Trolls, or trolling behaviour ...how do we deal with these isues as an online community?

Of course I understand that u r attempting humor,
but "fascist libertarian" is very oxymoronic.
I guess that u offer the humor of oxymoron.





David

also known as 'absurdity' or 'silliness' David.

Trolls? Sorry, I just got here and I'm sure someone has already said this, but I love a good troll. They always have this air of complete certainty even when they are just, as my Thai friends say, full of soup.
I've stopped putting trolls on ignore, I found myself yearning to peek at their posts to see if they had anything of value to say. Always disappointment. Ah.

So now I just skim their attempts at social interaction; bent, miss-shapened and pathetically pathological as they are.

I do wonder sometimes what trolls did before the Internet afforded them such wonderful cover?? Imagine being friendless and unable to speak. Reminds me of that line about having no mouth.

But that guy was being held captive, trolls are free to go.

Joe(but they cannot get themselves to turn the doorknob)Nation

as an SCNFL, i do support this oligarichal mornonicy of which you speak

What does "full of soup" mean, Joe?

I just reread your post, Joe.
No need to explain the Thai saying.
I understand.
And I agree with you.

I've wondered that too, Joe. Letters to the editor, maybe?

How do you get from "what appears to be" to "it has happened" Olga? A subjective vision turns into a fact in just a few easy words does it?

I suppose it's trolling to inform you that such tricks are as old as rhetoric itself and whosoever's brain they get past can only be said to have a brain in the biological sense.

When has it happened--this transformation of a vision into a fact? Which thread has been systematically trashed?

Ah. I see.
Thanks, Setanta.
I didn't participate in the politics threads at Abuzz at all.

I'm always wary of people who begin sentences with "to be honest". It implies that we think they might be dishonest on those occasions when the caveat is absent.

I've had a couple "real" conversations with a couple of the Possum manifestations. He's participated in threads that both Missy and I have started and was a welcome and "regular" participant. The troll trollers jumped in and tried to derail it just because he was there but acquiesced to my request to "knock it off".

I can't think of anyone here who is "just" a troll. cjhsa was involved in a number of discussions that didn't run off the rails. There are a few folks who are one-topic johnies but they don't tend to hop around looking for threads to derail. The troll trollers oftentimes pick those scabs just waiting for the **** to flow - and they're usually successful. They piss me off more than the trolls do.

They were probably the class clowns and the playground bullies.

there are libertarians found throughout the political spectrum. You simply represent one point on that spectrum.

I first learned about the value of reading the 'voted down below viewing threshold' (or whatever it says exactly) comments because of cjhsa. I'd never noticed it before and then I clicked on one and it was him and whatever he said was so dang funny - I determined that I would click on those posts forever after and now I do. If it'd been something lame and predictable, I'd have generalized as seems to be customary or the wont of the majority most times.

thank you cjhsa

I've never given any thought to the concept of "troll trollers." I'd have to say that if that were only thing these people were interested in doing, they'd have very little to do here. I assume, therefore, that you're speaking of people who post in other ways, but jump on people whom they see as trolls--otherwise, i don't really understand what you're referring to.

As far as the Possum goes, the last time i "talked" to him at all was in a thread about fascism, one in which a member basically asked what it is and how it developed. The Possum showed up to vent his spleen, and both i and another member (i'm not naming anyone without their prior consent) showed that he was wrong in the statements he was making. He became nearly hysterical. Since that time, he has made a point of getting very vicious about me. I stopped responding, and finally, stopped reading his drivel. I've noticed in passing that he still has an hysterical reaction to what i post, but i'm not going to waste my time on him.

Yes, that's what I'm referring to, Set. Throwing out a gun reference, for instance, on a thread that David is on just waiting (hoping?) to get him going. It's just a fun poke to them. To the person(s) trying to have a reasonable conversation with someone who is easily twigged it's a royal pain in the ass.

I agree that Possum has a list of folks he goes after. I was just commenting on your statement that that's all he does.

I like your post; its nice.



Yes; to a large extent (less than 100%), I hold him in high esteem.
He is a fine analyst & superbly articulate.
I 'd have loved to have dinner & debate with him.
I woud shake his hand warmly; we join in our love of hedonism.




Well, yes & no; the socialist writings are frought with contempt for the individual,
whom thay demand be subordinated to the "well being" of the collective.
(I am not about take the time n trouble to prove that by digging out examples,
relying instead upon everyone 's general knowledge; if u reject that, then so be it).

My claim IS partisan-motivated in that I am obsessively freedom-minded;
"bigotry" is also true, coming (as I understand)
from the adamant & unyielding refusal of a captured Viking
to kneel and kiss the foot of the King of England.
Said Viking reputedly declared: (approximately) not me "bi got"
meaning "by God". (In some schools of thought, this origin is apocryphal.)
Unless I become dissuaded from my beliefs by logical proof,
I remain adamant; so I agree with u on that point.
I will not be so hypocritical as to fake assent to efforts to dissuade me,
in quest of currying favor; to me, that is devoid of value.





Again, we agree; it does not "automatically" imply that,
and I do not believe that Bentham was contemptuous of the individual.

(He was not a socialist, either.)






That s an interesting point. U have raised it b4, but I did not get around to addressing it,
being distracted by several plethoras of other considerations under discussion.
Over the years n decades, I'd heard of this concept, peripherally,
but I never took the time to delve into it, until u raised it a few times.
My curiousity having been stimulated, I consulted some dictionaries.
The essence of my lexical findings r that "license" is deemed to mean "too much freedom."

Well, anyone and everyone is free to decide what is "too much" freedom.
If pressed, I 'd have to agree that the freedom to rob liquor stores & banks is indeed "too much" freedom.

U are correct in saying that I do not ofen make that distinction.
Offhand, I do not remember whether I have ever done so.
If u wish to offer any additional thoughts on this point,
I will be pleased to consider them.

Thank u for your post, Setanta.





David

cjhsa trashed an earlier version of the "whales" thread, one night when he was in the mood to be bloody minded. Flooded it with endless hostile garbage posts.

The thread was locked & taken offline by moderators for a time & the offending comments removed.

You know, I don't think he had the slightest interest in whales.
Any more than our current trolls exactly have a deep interest in the subjects of the threads they stuff up.

That's not quite accurate. I may not have made the distinction initially, but i did comment that he primarily hangs out in political threads, so he isn't necessarily disruptive in other threads. I haven't seen him much in "non-political" threads, and sometimes he brings a politically motivated rant to them, but when he does stray from politics, i don't necessarily see him behaving that way.

If i failed to make it clear, that's certainly my fault, but i wasn't saying that's all he does, or didn't intend to say that. I still consider him the most virulent troll who frequents this site, and it's not just for his reaction to me--he gets hysterical about other members, too.

i go to threads that interest me (like the whales threads) but don't always have anything to say, i just want to read

then i see a post that grates on me and i can't help but respond, so i probably fit the description of a thread diverter/wrecker, i do tyr to keep it to a minimum if possible

except in poor sozobe's obama thread, but it became a pissing match ages ago, so i don't feel bad for ******* around in there