when i was doing my research on toxic and disruptive behaviour in games' social spaces, one thing that really struck me was that people who act up feel like they've won whether they get a reaction or not. the person being harassed is immaterial to the satisfaction they get.

it really changed how i view people saying things like "don't feed the trolls" because it doesn't actually matter. block em! tell em to go to hell! get back up from friends! do what makes you feel safer and better, because it genuinely doesn't make a difference to them.