This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things

A fascinating and truly thought-provoking investigation of online trolls—their evolution, their rationales, and their actions over the past decade. Whitney Phillips has gone where few of us dare—into the heart of trolling activities across the Internet. What she finds is that trolls aren't a world apart from the rest of us—they are instead a particular manifestation of contemporary culture, a distorted fun house image of ourselves—that we need to confront in order to tackle the complex issues associated with their less savory operations.

Mia Consalvo, Canada Research Chair in Games Studies & Design, Concordia University

Given the social anxiety surrounding online antagonism and mischief generally, and the confusion surrounding trolling specifically, it is about time someone wrote this book. Building on deep empirical research, Phillips has given us a rich, comprehensive, and wonderfully engaging account of the identities and practices of trolling, both as a historically situated subculture and as a dynamic of the digital media environment.

Jean Burgess, Associate Professor of Digital Media, Queensland University of Technology

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things gives us an important, critical exploration into the world of trolling—that vexed part of the Internet that is simultaneously often too easily dismissed and yet tremendously impactful. Through her careful fieldwork involving in-depth observation and interviews, Phillips presents not only a historical look at trolling, but rich insight into the practices and attitudes of those who carry it out. This is a must-read for those interested in, and concerned about, life online.

T. L. Taylor, Associate Professor of Comparative Media Studies, MIT

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is a terrific introduction to the world of trolling, exploring how trolls put on figurative masks (or literal masks in the case of online anonymity) and generate lulz from those they encounter. As a former competitive debater in high school and college, I'm dismayed by the violence done to my beloved art of rhetorical controversy. Score some lulz for the trolls, I guess. Highly recommended.

Curtis Frye

Technology and Society Book Reviews

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things is a strong introductory text on the historical and cultural aspects of trolling, and it offers numerous insights into the logics and ideologies that undergird it. This timely work also opens up an opportunity for much-needed dialogue about the ethico-political implications of online antagonism.

PopMatters