As I have researched the case, I have come to the conclusion that Zodiac was one of the first "trolls".
An internet troll is defined as "person who starts quarrels or upsets people…to …sow discord by posting inflammatory, extraneous…messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses… for the troll’s amusement or a specific gain."
It’s basically someone who enjoys being an a$$h0le to strangers and riling them up just for his own amusement. In internet slang trolling is called "shitposting".
On a psychological level, trolling is associated with what’s called "The Dark Triad". I have posted about the Dark Triad before. It refers to three personality traits: psychopathy, Machiavellian-ism, and narcissism. According to research, people scoring high on these traits are more likely to commit crimes, cause social distress and create severe problems for an organization. People who score on on these three traits – as well as another trait, sadism, – are often internet trolls or internet bullies.
I think it is helpful to view Zodiac through the lens of internet trolling. His letters were an attempt to scare, to outrage, and to mock – just like someone trolling and internet board. Meanwhile, Zodiac no doubt found it highly amusing to see the uproar he caused. If Zodiac were a young man today, I have no doubt that he would be a troll on sites like 4chan, 8chan, reddit, and the like. He’d find glee in shitposting, bullying anonymously, and saying outrageous things to rile other people up.
Except, Zodiac isn’t a young man today. So in the 1960’s the only outlet for this behavior would have been writing to the newspaper or popular magazines. And the only way to get the front page attention that many trolls seek is to kill. That’s what took his behavior to homicide.
Pehaps seeing Zodiac as mere troll who used murder to get the bizarre attention he craved might help zero in on a suspect.
Or perhaps not. I’m open to your thoughts and opinions about this.
ETA:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog … narcissism
“Murder will out, this my conclusion.”
– Geoffrey Chaucer
It’s basically someone who enjoys being an a$$h0le to strangers and riling them up just for his own amusement. In internet slang trolling is called "shitposting".
The letters remind me of "Weird Twitter" accounts like "dril". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dril
Instead of Zodiac being severely mentally ill, I find it more believable he had a twisted sense of humor alongside an absence of empathy towards his victims.
