lol itrollu

[The Fundamentalist]

exclamation point exclamation point exclamation point one "one" spelled out for comic effect exclamation point

Feel free to take this as self-centered whining.

Any internet-savvy person knows what a troll is.  Somebody gets on a message board or chat room or something and starts spouting ridiculous opinions.  The dumber people in the group take them seriously while the veterans stand back and watch the fireworks.  After making a nuisance of themselves for a few minutes or hours or however long it takes for somebody with the banhammer to get rid of them.

This really annoys me.  Why wouldn't you take people seriously?  Any argument that a troll uses to be really alien, like let's say "Why don't we just castrate all the gays?", somebody somewhere is going to really believe that.  There are a lot of idiots in the world.  So why not practice?  Even if they aren't sincere, they'll probably be using arguments that real people believe.

More than that, though, a knee-jerk reaction to these posters reeks of insularity.  Anybody with a strange opinion is by definition insincere - nobody could really believe that after all, that is insane, what kind of reasonable person would even think about that?  We should just get rid of those people.

All this does is kill understanding.  It's incredibly alienating to be treated as if your opinion is so wrong that it's not even necessary to say why.  As if everybody else automatically knows something that you don't.  It makes one bitter and less likely to listen to reason, thus perpetuating the entire thing.

How many "trolls" are just sincere idiots?

This even applies to the ones that aren't actually sincere.  Somebody arguing that Hitler was less racist than Obama, or just posting "lol fag" everywhere, is almost certainly doing it to rile you up, but why?  Somebody is spending a lot of time and at least a modicum of effort to do this to you.  "for the lulz" isn't really a sufficient explanation; what is making this person so bored and unempathetic to anybody?  Maybe they just got laid off and are feeling bitter.  Maybe they're enraged over their daughter's overdose and want to take it out on people who are maybe somewhat tangentially related to people who might be slightly responsible.  It could be anything.

Trolls are people too.  Blowing them off doesn't help anything, it just creates more divisions.

(There. That's sort of like intelligent content, if you squint)

[The Johnny]

Yes, instead of IP banning the troll that image-bombs the forum, we should ask them what are they going thru in their life at the moment, and if we can make them feel any better. They are human like us, and excluding them only makes us worse than them, while also wrecking the opportunity to help a fellow.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Hmmm. Actually this kind of resonates to the heart of why many of us troll, and the ways in which we do it; we post unpopular opinions (or popular opinions magnified, or in annoying ways) until everyone is pissed at us or we're banned. This is different from imagebombing, which only serves to bog down or crash a forum.

Often we say things that a more established forum member would say, even to the point of mimicking more established members, and the negative reactions only occur because we are new and strange, therefore threatening.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I like this n00b.

[The Fundamentalist]

Yes, instead of IP banning the troll that image-bombs the forum, we should ask them what are they going thru in their life at the moment, and if we can make them feel any better. They are human like us, and excluding them only makes us worse than them, while also wrecking the opportunity to help a fellow.

I'm guessing you're being sarcastic.  Obviously a ban is necessary in many situations.  It's more the dehumanizing attitude that I don't like.

[The Johnny]

And btw, we should castrate all homosexuals, because we all know they are plotting to make more of their breed, by impregnating accomplice lesbians. Before you know it, every window in every house would have peachy curtains, with couscous overflowing the kitchen.

Wait! im not trolling! Why arent you taking me seriously!?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Many trolls delight in picking out and highlighting inconsistencies or hypocrisies in the forum culture. These are usually the trolls which the forums respond most hostilely toward.

[The Johnny]

Now on a serious register:

So yes, they might be "human and real", but I find it really hard to take into account a troll's feelings when they are lashing out and taking it out on you.

Also, sometimes the postures are so outrageous, that it can only be from a mentally deranged person (as in mentally ill, or ideologicaly crazy); i havent run into any "mentally ill" but i have into a lot of "ideologicaly crazy", that just wont listen to logical arguments.

[The Johnny]

In this forum i could very well imagine a thread with the issue of Hitler being less racist than Obama being taken seriously and dissected.

But just pages and pages of spammed "lol fag", i wouldnt think so.

Just take a look at the magic thread in this subforum, theres even some people playing devil's advocate for stuff they dont even believe in.

[The Fundamentalist]

This wasn't really directed at this forum, it's more of a general thing.  I'm a n00b and all, but I would expect a lot of devil's advocation (apparently this is not a word?) in a place like this.

Many trolls delight in picking out and highlighting inconsistencies or hypocrisies in the forum culture. These are usually the trolls which the forums respond most hostilely toward.

That's sort of what I mean.

Also, sometimes the postures are so outrageous, that it can only be from a mentally deranged person (as in mentally ill, or ideologicaly crazy); i havent run into any "mentally ill" but i have into a lot of "ideologicaly crazy", that just wont listen to logical arguments.

Well this is the sort of attitude I mean.

Think about it from another perspective.  What kind of attitude do you think that Glenn Beck has towards people who disagree with him?  Not "this is a person to reason with", but "this person is evil/malicious/insane", and so he shuts off his ability to even consider them as a human being with opinions worth even a mote of analysis.

[Captain Utopia]

Think about it from another perspective.  What kind of attitude do you think that Glenn Beck has towards people who disagree with him?  Not "this is a person to reason with", but "this person is evil/malicious/insane", and so he shuts off his ability to even consider them as a human being with opinions worth even a mote of analysis.

I credit Beck with being a little more cynical than that, and his choice being more like "what's going to get me the highest ratings/$$$".

But yup - dehumanising the opponent is the first step towards performing inhumane acts in the name of humanity.

[NotPublished]

The curse of Greyface

[East Coast Hustle]

Yes, instead of IP banning the troll that image-bombs the forum, we should ask them what are they going thru in their life at the moment, and if we can make them feel any better. They are human like us, and excluding them only makes us worse than them, while also wrecking the opportunity to help a fellow.

I'm guessing you're being sarcastic.  Obviously a ban is necessary in many situations.  It's more the dehumanizing attitude that I don't like.

though I kind of like your original post ITT (even though I'm not sure I agree with it), I just want to point out that we only ban people for a very few things here and trolling is not one of them. Basically, anything that can get me or Faust in legal trouble (posting kiddie porn, repeated copyright infringement, etc.), repeated malicious posting of non-linked NSFW pictures (many of our members post from work, many others have kids at home where they post from), and outing our trolls at other boards.

[Bu🤠ns]

Trolls are people too.  Blowing them off doesn't help anything, it just creates more divisions.

It depends.

All i have to say is this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01f7oPE5f3I

People need to lighten up and sometimes usually just telling them to lighten up is useless.  Trolling is essentially pointing out an overly amount of seriousness in a forum.  Sometimes they laugh at themselves too and when they do they come here.

Oh, and:

and outing our trolls at other boards.

[Triple Zero]

Yes, instead of IP banning the troll that image-bombs the forum, we should ask them what are they going thru in their life at the moment, and if we can make them feel any better. They are human like us, and excluding them only makes us worse than them, while also wrecking the opportunity to help a fellow.

An imagebomber first gets a taste of HIMEOBS Project Gender 32.

If they still want to talk after that ... well ...