The Fibreculture Journal DIGITAL MEDIA + NETWORKS + TRANSDISCIPLINARY CRITIQUE Issue 22 : 2013 Trolls and The Negative Space of The Internet edited by Glen Fuller, Christian McCrea and Jason Wilson The LOCKSS System has the permission to collect, preserve and serve this open access Archival Unit This Isuue of the Fibreculture Journal by The Fibrecul- ture Journal Incorporated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The Fibreculture Journal is published by The Fibreculture Journal Incorporated in partnership with Open Humanities Press. ISSN: 1449 – 1443 , Published in Sydney, Australia Fibreculture Journal Inc. in partnership with The Open Humanities Press 2013 The journal is peer reviewed as per section 4.3.4 of the Australian HERDC Specifications. About the Fibreculture Journal The Fibreculture Journal is a peer reviewed international journal, first published in 2003 to ex- plore the issues and ideas of concern to the Fibreculture network. The Fibreculture Journal now serves wider social formations across the international community of those thinking critically about, and working with, contemporary digital and networked media. The Fibreculture Journal has an international Editorial Board and Committee. In 2008, the Fibreculture Journal became a part of the Open Humanities Press , a key initiative in the development of the Open Access journal community. In 2012 the Fibreculture Journal celebrated ten years of open access scholarly publishing with the publication of its 20th Issue. The journal encourages critical and speculative interventions in the debate and discussions concerning a wide range of topics of interest. These include the social and cultural contexts, phi- losophy and politics of contemporary media technologies and events, with a special emphasis on the ongoing social, technical and conceptual transitions involved. More specific topics of interest might include: :: informational logics and codes :: the possibilities of socio-technical invention and sustainability :: the transdiscplinary impacts of new media technologies and events in fields such as education, the biosciences, publishing or knowledge management :: information and creative industries, media innovation, and their critique :: national and international strategies for innovation, research and development :: contemporary media arts :: new forms of collaborative constitution made possible by contemporary media :: software and hardware develops in relation to the social :: networks :: media change, convergence and divergence :: the use of contemporary media in socio-technical interventions The Fibreculture Journal encourages submissions that extend research into critical and investi- gative networked theories, knowledges and practices. The Fibreculture Journal values academic scholarship in the field, and demonstrates this through the publication of refereed articles. The journal is fully supportive of Open Access communities and practices, and is committed to contemporary metadata provisions and uses. It is also open to expanded notions of scholarship which might include collaborative hypertexts, database com- positions, and low-band electronic installations that experiment with the philosophy, politics and culture of information and communication technologies. ISSN: 1449 – 1443 Published in Australia Publisher: Fibreculture Publications/The Open Humanities Press 2012 The journal is peer reviewed as per section 4.3.4 of the Australian HERDC Specifications. i fibreculturejournal.org Editorial and Management Committees editors Su Ballard (University of Wollongong) Glen Fuller (University of Canberra) Andrew Murphie (University of New South Wales, Sydney) contact editorial : [email protected] journal manager Mat Wall-Smith (Independent Theorist and Technologist, Sydney) contact manager : [email protected] editorial and management committee Su Ballard (University of Wollongong, Wollongong) Lone Bertelsen (Independent Scholar, Sydney) Danny Butt (University of Melbourne) Chris Chesher (University of Sydney) Glen Fuller (Canberra University, Canberra) Lisa Gye (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) Ross Harley (University of New South Wales, Sydney) Adrian Miles (RMIT, Melbourne) Lizzie Muller (University of Technology, Sydney) Anna Munster (University of New South Wales, Sydney) Andrew Murphie (University of New South Wales, Sydney) Brett Neilson (University of Western Sydney) Elena Razlogova (Concordia University, Montréal) Ingrid Richardson (Murdoch University, Perth) Ned Rossiter (University of Western Sydney) Mat Wall-Smith (Independent Scholar, Sydney) Mitchell Whitelaw (Canberra University, Canberra) editorial board Belinda Barnet (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) Linda Carroli (Harbinger Consulting, Australian