# Accusations of trolling **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2002, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814 "2002-12-01T20:05:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MachineHead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@MachineHead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachineHead)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/21 "2003-01-26T19:57:25Z")
Look over there! A tro- _whap_ ---
**Author:** ![Phoenix\_Dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Phoenix\_Dragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoenix_Dragon)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/22 "2003-02-01T06:54:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cw \* > \*\*Screw the trolls, look out for that dragon!!! \*\* What? I’m really a nice guy, once you get to know me… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/23 "2003-02-06T00:39:37Z")
If someone posts that they where fishing in a Loch and a monster hooked onto the line they were dragging behind the boat, could I say they were trolling then? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/24 "2003-02-06T04:35:38Z")
Only if the motor is running, **Biggirl**. Otherwise, it’s bait casting. ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/25 "2003-02-09T15:59:02Z")
Nothing wrong with bait casting when it’s done in the privacy of one’s own home. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/26 "2003-02-16T14:34:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apos \* > \*\*My favorite poster type/insult is an “albatross.” Like a troll that starts a thread, only they don’t stick around to respond to anything: just they just plop and go. 🙂 \*\* Ya might want to find a different poop bombing bird for your own peculiar type of insult since _albatross_ already has a standard, conventional meaning of something that hangs around as a guilt-inducing dead weight. So, e.g., if you brought a friend into the forum who proceeded to act like an ass and embarrassed you and wouldn’t go away and everyone knew you were the one responsible for this jerk, your friend would be an albatross. Check out Coleridge’s [The Rime of the Ancient Mariner](http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/Rime_Ancient_Mariner.html) for this famous albatross metaphor. ## Peace. “Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.” ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/27 "2003-03-06T04:06:25Z")
Would an albatross taste anything like a Stormy Petrel on a stick? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/28 "2003-03-06T09:26:19Z")
Only if you eat it when a Noreaster is blowing in from the southwest. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Timothy\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Timothy\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Timothy_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/29 "2003-03-07T07:37:43Z")
I wrote an article about trolls (definition, and how to deal with them) which has been very well received. You can find the article at [http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm](http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm) (When I say it has been “well received”, I mean that so many people have linked to it that if you search on Google for Internet Troll it’s the first thing listed.) ---
**Author:** ![smartyskirts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartyskirts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartyskirts)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/30 "2003-03-14T17:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phoenix Dragon \* > \*\*What? I’m really a nice guy, once you get to know me… > > 🙂 \*\* Nope. But you could say you were _trawling_. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/31 "2003-03-14T23:26:56Z")
Thanks, **Smartyskirts**. It only took a month for someone to finally point out the bad pun. Welcome on board, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/32 "2003-04-05T01:02:55Z")
Sorry **NoClueBoy** but you have to be _pun_ished. trolling 1. a.To fish for by trailing a baited line from behind a slowly moving boat. b.To fish in by trailing a baited line: troll the lake for bass. c.To trail (a baited line) in fishing. – from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) ---
**Author:** ![Rockford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac8455/32.png) [@Rockford](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rockford)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2003, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/33 "2003-04-30T07:34:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*Timothy Campbell- > I wrote an article about trolls (definition, and how to deal with them) which has been very well received. You can find the article at [http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm](http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm) \*\* Hey **Timothy-** nice effort and all, but did you ever consider the possibility that writing a long article speculating on the motives of trolls might be taken as a compliment (and consequently, encouragement) by a lot of them? Just wondering. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/34 "2003-05-06T08:18:09Z")
I saw an albatross once…just before my dads boat sank. They really are bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2003, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/35 "2003-05-06T09:58:23Z")
Great article, **Timothy Campbell** , but one part dredged up an interesting memory. > [@](#): > > _From Tim’s article_ > Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility. This has an interesting parallel with a piece of cyberpunk pop culture: > [@](#): > > _[From the imdb](http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0088247)_ > Kyle Reese: Listen! And understand! That terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with! It can’t be reasoned with! It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead! “I’ll be back.” – **concrete** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Susma\_Rio\_Sep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/35a633/32.png) [@Susma\_Rio\_Sep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susma_Rio_Sep)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/36 "2003-05-13T23:23:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bibliophage \* > \*\*I have noticed a rash of accusations of trolling in this forum lately. My comments in the threads in question don’t seem to be doing the trick, so I’m saying it here: Cut it out. If you want to take someone to the BBQ Pit, then you can do that. What we really prefer is that you e-mail your concerns to us. The “Report this post to a moderator” function works particularly well for that. > > If you don’t know what a troll is, please read [What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtroll.html) > > I’ll say it one more time: **Accusations of trolling do not belong in the General Questions forum.** \*\* That’s very good, Sir or Ma’am. Thanks for your reminder to everyone. I have been accused also of trolling when I am just trying to explain myself and my ideas or positions, in the face of an accusation that I am a ‘stinking liar’, at Great Debates, though. I love you for that reminder. Susma Rio Sep ---
**Author:** ![Dolas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/278dde/32.png) [@Dolas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dolas)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/37 "2003-06-17T06:10:28Z")
To deny one’s trollness is to deny one’s inner jerk. What would I be without my inner jerk? What would you be without my inner jerk? I would be much less. You would be much less annoyed. Isn’t the Internet the place where jerks come together to reproduce? So let’s stop squabbling and get to the reproduction part. Oops. Checked the Internet Dioctionary. I guess I’m just a lurker. Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![buckyogi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f17d59/32.png) [@buckyogi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckyogi)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814/38 "2003-06-19T14:08:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sock Munkey \* > \*\*Nothing wrong with bait casting when it’s done in the privacy of one’s own home. \*\* There certainly isn’t. And I don’t mean to brag, but I’m quite a master baiter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/accusations-of-trolling/139814.md?page=1)