http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/ma...ll&oref=slogin
Pretty interesting article. The writer approaches /b/ and trolling in general from the outsider point on view. While I don't agree with lots of what he wrote, he does make some good points.
What's really sad about /b/ going mainstream for real this time--the cancer shit was still sorta small in the big picture--is that it really hits home that lots of things I took for granted about the net sorta disappeared the past five years, like Usenet.
I think most of the people on this board, whether they intended to or not, have grown up with internet culture being one of the larger influences in their life. And now, with the internet continually changing, more idiots logging on everyday, I wonder if some of the things that made it such a safe place (if you weren't an idiot) emotionally or mentally are going to disappear also.