On the internet, all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men respond to it. Especially when the 'evil' is designed solely to piss you off so you reply.

A smart person knows when walking away is the best option. You can't change the world, or even the desired mind when you flounder about with a troll. You may, however, change the minds of others who watch you feed the beast and see how it makes him come back for more, and know they can thank you for that.

I'm sorry DtG is gone and hope he comes back at some point, perhaps when the usual suspects decide to shut up and give it a rest, or more likely when he decides he can still talk with those who don't want to play the hate game or engage in trollery. I also find there isn't much intelligent discussion possible here currently, but things change.