Troll’s Identity Revealed – Somebody I Used to Know

I know some of my readers were anxious to know the result of my research into the Troll who has left me some nasty messages via my blog. You are in luck! If you haven’t read my previous blog on the Troll, it is linked here.

So first of all, loyal and dear readers, my blog has been under construction for some time and some features have not properly worked for a long while, such as my counters. They sometimes work and sometimes do not, but I personally do not need the counters on my actual blog to keep track of my readership as I have WordPress analytics to give me facts and figures. I must point out the fact that we are under construction and will make improvements at some point, and that explains why it looks like it does to my readers. Apparently the counters not counting bothered Troll Person.

I received a number of nasty messages from said Troll calling my looks into question, as well as the fact that I call myself a journalist. The last comment makes me believe that Troll is not the sharpest tool in the shed; because a quick Google search of my three names and either Houston Chronicle (or Huffington Post) will yield thousands of features written by me, mostly all paid for by the number seven largest newspaper in the US (over 15 years) and that doesn’t count for many magazines and periodicals. I guess a 30-year career of being paid for my writing and having my writing pieces reprinted in many professional journals, including international publications reprints, does not count as journalism in the mind of this troll. I guess aside from the thousands of features on the Internet, many Wikipedia entries referencing MY articles and byline (The term Byline for unknowing trolls means my author name) do not count for a career as a journalist either. The only reason I mention all of the above is that I know Troll is reading and if he won’t do the simple research, I will just have to do it for him.

The fact that I blog is another matter of concern for Troll, as it is not real writing for someone who is too simple to understand the power of writing on the Internet. I am so fortunate that some topics I have chosen to blog about caught the interest of a worldwide audience when at least five of them went absolutely viral and got reprinted in several different languages. You haven’t lived as a Blogger until you are called a Bloggeren and see your words in German; or when Gene Simmons of Kiss shares your blog on meeting his mom on an airplane and that goes around the world and is quoted in various languages such as this. Or when you blog about a first love experience and it goes viral all over the world, and your blog piece on that is often referenced in many different languages. Here is one example of the Costa Rica publication and the essence of my blog in Spanish. My name is under the second photo. Or how about finding your article on the front page of the Korean Huff Post in the Korean language linked here. I am mentioned a few times about two viral blogs in the Great Britain publication The Daily Mail. Friends in England pointed this out to me. Here is one example. Again, I only mention because Troll won’t do the research. In fact, I giggle when I think that Troll thinks I CARE what Troll’s opinion is of me. It just makes Troll look stupid and uninformed; especially when there is so much evidence all over the Internet, to the contrary of Troll’s opinion that I am not a journalist.

I feel kind of sad when I think about Troll whose identity I now know, (see next to last paragraph) because I have never caused harm to this person, and I never wished ANYTHING but good tidings. I treat everyone with kindness and respect, but I will not maintain a friendship with someone who cannot reciprocate good feelings and glad tidings and only criticizes or puts down. I am spoiled by so many friends who actually share in my happiness. It is known that some people put a FB facade of a happy life but I really and truly do have a happy, full, and enriching life. I am truly grateful for that life and count my blessings daily; and those who know me understand how much gratitude I have for my wonderful family and life and friends. I post mostly positive things about that on social media.

I am a bit particular about who I call a friend. I probably have more friends than the average person, and these friends come from all walks of my life, (past and present, and work colleagues, etc) and from my “it takes a village” community of Houston; and in Margate, my summer residence. It takes being a good friend, to have a lot of friends, and that is one thing I know that I am and have great pride in that fact. As the Beatles sang, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” and there are no truer words. As a matter of fact, I was recently beyond overwhelmed and touched by the outpouring of loving words and sentiments on the occasions of my recent “big” birthday and on the birth of my grandchildren. I drink in and “take the love,” which surely goes back in return to the sender.

I am not going to enter a friendship or maintain a friendship with a person who is jealous, resentful, or just too insecure to share in my happiness as I have too many good friends who do just that. I judge people on the quality of person they are, how caring they are, if they are supportive – and that includes career support, and whether they give out good vibes to the universe and other people. I give a great deal of care in return. I am truly a friend who is there for others in good times and bad. My core Houston group of thirty-something years knows this as do my longer-term friends from my past.

Now, for the juicy part that most of you were very interested in and waiting for: I found out who Troll was, and I am not exactly surprised as this person has made similar comments on FB before getting unfriended. The IP address on Troll’s email and mobile phone are both traceable, though this is probably not known by this or any troll who uses the Internet and tries to hide behind being anonymous, and I now know what address and what town in New Jersey those addresses came from. (Mt. Laurel) Since I only know one couple currently living in that town and since I did unfriend the same couple, it made perfect sense to me that the communication was coming from there. The mobile phone IP showed up as well and so I have two proven methods to identify Troll.

So what did I do when I found out? Did I write this person (I DID get the email address at Comcast.net) or otherwise reach out? Nope. Did I report this person? Nope – not yet— at any rate as I am saving all of the harassment mail in case I have to take the matter into legal hands. Internet harassment is an offense, after all. And knowing that this blog will be read by Troll who is obviously waiting for this moment to possibly further harass, it will serve as an appropriate warning to find another way to express misery. (I always said the psychology behind people who leave anonymous nasty comments and these are people who are discontent with their lives.) It made me sad that Troll’s life is so empty, that the only way to fill it is by trying to create harm. The funny thing is that I wish no ill on Troll. It just makes me feel sad for Troll. (However, if the harassment continues, it will go to authorities.)

So there you have it. Troll turned out to be somebody “I used to know.” ( A great song by the way, check it out on YouTube.)