Network for Art and Technology) Chris Chesher (University of Sydney) Felicity Colman (Manchester Metropolitan University) Melinda Cooper (University of Sydney) ii fibreculturejournal.org Kate Crawford (University of New South Wales, Sydney / Microsoft Research, Boston) Sean Cubitt (Goldsmiths, University of London) Michael Dieter (University of Amsterdam) Sher Doruff (Amsterdam School of the Arts) Pia Ednie-Brown (RMIT, Melbourne) Mary Flanagan (Dartmouth College, New Hampshire) Terry Flew (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane) Kelli Fuery (Chapman University, California) Gary Genosko (University of Ontario, Canada) Phil Graham (Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane) Melissa Gregg (University of Sydney) Maren Hartmann (University of the Arts, Berlin) Robert Hassan (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) Larissa Hjorth (RMIT, Melbourne) Teri Hoskin (Artist/electronic writing research ensemble. Adelaide) Troels Degn Johansson (University of Copenhagen) Paul Jones (University of New South Wales, Sydney) Andrew Kenyon (University of Melbourne) Julian Kucklich (Mediadesignhochschule, Berlin) Elaine Lally (University of Technology, Sydney) Geert Lovink (University of Amsterdam) Niall Lucy (Curtin University, Perth) Adrian Mackenzie (Lancaster University) Lev Manovich (University of California, San Diego) Thomas Markussen (Aarhus School of Architecture) Graham Meikle (Stirling University, Scotland) Catherine Mills (University of Sydney) Esther Milne (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) Timothy Murray (Cornell University, New York)) Jussi Parikka (University of Southampton) Simon Penny (University of California, Irvine) Andy Polaine (Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts) John Potts (Macquarie University, Sydney) Melinda Rackham (RMIT, Melbourne) Philip Roe (Central Queensland University, Bundaberg) John Scannell (Macquarie University, Sydney) Sha Xin Wei (Concordia University, Montréal) Kate Southworth (iRes Centre for Interactive Art and Design, University College, Falmouth, UK) John Sutton (Macquarie University, Sydney) Tiziana Terranova (Università di Napoli L’Orientale’, Italy) David Teh (National University of Singapore) Nathaniel Tkacz (Warwick University) Darren Tofts (Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne) Gregory L. Ulmer (University of Florida) José van Dijck (University of Amsterdam) Jill Walker (University of Bergen) Shujen Wang (Emerson College, Boston) fibreculturejournal.org iii The Fibreculture Journal: Issue 22 2013 Trolls and the Negative Space of the Internet. Editorial : Troll Theory? 1 Glen Fuller University of Canberra, Australia. Christian McCrea RMIT Melbourne, Australia. Jason Wilson Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia. Articles: FCJ-154 Trolls, Peers and the Diagram of Collaboration. 15 Nathaniel Tkacz University of Warwick, United Kingdom. FCJ-155 EVEN WITH CRUISE CONTROL YOU STILL HAVE TO STEER: defining trolling to get things done. 36 Andrew Whelan University of Wollongong, Australia FCJ-156 Hacking the Social: Internet Memes, Identity Antagonism, and the Logic of Lulz. 61 Ryan M. Milner College of Charleston, United States of America FCJ-157 Still ‘Searching for Safety Online’: collective strategies and discursive resistance to trolling and harassment in a feminist network. 92 Frances Shaw University of Sydney, Australia iv - Issue 18 fibreculturejournal.org FCJ-158 Tits or GTFO: The logics of misogyny on 4chan’s Random - /b/. 108 Vyshali Manivannan Rutgers University, United States of America FCJ-159 /b/lack up: What Trolls Can Teach Us About Race. 132 Tanner Higgin Independent Scholar FCJ-160 Politics is Serious Business: Jacques Rancière, Griefing, and the Re-Partitioning of the (Non)Sensical. 151 Steve Holmes. Department of English, George Mason University. United States of America FCJ-161 Productive Provocations: Vitriolic Media, Spaces of Protest and Agonistic Outrage in the 2011 England Riots 170 Anthony McCosker Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Life and Social Sciences , Australia Amelia Johns Deakin University, Centre for Citizenship and Globalisation, Australia FCJ-162 Symbolic violence in the online field: Calls for ‘civility’ in online discussion 193 Shannon Sindorf University of Colorado, Boulder, United State of America FCJ-163 Olympic Trolls: Mainstream Memes and Digital Discord? 215 Tama Leaver Curtin University, Australia fibreculturejournal.org Issue 22 - v FCJ-164 ‘Don’t be Rude on the Road’: Cycle Blogging, Trolling and Lifestyle 233 Steve Jones Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom FCJ-165 Obama Trolling: Memes, Salutes and an Agonistic Politics in the 2012 Presidential Election 257 Benjamin Burroughs University of Iowa, United