You ask a genuine question online. Someone responds with a seemingly genuine inquiry. You respond as if they actually wanted to communicate. Then they call you "too sensitive" and mock your comments, saying you said things you hadn't (but that perhaps they had). Suddenly, you're defending yourself—and you're not even sure what happened. This happens again and again on social media, often seemingly as part of a directed attack from individuals presumably either with elevated "Dark Triad" traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism—and add everyday sadism for a Dark Tetrad. Sometimes, they invite their friends to join in a directed attack. Rarely, they are sincere, but have problems with communication or social relatedness, requiring delicacy for someone trying to be compassionate without becoming target—so, no, they aren't all "trolls."

This routine reminds me of Jennifer Freyd's (1987) well-known concept of "DARVO": Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender, but with the twist that it does not begin with overt denial, under the false pretense of authentic inquiry. In the age of acronyms, naturally (en homage) "BRODA" came to mind:........

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