In real life, I personally know or have known ten different people with Asperger's syndrome, and at least five of them display trollish qualities in their Internet social conduct from time to time. Not all of them were flagrant trolls (although at least two "did it for the lulz"), but many of them displayed characteristics I have come to associate with the known troll:
- A fondness for adopting unconventional social roles or shifting personae (e.g., acting, playing devil's advocate, imaginative storytelling, character development)
- Argumentativeness or a love for debate for its own shake or for its intellectually stimulating value
- Unperturbedness amidst controversy and lesser response to emotional demonstration in others
- High verbal intelligence
- Boredom and restlessness from dull conversation or situations
I have found that the presence of these personality traits strongly predicts trollish behavior. In other words, these are the fuel, and an uninteresting conversation about types of tea or the current weather in some part of Canada is the spark. Kaboom! The known troll douses the forum or chat room with his or her flame wars and unbridled opinionation! However, certain other types of Asperger's can exacerbate the trolling epidemic:
The Literalist:- Has an especially poor understanding of irony, metaphor, and figurative language
- Takes everything seriously and nothing in jest
- Has a strong (if unconscious) belief that their thoughts and actions directly cause others' behavior; will see trolling behavior as a personal failure on their part
- Especially naïve understanding of social interaction
- May easily become depressed and withdrawn
The Hothead:- Unmodulated emotional responses to stimuli (especially anger and rage)
- Blames others for own emotions
- Vocal, demanding a high degree of control over the social and physical environment (will scream, "Ban him/her!" at even innocent non-trolls)
- Prone to make ad hominem attacks in anger
- Needs time to "cool down" before being able to think rationally
- Manipulative (e.g., befriends forum moderators or channel operators to have those he/she dislikes banned more readily)
- Self-centered (e.g., only interested in talking about what he or she is interested in and will forcibly restore the topic of conversation to that if it changes to something "uncomfortable")
- When spotted by a troll, will be bated more and more until worked up into a frenzied goo; careful trolls will disarm his or her relationships with mods/ops to prevent a premature/unwanted ban
- Makes snap judgments first, asks questions later (if ever)
The Sad Case:- Unmodulated emotional responses to stimuli (but in this case mostly panic and depression)
- Blames self for most everything
- The hotheaded types are likely to use this type as social evidence to back their position (e.g., "See, other people are also upset by this!"); seeks the protection of the hotheaded types
- Likes to talk about their myriad dysfunctions and problems
- Has history of suicide attempts or self-injurious behavior
- Often middle-aged to elderly or adolescent and usually female
- Controlling via emotional protestations
- Wants to avoid emotionally upsetting or offensive conversations
The last two in particular may not be exclusive to Asperger's syndrome but may in fact constitute a sort of psychosocial residue of
loser that precipitates to Internet-based communities, where they may feel more empowered than in most other social contexts. The Literalist, of course, has a severe case of Asperger's syndrome or a low- to medium-functioning case of Kanner's autism.