academic studies that cover its interests.
Motherboard: Hello Charles, you make the full-time troll?
Carlo Brunelli: No, work and study are two separate things.
I try to conceal my profession to avoid repercussions on the company I work for, indeed with Tranelli receive insults and threats quite frequently.
For example there was this guy who passed himself off as a university professor on Facebook.
Depending on the contexts behaved differently: one is proposed as a teacher of repetitions bragging never academic qualifications and when he was in disagreement with someone attacked him with homophobic insults, but on Twitter organized gay party-based sex toy in dungeons of a castle.
When I provoked publicly threatened me saying that it would take a cut-throats to kill me, then I started to post my face in every possible group in an attempt to discredit me, but unfortunately for him, he attacked with the person wrong ... it was great fun.
You'll have to take a thousand precautions ...
Well ... I think that in Italy you do not Corrano big risks until you exceed certain well-defined limits.
On social networks turn bestiality of all kinds but I never hear news of people for a little 'healthy trolling pass in trouble with the law or are endangered by people who have bothered ...
Am I wrong or you're one of the few to take care of trolls at the academic level in Italy?
At the end of 2012 I started my thesis for Political Science at Roma Tre, centering on the relationship between trolling and control of public opinion.
I finished the study only in July of 2014, after which I opened the blog to not break the experience.
I have not received attention in the Roman academic circles, but later I had the good fortune to work with Communication Strategies Lab of the University of Florence holding a lecture during Social Media Strategies.
More recently, however, I have contributed to keeping me in the shadow of Luiss project I mentioned in the last blog post, that of Salvini and community centers.
However, if you were hoping for a PhD dedicated to troll, this is not much of my case.
One of the last trolled the Tranelli was to be attributed to the current deputy of the PD Khalid Chaouki, the words benevolent towards social spending centers Salvini in '94.
So your budget on Italian academic institutions is not positive ...
Let's say that today in Italy there are few academics to move with the times of social networks in the study.
For example, when I went to bring my proposed by sociology professor at my university, I was told that for the next six months were all busy writing a book on the case of Ask.com.
Imagine: start studying Ask at age 23!
The public sector is interested in the company almost always only from the IT point of view, for the rest we are very far from the planning of a training program to educate new generations for the proper management of virtual life.
I do not think it's wrong, but there would be many things to learn systematically conducting of sociological studies on online behavior.
For my part, through continuous blog to explore these issues and trying to find a common thread that binds to the classics of sociology.
I conduct my research by following the scientific method.
I examine the classical theories, I try to update them, then I go on the field and find a way to verify if these do not show anything interesting, I do not produce new content for the blog.
Let's say I prefer not to post for two months rather than risk forced to draw conclusions.
Basically Tranelli born to plot a position other than the one promoted by the official media and the digital immigrants, the way this position reaches the public, though, I care little.
"I grew up with a computer in his hand, but instead of infognarmi on the" technical "and become a geek, I preferred to immediately investigate the relational factor of the network."
What are the other situations in which you feel you share in common?
I will not be certainly the only one to follow certain academic subjects but, at least for now, the google alert about the trolls do not have me yet reported projects similar to mine.
Beyond this, although we are structured in a different way, I really enjoyed what he did Gilda35 with botnet Salvini.
Then of course there are the official research on buffaloes, a celebrated case is that of Cirenga senator.
Generally currently a bit 'all over the Walter Quattrociocchi work represents a kind of bible for those who travel in these areas, however, he makes use of highly advanced means while my analyzes are mostly speculative.
Instead it moves in the private and non-academic sector?
As for the private universities are not prepared, I always fly over a little 'personal ethics and a little' for want of pecuniary.
Outside the academy, however, point out the ahref Foundation, which conducts research on the quality of information on the Net.
I also learned that Google Europe was planning to open a sociological study department, we hope that will prove as their usual pioneer, otherwise, for now I would not say that my kind of research fosters job opportunities true ...
"Basically Tranelli born to plot a position other than the one promoted by the official media and the digital immigrants."
Now we move to deal directly in your work, a question is almost obvious: how does your own hoax?
More than hoaxes I trolled the call, I have no sympathy for the misinformation structured.
However, the starting point is always made up of an intersection of factors: the first is what I'm studying at the moment, the second are the current events.
On social it is difficult to be heard no mention of a "hot" topic at the same time do not put me build images or projections of reality, if you do not have a theoretical comparison to which to apply them.
Never trollerei divertissi if I do not do it, this is a bit 'the basis of my thinking ...
When controls get special technical and permissible measures you can reveal them?
I grew up with a computer in his hand, but instead of infognarmi on the "technical" and become a geek, I preferred to immediately investigate the relational factor of the network.
To answer your question, we say that to be Tranelli a computer that can withstand the largest possible number of browsers to simultaneously access multiple Facebook and Twitter accounts helps a lot.
I believe ... with all those repartee between fake profiles that you manage in real time ...
That's right, one of the best ways to create controversy out of nothing is starting a repartee between two fake profiles and then give up the discussion so as to let the real users to express themselves.
