About trolls and advertising

About trolls and advertising

Seeing a lot of those lately... in blogs and comments

E.g. Beware the Hosting Trolls!

Congratulations! 🎉
You’ve launched your shiny new website.
You picked a hosting plan. You’re feeling unstoppable.

And then…

BAM.

A random stranger named UltraHost_Real_Official_123 appears in your comments:

“Your hosting is TRASH. Switch to SUPERFASTCLOUDMAXPRO (my link below) or your site will explode in 24 hours!!!”

Ah yes. You’ve met… the troll.

What Is a Troll?

In internet folklore (and by folklore I mean comment sections), a trol lis someone who deliberately tries to provoke, annoy, mislead, or harass others online.

The term became popular in the early days of internet forums, but today trolls roam everywhere:

• Blog comments
• Reddit threads
• YouTube videos
• Developer communities
• Social media platforms
• Hosting review sites

Their natural habitat? Anywhere attention exists.

Their primary food source? Reactions.

What Do Trolls Actually Do?

Let’s break down their favorite hobbies.

1. Advertising Disguised as “Advice”

You post: “I love my hosting provider.”

They respond: “LOL enjoy downtime. Real professionals use MegaUltraHostProX (affiliate link).”

Translation:
They don’t care about your experience. They care about clicks.

2. Spamming Everywhere

They copy-paste the same comment across:

• 47 blog posts
• 12 Facebook groups
• 6 Discord servers
• Possibly your grandma’s knitting forum

Typical signs:

• Generic praise or outrage
• Suspicious links
• No actual engagement with the topic

3. Fake Experts

They claim:

• “I’ve been in hosting for 27 years.”
• “I run 400 enterprise data centers.”
• “Your DNS is configured emotionally, not technically.”

Meanwhile, their account is 2 days old.

4. Harassing or Provoking

They may:

• Insult your hosting choice
• Attack other commenters
• Try to start arguments
• Drop dramatic “warnings”

They want chaos. Chaos feeds them.

How to Recognize a Troll

Here’s your official Troll Detection Checklist™:

🚩 Red Flag #1: Extreme Emotion

Everything is:

• “THE WORST”
• “SCAM”
• “ONLY IDIOTS USE THIS”

Balanced humans don’t speak exclusively in caps lock.

🚩 Red Flag #2: Zero Specifics

They say: “This hosting is garbage.”

But can’t explain:

• Why
• What happened
• Any actual issue

No ticket numbers. No examples. Just vibes.

🚩 Red Flag #3: Suspicious Links

Look for:

• Referral codes
• Shortened URLs
• “Use my link for 90% off!!!”
• The same domain mentioned repeatedly

If it smells like affiliate marketing… it probably is.

🚩 Red Flag #4: Brand-New Accounts

Created yesterday.
No profile photo.
Only posts about one hosting provider.

Coincidence?
Probably not.

🚩 Red Flag #5: They Escalate Quickly

You say: “Thanks for your opinion.”

They reply: “You clearly don’t understand infrastructure. Enjoy bankruptcy.”

That escalated quickly.

Why Are There So Many Hosting Trolls?

Because hosting is:

• Competitive
• Commission-driven
• Recurring revenue-based

Affiliate payouts can be high.
Some people decide that instead of building trust…

They’ll build chaos.

How to Handle Trolls Like a Pro

1. Don’t Feed Them

Trolls survive on reactions.

No reaction = no snack.

2. Moderate Comments

If you run a platform:

• Enable moderation
• Block suspicious links
• Require approval for first-time posters

Your comment section is your house.
You don’t have to let raccoons redecorate it.

3. Ask for Specifics

Reply calmly: “Can you share details about your experience?”

Trolls hate specifics. They evaporate when asked for evidence.

4. Educate Your Community

Encourage:

• Constructive criticism
• Evidence-based discussion
• Respectful debate

Healthy communities naturally repel trolls.

Know the Difference Between a Troll and a Critic

Not everyone who disagrees is a troll.

A critic:

• Provides details
• Stays respectful
• Discusses actual issues

A troll:

• Provokes
• Insults
• Drops affiliate links like confetti

The New Internet Reality

The internet used to be “publish and share.”

Now it’s more like:
“Publish, share… and dodge roaming promotional goblins.”

But here’s the good news:

Trolls only win when they control the tone of the room.

If you:

• Stay calm
• Stick to facts
• Moderate wisely
• Don’t take bait

They eventually wander off to yell at someone else’s comment section.

And your platform remains what it should be:

A place for real conversations. Not affiliate warfare.

So next time someone comments:

“Your hosting is TRASH, switch NOW before disaster!!!”

Smile.

Sip your coffee.

And remember…

The troll is hungry.
You don’t have to be the meal.

Feels real? It is.