"Unmasking Reddit’s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web"

[Sasha]

Unmasking Reddit’s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web

Adrian Chen

Last Wednesday afternoon I called Michael Brutsch. He was at the office of the Texas financial services company where he works as a programmer and he was having a bad day. I had just told him, on Gchat, that I had uncovered his identity as the notorious internet troll Violentacrez (pronounced Violent-Acres). "It's amazing how much you can sweat in a 60 degree office," he said with a nervous laugh.
Judging from his internet footprint, Brutsch, 49, has a lot to sweat over. If you are capable of being offended, Brutsch has almost certainly done something that would offend you, then did his best to rub your face in it. His speciality is distributing images of scantily-clad underage girls, but as Violentacrez he also issued an unending fountain of racism, porn, gore, misogyny, incest, and exotic abominations yet unnamed, all on the sprawling online community Reddit. At the time I called Brutsch, his latest project was moderating a new section of Reddit where users posted covert photos they had taken of women in public, usually close-ups of their asses or breasts, for a voyeuristic sexual thrill. It was called "Creepshots." Now Brutsch was the one feeling exposed and it didn't suit him very well.
But Michael Brutsch is more than a monster. Online, Violentacrez has been one of Reddit's most reviled characters but also one of its most beloved users. The self-described "creepy uncle of Reddit" has played a little-known but crucial role in Reddit's development into the online juggernaut it is today. In real life, Brutsch is a military father and cat-lover. He lives with his wife in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. There are many sides to Violentacrez, and now that I had Michael Brutsch on the phone I hoped to find out where the troll ended and the real person began.
read the whole fucking bizar thing here; http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web/

[#FF0000]

The worst part of freedom of speech are people who don't understand what it is. jesus christ.

But yeah this shit gets real weird once they go into his family hahaha

[l'Enfermé]

"Creepshots" indeed.

[Yuppie Grinder]

Reddit rots your brain. Awful site.
Hope he goes to jail for distributing child porn.

[Pirate Utopian]

With him gone I can be the main troll!

[Questionable]

This whole thing makes me sick, especially the reaction of most Redditors. There are people who are saying that violating someone's "right to free speech" is worse than pedophilia, with those exact words.

They've also blocked any links to Gawker sites, and are deleting comments containing links. I frequent r/communism and other leftist groups there, and when we tried to share the article we found our posts would be mysteriously deleted after a while. Some free speech alright.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

I am happy, actually.
This proves something I have been arguing for years, trolls aren't 15 year old basement dwelling virgins.

The bloke's actions are sickening of course.

[Os Cangaceiros]

With him gone I can be the main troll!

Haha, the king is dead, who will take the throne now? :lol:

[cynicles]

This whole thing makes me sick, especially the reaction of most Redditors. There are people who are saying that violating someone's "right to free speech" is worse than pedophilia, with those exact words.

They've also blocked any links to Gawker sites, and are deleting comments containing links. I frequent r/communism and other leftist groups there, and when we tried to share the article we found our posts would be mysteriously deleted after a while. Some free speech alright.
'Liberatarians' always eventually have to result to authoritarian meassures, they're like closeted homophobes. The more they scream about fascism or how much they love freedom the more they mean the opposite. They're the walking political incarnations of 'protesting too much'.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

Reddit rots your brain. Awful site.
Hope he goes to jail for distributing child porn.
Stay away from the main areas and it's a great resource. Examples:


http://www.reddit.com/r/DIY/
http://www.reddit.com/r/fixit
http://www.reddit.com/r/antiforensics/
http://www.reddit.com/r/ReverseEngineering/

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskNetsec/
http://www.reddit.com/r/netsec/

http://www.reddit.com/r/Cyberpunk_Music/
http://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/
http://www.reddit.com/r/Astronomy/

[#FF0000]

Yeah that's solid advice. Avoid the main ones and find small subreddits that are relevant to your interests.

[Jesus Saves Gretzky Scores]

What a weird hobby to have.

[Questionable]

Lost his job and tried to apologize on CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Sometimes I don't mind it when the bourgeoisie fires people.

[Ostrinski]

"Biggest Troll on the Webb"

That's one FUCK of an accomplishment. What troll imagines that they'll make it onto CNN.

[Questionable]

"Biggest Troll on the Webb"

That's one FUCK of an accomplishment. What troll imagines that they'll make it onto CNN.

