OBVIOUS TROLL

@Setanta,

Quote:

The point of the thread is to tell others to ignore trolls.

I think you missed your own point by starting this thread. Laughing

http://www.alliedinformationresource.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/dunce.jpg

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@firefly,

For ONCE I actually AGREE with Firefly on something.

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@firefly,

Well, hardly - you got to identify the trolls before you can ignore them: it's the logical sequence of events. How do you go about it, the other way around?!

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@High Seas,

Setanta identified the troll in his opening post for this thread.

And the troll just agreed with me.

1 Reply

@firefly,

HOW AM I A TROLL? I WAS TALKING ABOUT SETANTA.

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@High Seas,

WHY DO PEOPLE CALL ME A TROLL?

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@Setanta,

As I recall YOU ARE AN OBVIOUS RACIST. YOU FLEW OFF THE HANDLE BECAUSE I TALKED ABOUT DARK-SKINNED ASIANS AND ASKING IF CALLING THEM ORANGE-SKINNED IS ACCEPTABLE.

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@firefly,

Although it's tedious to have to repeat myself, you missed the point that had some joker not linked this thread, the troll you happen to currently be obsessed with would never have known about this thread.

1 Reply

@Setanta,

Quote:

had some joker not linked this thread, the troll you happen to currently be obsessed with would never have known about this thread.

Nonsense--this thread is visible, even if someone has you on ignore--I just tried it. The thread and your initial post can be seen, the rest of your posts in the thread do not appear when I have you on ignore.

Besides, the particular troll you refer to in your opening post, who has now joined this thread, never seems to actually put people on ignore, it has always been obvious that he he constantly responds to people he claims to have on his ignore list.

1 Reply

I'd never heard of Paul Graham till I came across a recent thread here based on his thoughts about how to disagree in an internet debate/discussion.
Very interesting & helpful, I thought, so I Googled to see if I could find more of his writings about internet usage ... I came across this piece on trolling, causes & impacts.
Here are a couple of extracts .. if you're interested you might read the whole article.

His definition of trolling, past & current:

Quote:

...There are two senses of the word "troll." In the original sense it meant someone, usually an outsider, who deliberately stirred up fights in a forum by saying controversial things. [1] For example, someone who didn't use a certain programming language might go to a forum for users of that language and make disparaging remarks about it, then sit back and watch as people rose to the bait. This sort of trolling was in the nature of a practical joke, like letting a bat loose in a room full of people.

The definition then spread to people who behaved like assholes in forums, whether intentionally or not. Now when people talk about trolls they usually mean this broader sense of the word. Though in a sense this is historically inaccurate, it is in other ways more accurate, because when someone is being an asshole it's usually uncertain even in their own mind how much is deliberate. That is arguably one of the defining qualities of an asshole. ...

On the impact of trolling on "the culture of a forum". Sad but true, I think:

Quote:

....The final contributing factor is the culture of the forum. Trolls are like children (many are children) in that they're capable of a wide range of behavior depending on what they think will be tolerated. In a place where rudeness isn't tolerated, most can be polite. But vice versa as well.

There's a sort of Gresham's Law of trolls: trolls are willing to use a forum with a lot of thoughtful people in it, but thoughtful people aren't willing to use a forum with a lot of trolls in it. Which means that once trolling takes hold, it tends to become the dominant culture. ....

http://www.paulgraham.com/trolls.html

1 Reply

@msolga,

I haven't read this particular guy yet, but the last thing I want to see is everybody nice.

I was raised that way. It is pillow throwing with underlying snakiness.

Neither of those are good for real arguing.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

I don't think that everyone has to be "nice" at all for forum discussions to remain interesting & engaging.
I've witnessed (& also been involved in) some very hotly debated threads here.
My personal view is that there are limits to "reasonable" posters' tolerance & at some point, when the trolling gets well beyond those limits, they tend to disengage.
Like when the troll/s themselves become the actual subject or focus of a previously interesting thread, rather than what people were initially interested in discussing.
And if the trolling becomes really prevalent on a particular forum, as Paul Graham suggested it can become the "culture" of that forum, to it's detriment.

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@msolga,

DEFINE TROLL.

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I never actually thought I would ever use the ignore feature. But then, as I viewed yet another of a particular troll's insane responses, I decided to try it out. What a magical button indeed, the forum has become a much quieter and interesting place. Gone is the temptation to respond to insanity, no longer subject to mind boggling idiocy.

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@msolga,

Our tolerance may vary.

I highly doubt trolling is the prime culture here, among a zillion threads. It is basically foolery. It is the way of the world, an early play.

1 Reply

@firefly,

Quote:

this thread is visible, even if someone has you on ignore--I just tried it. The thread and your initial post can be seen, the rest of your posts in the thread do not appear when I have you on ignore.

This is the second post I've seen lately about this. I believe this is only true if you've thumbed up a thread originated by someone you have used the ignore button on.

Would you mind helping to see if that is the case or if there is a bug somewhere? Try thumbing down the thread again and see if it is still visible when you refresh the list. Could you also post which browser you use? I'm interested in what the result is for you.

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@ossobuco,

I said (as Paul Graham did) that it could become the predominant culture if it became prevalent enough .

Quote:

There's a sort of Gresham's Law of trolls: trolls are willing to use a forum with a lot of thoughtful people in it, but thoughtful people aren't willing to use a forum with a lot of trolls in it. Which means that once trolling takes hold, it tends to become the dominant culture. ....

That's what I think.

1 Reply

@msolga,

me too.

Joe(hence my shyness)Nation

1 Reply

I dislike scolds more than I do others.

I admit I do scolding, and I'm not the only one. Many many many here.

Which involves self annoyance.

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Just about everyone posting in this thread has considerable personality defects but you have banded together to criticise only one ? The arrogance of you lot staggers me .

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