As trolling became an integral part of online communities, use of the term evolved and expanded significantly. This paper proposes a typology of trolling behaviors and compares the use of the terms troll and trolling by North American college students with scholarly and media uses. The study provides conceptual nuance based on two focus groups and four follow-up individual interviews. Participants differentiate between light-hearted trolling and anti-social trolling, which is the dominant focus of published works. The paper distinguishes between four behavioral types: serious trolling (implying that it is not funny and likely motivated by social or political ideology), humorous trolling, serious non-trolling behaviors, and humorous non-trolling behaviors. Key behavioral dimensions are identified, including: 1) pseudo-sincerity; 2) intentionality; 3) provocativeness; 4) repetition; 5) satire; 6) communicating serious opinions; and 7) representing public opinions. Formal concept analysis clarifies relationships between behavioral dimensions and types.

Conceptualizing privacy as information flow rules-in-use constructed within a commons governance arrangement, we adapt the Governing Knowledge Commons (GKC) framework to study the formal and informal governance of information flows. We incorporate Helen Nissenbaum's “privacy as contextual integrity” approach, defining privacy in terms of contextually appropriate flows of personal information. While Nissenbaum's framework treats contextual norms as largely exogenous and emphasizes their normative valence, the GKC framework provides a systematic method to excavate personal information rules-in-use that actually apply in specific situations and interrogate governance mechanisms that shape rules-in-use. The GKC framework thus directs attention beyond information transmission principles to a broader spectrum of rules-in-use for personal information and supports consideration of procedural legitimacy. After discussing how the GKC framework can enrich privacy research, we explore empirical evidence for contextual integrity as governance within the GKC framework through meta-analysis of previous knowledge commons case studies, revealing three governance patterns within the observed rules-in-use for personal information flow. Though constrained by existing literature, our theoretical analysis provides strong justification for a new research agenda using the GKC framework to explore privacy as governance. We conclude by discussing potential implications for policy-makers of viewing privacy through an information governance lens.

Online trolling has become increasingly prevalent and visible in online communities. Perceptions of and reactions to trolling behaviors varies significantly from one community to another, as trolling behaviors are contextual and vary across platforms and communities. Through an examination of seven trolling scenarios, this article intends to answer the following questions: how do trolling behaviors differ across contexts; how do perceptions of trolling differ from case to case; and what aspects of context of trolling are perceived to be important by the public? Based on focus groups and interview data, we discuss the ways in which community norms and demographics, technological features of platforms, and community boundaries are perceived to impact trolling behaviors. Two major contributions of the study include a codebook to support future analysis of trolling and formal concept analysis surrounding contextual perceptions of trolling.

ICTs are pivotal in the existing social order and especially during the COVID‐19 global pandemic. This panel focuses on the use of ICTs by different actors, including individuals, nonprofit organizations, and governments around the globe in responding to this COVID crisis. We tackle three essential questions about ICTs and the global crisis. First, what role do ICTs play in a global crisis? Second, how do ICTs affect social order when tensions between control, autonomy, and power shift? Third, what are the theoretical and practical implications of ICT use during a global health crisis? Each of the panelists will discuss their ongoing research in social informatics or health informatics as relates to the panel theme and central questions in order to provide a holistic view of the role of ICTs during this global pandemic.