Beware the Troll

Whether you follow soap operas or not, at some point you have watched a television program and realized some history has been rewritten.  

What do I mean?  I'm a long time General Hospital fan (who admittedly fast forwards more these days than not).  I stand firm that when Sonny Corinthos the Mobster was first introduced, he was Not a Nice Guy.  Now, he is the Mobster with a heart of gold.  He will only shoot you if: you steal from him, you steal from someone he knows, you steal from someone who knows someone he knows, or you are related to him.   It's forgivable because he is still hunky and has the best laugh.  Sonny never hurt anyone.  Except for Karen years ago.  (No, he didn't.  Well, yes, he did.  But, he kind of didn't.  But, he kind of did.)

I'm a hardcore lurker on IMDB message boards.  I will sometimes view the board before I watch a show to see if I should even bother or what I should pay attention to.  (Except for The Walking Dead and Doctor Who- I am spoiler free.  Be warned!)  People on message boards like to argue about a show, the stars, producers, story lines- that's all OK.  I really enjoy observing the debates that go back and forth over the rewriting of a character's history to make him more lovable or to build a better arc for her.

But message boards are a soap opera in themselves.  Sometimes, I dive in just to see what a "troll" has said to spark 45 responses in ten minutes about a new haircut.  People will question each other's ability to function in society if they disagree on the rapid aging of a soap opera child.  The real fun begins when they start to go off topic AKA OT about real world issues.  Like that baby in England.  Or mini golf.

I'm not criticizing them.  I find it all fascinating.  But here is my question:  Are you a troll?  Do you insinuate yourself into conversations that do not pertain to you or steer a calm conversation into something extreme just to "Stir the pot" in the real world?  If you aren't a troll, do you know of one in your circle of friends or at work that you passively enable by simply listening?  Why?  There's plenty of drama in television land.  We don't need any extra here.

Instead of investing in trolling, how about we invest in our own stories now before they become our histories?  If there was a message board about you, what would it say?  I hope mine would say: She always has a smile and has a great laugh.  And awesome shoes.  Yeah...let's not forget the shoes.