If you can place directly on groups and public-so pages do not feel compelled to delete the names of people when I include screenshots on the blog.
Beyond that, my profiles are the "critical mass": help me to procure the required number because like posts and comments various gain visibility.
Finally, given the level of digital culture that demonstrates the Italian mass Paint is more than enough tool for those who are my purposes.
Wanting to reduce to a minimum the concept: when the digital immigrant elderly see a product graphically edited, thinks it is institutional origin, but when it is made with Paint it deems genuine, down to earth, essentially "people" and not "caste".
Never trollerei divertissi if I do not do it, this is a bit 'the basis of my thinking ...
Anyway, back to the "technical" side, in a sense, your ploys to increase visibility constitute an operation of back engineering, is not it?
Yes, but not being known operations of the algorithms, it is an inexact science made of attempts, observations and experiments.
Surely it works: the EdgeRank Facebook me "rewards" -as we say in the jargon-and even in cases where it does not, other users will still reveal more interested in a link which have already been put of like or who comments received, rather than devote their attention to a content part "from scratch."
Most of my sociological experiments is based on complottismi-invented Totti and the NWO, Mango-Pino Daniele and trees etc-that users are led to believe just as long as someone else has done it before them.
But how many fake profiles have and what is the average duration of their lives?
None of these is closed because behind there is a long characterization of the characters work: Pitfalls that the rude trolls who speaks only in caps lock ungrammatical, stupid and frivolous blonde, the fascist ultras of Lazio, the music critic, etc .. . everyone has their own story behind it: "there are stories that do not exist" wanting to mention the great contemporary.
My first fake called "Tranelli Harlock".
At some point Facebook has forced me to change the name to "Charles Pitfalls" -I wrote a piece about it.
After the controversy of the drag queen forced to register with their first name, however, the site has once again allowed the use of false names.
This is definitely my preferred profile, even my dissertation before the opening of the blog contains the inscription "In memory of Pitfalls".
"For the construction of the characters definitely it helped me to have also studied the script.
But unlike the fiction, my creations are born to service a purpose. "
Can you tell us more about the work of characterization of fake profiles?
I believe that social networks are a kind of stage where everyone plays their part.
To be accepted as long as it credible, respectable and corresponds to a view of another existing one.
He speaks Bauman in "Liquid Modernity", defining "good manners": the attitude that the citizens are not really themselves in public but they wear a mask.
For the construction of the characters definitely it helped me to have also studied the script.
But unlike the fiction, my creations are born to a purpose service.
For example, when I created Marika, the blonde above, I needed the girl as frivolous as possible, so that everyone might believe seriously convinced that Sciascia had criticized the 5 Star Movement.
That creation has proved so realistic that, despite being directly intervened explaining to everyone that my profile was a fake, people preferred to think I was just a friend of Marika course his help to save her face ...
Leonardo Sciascia (died 1989) is expressed against the state and the 5 Star Movement.
One of the first aspects that bado to increase the credibility of a character is the context in which I write: to whom I am addressing?
As just one example, with the fascist dell'ultras profile are not writing only strictly fascist groups, but also to Brothers of Italy, the Northern League, grillismi right, pitchforks, etc.
Given this, I try to understand what is the most fun way to relate to other users: generally do not go into specific discussions to be assertive but I still have to make people believe to be on the same side of the subjects that I intend to lead, must believe one of them.
Only then can I get in the speech to get them to say things they do not even think or say that never for political faith, trying, however, to get there with arguments to the contrary are agreed them.
Please note that in all this speed is essential: we must be able to comment in a short time without leaving finish the thread on the back burner.
I imagine recreating fake interactions between the various profiles is not easy.
There is undoubtedly an element of identification with the character.
In a world of mostly text syntax it is essential.
To assimilate the way of speaking, the applicants expressions, the views on the issues that then are almost always different from mine, it is not easy, but over time I found my automation to succeed (or perhaps psychopathy) (laugh).
Finally I'd like you to tell us what is the subsidiary of which you are most proud-if I may say so.
This has given great joy to me a meme in which I connected the various elements of selfies that Totti was tripped in the field face to reveal that it was a ritual of homage to Freemasonry and the new world order with references to the alleged car-bombing of twin towers.
Totti spreads occult references her selfies taken in the field.
Not for anything else, but because the story of Mango and Pino Daniele is so absurd that I was open-mouthed when I saw it was shared.
Huckabees shared by the close of the two dead Mango and Pino Daniele artists are part of a larger plan?
Unlike controlled on Totti, who made me take mostly a tidal insults by ultras-and here we return to the question: are we sure that the trolls are those who insult for real? -This has found hundreds of shares in complottari groups.
For those who live a false flag and conspiracies, stuff like that are the daily bread, they may believe any kind of story.
The Plot to foil in this case was to guess who, after MANGO and PINO, would be the next to be eliminated: IRON?
I look forward to reading your next post.
Thanks to the availability and the time allowed I hope not having overstayed ...

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