So I think you have it right here, but I'd like to shift your brain and poke you in the neurons if you'd allow me.

As an old timer on the internet (as I assume you are), I am well aware of the "don't feed the trolls" rule. You are completely right, if you don't feed the trolls they go away. It makes sense since trolls are sociopaths. You don't give in, and they don't get to have fun.

What really makes hubski great and sets it apart from other so called "social networks" is that users are given tools to defend against the nonsense. The hide button is a great great great thing. The other great, but often not talked about tool that we have at hubski is the social aspect "We" don't accept trolls here, they are easy to ignore and mostly we can tell from other people's interactions who a troll might be. This is my number three reason why I use hubski.

Where I think you might be mistaken is in the assumption that trolls are always easy to spot and ignore. When I think of trolls I get the image in my head of someone saying something outlandish from the outright, and giving a ridiculous "opinion" trying to get a reaction.

But trolls can also start off as quiet entities, starting off with a reasonable conversation, then suddenly divulging into racism, sexism, or other means of inciting reactions in others. These are the hardest trolls to ignore, because on the outset it seems like they are reasonable, respectable even. So yeah you can ignore them at a point, but it takes effort on your part to do so.

In regards to engaging trolls. I will engage a troll, but I have grown a tough internet skin, I _personally_ know what the game is and how it will play out because I've seen it played out a million times. I know in the end that the troll will get fed. What I want to do when I engage a troll is to ask them questions and call them out so OTHER PEOPLE will see it. If someone is being sexist, or racist, or otherist, I want OTHER PEOPLE to see why the behavior of the troll marks them as a "no fun poo poo technicality no fun boo over".

To summarize, I love hubski.