How To Deal w/ an Internet Troll

So, a couple of days ago, I ended up in not one but two debates with a single internet troll. If you don't know, a troll is someone who intentionally riles up reasonable members of a forum or chat room. The troll does this so that he can get off on something other than humping his mother's leg. The trouble is, while I find my approach to be effective in neutralizing idiots, there are other people, including close personal friends, who usually end up making things worse. So this is a step-by-step process for all of you who can't seem to shake internet trolls...

1. Take a deep breath. Do this especially the first time you respond, and for every response afterward. Yes, the troll is trying to make you angry. The troll is also trying to make you look like a defensive ass. When the troll is actively trying to debate via his tactics, he's also trying to make you lose just by making you want to attack him physically. So remain calm, and remember the first thing the troll will say the minute someone who can still think gets angry: "It's just a forum/chatboard/the internet." He's right, but he's also going to be a hypocrite, given how vigorously he fights for his ego to be sated in this place. Stay calm, and treat this guy as if you don't feel threatened.
2. Address all reasonable points. And nothing else. This mostly applies to the trolls who are actually engaging in the thread they're trolling in. To keep any previously-made allies, the troll will usually have an actual opinion, with occasional evidence to back it up. Work with that part, as if he's making reasonable points. Dismantle his faulty logic as if it were made of honest mistakes. Make him come closer and closer to either pretending to respect you as a person, or looking like a malicious bastard. Either way, he'll start attacking you here. Which brings us to step 3.
3. Maintain a polite tone at all times. Now, I haven't always been able to do this, but the important thing is to always remember; if you're engaging a troll, you're here to make him look bad. Essentially, you're trolling the troll. Which means you've got to make sure that you look as much like an angel as possible. Do not flame, do not condescend, occasionally compliment him for his finely-honed argument. He will either ignore it or call it sarcasm. It most likely is sarcasm. The point, however, is that you will, eventually need to get to step 4, which requires you to get angry. If you sound like you're seething with rage, you'll just look like a whiny child, and the troll will remind you of this.
4. Be diplomatic, but have a single post where you give up on him. That is, continue to avoid flaming. You can, however, be condescending. Show that you're angry at this guy in about three paragraphs. Word it carefully. If you do it right, you'll be able to convince the troll's allies that he is a troll. If you do it even better, his response will do it for you. You've been logical all this time, but now you're pouring out your emotional reaction. Remember, though, don't take him too seriously. If you can, head him off at the pass and claim that he's taking this all too seriously, because no matter what he claims, he's taking it just as seriously as you are.
5. Ignore him. Don't respond to his response to you giving up on him. That just makes you look weak. And at this point, you want to reduce him to the animal urges. Let him say that you're just running away. You've made your point, and as long as you're not around as a sounding board, he's made his. Hopefully, other people will begin to follow suit. If you feel like being a good samaritan, complain to a mod.
   
6. Continue ignoring him. If he begins a flame thread, ignore him. If he follows you to another thread, ignore him. You're not a punching bag. And, frankly, without you, he'll have to find someone else. And the more he does this, the more likely this someone else will manage to get a moderator's attention. If enough people believe a troll to be impeding things, a mod may take steps to get the troll banned. If you are in there with the troll on multiple incidents, you'll look like you have a grudge, and your involvement will help the troll.

So, I hope that's helpful. And I hope it works better than I think it will. Remember, you can't stop a troll, even by being reasonable. Just try to look better than him and get out when you can.