The context for this would take too long to explain, so I’ll just throw it out there:
Can anyone think of an example of an Internet troll changing their opinions or behavior because of the savage wit of people responding to their comments?
I ask this because I spent a good seven years on rec.arts.sf.* before moving to blogdom, and I can’t think of one, either on Usenet or in a weblog’s comments. I can think of a few people who made flame-tastic debuts on one group or another and later turned into reasonable regulars (Tshen comes to mind, for the RASWR-J crowd), but they always had a spark of wit or intelligence from the start.
People who entered as bone-deep idiots or trolls, though, never really changed. Sometimes they wandered off to infest other corners of the Internet, but no amount of mockery or invective ever changed their basic approach, whether they were hostile jerks or cheerful innocents (Timmy-bot, anyone?).
Is there a counter-example that I’m missing?