Don't feed the trolls. This is ancient wisdom passed down from the Age of Usenet and it's as true today as it was then. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls are sometimes harder to spot now. They sometimes appear to have more power and support than they actually do because of social media echo chamber effects, but their techniques haven't evolved much since time immemorial.
Trolls may say that they want honest debate, but they will start from a position that isn't well thought-out or starts from a bad premise. Engaging with them legitimizes their position as valid. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls love logical fallacies.
Trolls may engage in black and white thinking. Most issues don't have just two sides. Some have more. Some have many more. Lots of issues exist on a spectrum with nuance. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will cherry-pick examples that support their position while ignoring examples that don't. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will use an appeal to tradition and insist that things are just fine the way they are and have been for a long time (thankyouverymuch), even when presented with evidence to the contrary. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will use the 'No True Scotsman' fallacy to attack members of their own group, saying that if you disagree with them that you were never really a member of the group. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will use the slippery slope fallacy to insist that some outrageous thing will be the result of in incremental change today. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls like to move goalposts. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will use circular arguments. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls will attempt to shift the burden of proof or insist that you have to prove what they're saying is false. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls crave negative attention. Do not give it to them. Trolls sow discord. Do not fertilize it. Don't feed the trolls.
A troll will sometimes use bait that is hard to ignore. They will sometimes make arguments that are subtly wrong, leading to a false conclusion. Trolls will tell you that by ignoring their nonsense you're tacitly agreeing with them or the only reason you're not rebutting their position is because it's impregnable. They are wrong. Do not feed the trolls.
Trolls are crafty. Trolls are relentless. Trolls are emboldened by other trolls. Thanks to the echo-chamber that is social media, Trolls will band together into groups. There is strength in numbers, but that does not make them invulnerable. Don't feed the trolls.
Trolls can be hypocrites. If you do something they don't like, you're condemned, but if the troll does the same thing, then it's justifiable. Don't feed the trolls.
I know that it's hard. I know that you think that if you can just reason with the troll that the troll will see the 'correct' way of thinking and will be swayed. This is incorrect. Don't feed the trolls.
This list is not exhaustive. Keep on your toes. Don't engage in bad-faith arguments. Remember your training. And above all: keep trolls out of sunlight, don't get them wet, and never feed them after midnight.