How to deal with trolls

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I spend a lot of time on a forum which was designed and conceived by a musician who a lot of people admire and look up to. His idea was to give his fans a place to share their problems and experiences where they could feel safe from being judged or criticized for whatever they had to say. It was supposed to be a safe, supportive space, especially because a lot of his fans are in their teens. But it didn't take very long before a group of people - or one person, I am more inclined to believe because of their language/writing style and attitudes - started causing trouble. The way the forum is designed, anyone can post, whether they have created an account or just want to be anonymous. This was another way to encourage people to feel safe on the site. So this group of anonymous users started accusing the few of us who have been working hard to help get the site off the ground of being elitest, cliquish and unwelcoming to anyone who isn't one of our friends. There's a whole lot more to the issue but mostly, they're trolls, doing exactly what they are accusing others of doing. I know the best option is to ignore them and just let them be trolls in their own little bubble and eventually they will run out of steam but it's hard when they are making attacks against me and friends that I have made on the site that are completely unfounded and unrealistic. One of the admins (not the guy who started all of it but one of the other two) has indicated that he sees what's going on and is on our side but being on our side and doing something to stop the problem are two different things. I know I personally have been working my best to be selected as either a forum moderator or at one point it was implied that the guy who started it might ask a few of us to contribute to the blog portion of the forum. So that's been my goal. Not that that takes away from my helping others, I just admittedly have ulterior motives. Motives that are in no way feeding the trolls because I never told anyone that that was what my goal was. It has never left my head. I don't know what the question is in all of this, or if there even is one, I am just frustrated that something I believe in and something someone I respect and admire wants so badly to be a safe house for his fans, is being abused and misused.