I'd call this guy a little more than a troll. Anyone who's willing to go as far as making a site dedicated to "dead jailbait" pictures has a little more going on in his skull than looking for laughs, regardless of what excuses he might make.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Normally I'd say that it's kinda fucked up to eternally tarnish someone's reputation in such a way, even if the guy is a real sleazy dude, but this guy really pushed his luck.

[#FF0000]

Yeaaah I'm not cool with getting people fired but uh. Yeah. I dunno. My sympathy's pretty low for this dude.

[RedHal]

I am happy, actually.
This proves something I have been arguing for years, trolls aren't 15 year old basement dwelling virgins.

The bloke's actions are sickening of course.

nah, he's exactly how I pictured a perverted pedophile troll would look like, middle aged, overweight white dude with a goatee.

[doesn't even make sense]

Seems like he's suffered le epic fail. Maybe he'll creatively express his angst in rage comic format. I've avoided Reddit like a plague ever since the obnoxious and blatantly racist bleating over the Epic Beard Guy meme a couple of years back. Not such a big deal but it was the breaking point for me. Their "hive mind" really brings out some of the most repugnant and irritating elements of American society. The way you're bombarded by asinine shit on that site feels kind of like watching cable news. Sure, some of the niche boards are alright, but for the most part anything vaguely political or intellectual is fucking unbearable.


Lost his job and tried to apologize on CNN.

(link)

Sometimes I don't mind it when the bourgeoisie fires people.

I wish I could say I was even the tiniest bit surprised by the total insincerity of his apologies, the whining, and the lame excuses. This guy deserves whatever's coming to him but what really jumps out at me from the article is his wife and step-daughter. I hope they come out of it as unscathed as you could reasonably expect.

I'm also pretty astounded (but, again, not surprised) that creeps like this guy can happily do the shit they do whilst having a wife and daughter at home who they presumably aren't keen on seeing 'creepshots' of (although I'm sure there were plenty of sisters and cousins posted on those boards). I guess it's just a function of the middle class narcissism/solipsism that pervades this shitty culture.

[#FF0000]

I'm also pretty astounded (but, again, not surprised) that creeps like this guy can happily do the shit they do whilst having a wife and daughter at home who they presumably aren't keen on seeing 'creepshots' of (although I'm sure there were plenty of sisters and cousins posted on those boards). I guess it's just a function of the middle class narcissism/solipsism that pervades this shitty culture.

His family was aware of his violentacrez persona and everything he did on reddit. From the Gawker article, they mention how he and his wife would hang out together, each on their own laptop, postin stuff on reddit.

[bad ideas actualised by alcohol]

I am pretty offended that this guy is called a Creep everywhere.
I'm Creep, and am pretty offended.
I don't want to be associated with freaks like him.

[Questionable]

I am pretty offended that this guy is called a Creep everywhere.
I'm Creep, and am pretty offended.
I don't want to be associated with freaks like him.

Well since your name is "Negative" Creep you could be considered the negation of the negation, so a good creep?

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

He's a sociopath who was enabled by thousands of people.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Lol - "online feudalism". Explains the trolls though.

[Ocean Seal]

Reddit rots your brain. Awful site.
Hope he goes to jail for distributing child porn.
When we start the revolution, we are shutting down reddit.

[Pirate Utopian]

Fuck that shit.

[Hiero]

In the interview he is coming across as quite sad and bored lonely man. If he was a teenager, I could understand due to immaturity, but when he is explaining his logic he comes across as so sad. I couldn't help but laugh how ridiculous he came across.

[#FF0000]

yo he has a family n shit tho

like he isn't lonely

just a creeper

[Hiero]

yo he has a family n shit tho

like he isn't lonely

just a creeper

You can be lonely within a family unit. Married couples often become lonely after middle age as their social life declines. Teenagers often become lonely and isolated in the family unit. It seems this couple didn't have any appropriate hobbies and found joy in annoying people on a website. Whatever they got out of it was all quite meaningless and juvenile.

[Prometeo liberado]

The FDA recently released a report stating that Arlington, Texas has the highest per capita Mescaline usage. These people are crazed animals. Nothing lives or moves on the streets after sunset. Have you ever seen the movie Blue Velvet? That should answer any questions about what kind of people come from there and why they are the way they are.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

The FDA recently released a report stating that Arlington, Texas has the highest per capita Mescaline usage. These people are crazed animals. Nothing lives or moves on the streets after sunset. Have you ever seen the movie Blue Velvet? That should answer any questions about what kind of people come from there and why they are the way they are.
Isn't that where King of the Hill is set?

[Os Cangaceiros]

KOTH was set in Arlen (a fictional town).