2011-03-04
Explanation
This comic, titled "Know Your Trolls," categorizes internet trolls using a two-axis alignment system borrowed from Dungeons & Dragons, with the axes being lawful/unlawful and good/evil. The "Unlawful Evil" troll, called a "Black Hat," switches someone's blood pressure medication with amphetamines -- genuinely dangerous and malicious. The "Unlawful Good" troll, or "White Hat," creates a program simulating an email scam that temporarily drains your bank account for 24 hours, refunds you completely, and then calls you a name -- harmful in method but educational in intent, teaching people not to fall for scams.
The "Lawful Evil" troll, dubbed an "Ass Hat," crafts an emotionally manipulative phishing link that reads "Sarah, it's your father! I'm not dead, and I love you," which actually links to a picture of an old man dancing naked. This is cruel because it weaponizes someone's grief, but operates within the "rules" of internet trolling. Finally, the "Lawful Good" troll, the "Dad Hat," simply tells a child incorrect facts with a straight face, such as claiming there are only two primary colors (blue and yellow) and that red doesn't exist.
The humor comes from applying a formal classification system to antisocial internet behavior, and from the escalating absurdity of each category. The "Dad Hat" is particularly funny because it represents the most benign form of trolling -- harmless misinformation delivered by a parent -- yet it still fits neatly into the taxonomy.