When trolls come a trollin'

Amanda has some wise advice for those beset with trolls:

As someone who has been pretty damn successful at (finally) running off people who have nothing to add but animosity, I thought I’d offer some advice therefore on a simple, easy way to get rid of your most odious trolls–ban for thread drift. It’s a great rule that attacks your average anti-feminist’s greatest weapon, which is to turn every thread into a forum on his pet issue that causes him to hate on women so much.

Seems sound to me. I'm lucky in that I've got some great commenters but Battlepanda have not gotten so big that we attract the attentions of many trolls. I don't even have a resident troll, like Al with Kevin Drum or that guy whose name I can't spell on Dadahead. Just passing trolls who tend to come, paste in the same comment they've left at half a dozen other blogs and leave without a backward glance, much like the pack of beagles down the road leave little piles of poo on the lawn (to my Dad in law's great consternation) as they range around the neighborhood.

Ah, the advantages of being in a "secluded" corner of the blogisphere.

Hugo, I feel for you, man. Good luck keeping the discussions fun an productive without having to ban anybody. Oh, and your chinchilla is crazy cute.