# Bizarre brand of SDMB trollery **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839 "2015-02-04T21:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/1 "2015-02-04T21:19:26Z")
I am puzzled. I have a question. I put it in the Pit so that I can accuse people of being trolls. There’s a strange phenomenon that happens here on the SDMB, of one-and-done new members (one thread, often even just a single post) asking relationship, family, or legal advice in bizarrely contrived-sounding situations. They’re usually posted in GQ, and moved to IMHO or MPSIMS by helpful mods. They’re almost always characterized by really crummy writing quality. It wasn’t a thing that happened often when I joined this board. Then I stopped posting and reading for a few years, and since I’ve been back, I notice it’s a frequent thing, [happening](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747893) [almost](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747368) [daily](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748224). There are probably a couple on the front page of IMHO right now. Questions: - Does anyone remember when it started happening? - Is it really a neverending cavalcade of legitimately socially retarded people, and if so, why do they come here of all places? - If not a cavalcade of legitimate idiots, is it a cavalcade of trolls? - If not trolls, plural, is it a single (perhaps banned) poster who keeps coming back for attention? Any facts, opinions, or speculation welcome. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/2 "2015-02-04T21:28:54Z")
You could start with [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747083) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/3 "2015-02-04T21:34:47Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > You could start with [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=747083) Beautiful, thank you. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/4 "2015-02-04T21:35:01Z")
I concur with the OP. Going out of your way to find something as old-skool as a forum, signing up, and making a first post pouring out endless details of some messy and very painful personal or family situation… the cases that aren’t borderline mental illness or trolling (i.e., genuine and genuinely seeking help from the collective) would seem to be few indeed. This is a fairly mature, gracious, well-moderated and “safe” space on the interwebz, but it’s hardly alt.callahans. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/5 "2015-02-04T22:23:05Z")
My personal favorites are the gentlemen who feel that they have been unconscious ass-raped. I suppose it could happen, but Bill Cosby isn’t everywhere and he doesn’t fancy men. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/6 "2015-02-04T23:13:37Z")
I will merely note that ‘troll’ and ‘legitimately socially retarded idiot’ may in some cases be complementary, rather than mutually exclusive, qualities. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/7 "2015-02-04T23:21:19Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I will merely note that ‘troll’ and ‘legitimately socially retarded idiot’ may in some cases be complementary, rather than mutually exclusive, qualities. Hey! I resemble that remark. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2015, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/8 "2015-02-04T23:32:37Z")
Trolls can’t troll unless they are fed. This place is cat nip for trolls. It’s hard to blame the trolls for coming to where the food is. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/9 "2015-02-05T00:08:32Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I will merely note that ‘troll’ and ‘legitimately socially retarded idiot’ may in some cases be complementary, rather than mutually exclusive, qualities. And that would be the current situation as far as I’m aware. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/10 "2015-02-05T00:20:17Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > This place is cat nip for trolls. And trolls are catnip for us! It’s hard to blame us when the trolls lay out a full banquet we can have fun with. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/11 "2015-02-05T01:15:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > And trolls are catnip for us! It’s hard to blame us when the trolls lay out a full banquet we can have fun with. We love them and they love us. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/12 "2015-02-05T02:45:07Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Trolls can’t troll unless they are fed. This place is cat nip for trolls. It’s hard to blame the trolls for coming to where the food is. And **Mace** nails it in one. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen these ridiculous relationship troll OPs bombarded with sincere Doctor Phil-type responses from the MPSimpletons (or IMHcompoops). Most of these OPs literally _scream_ “I am Troll, hear me roar!” Yet here come the simps, with advice to “talk to your girlfriend, who gave your best friend a blow job in front of the whole party, and draw some boundaries. Tell her to stop blowing your friends, or by God, you’re going to end it all. Good luck.” It’s fucking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/13 "2015-02-05T04:15:42Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > We love them and they love us. …they are all on a short bus… ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/14 "2015-02-05T06:22:50Z")
I’ve seen this on other message boards starting YEARS ago, and have been kicked off my share for daring to suggest that perhaps a message board is the wrong place to ask for serious life advice, and the OP should seek professional or at least assistance from the clergy, IF the poster was even for real. Then came the “Merry Fucking Christmas, HAVE A HEART!” type of responses from well meaning but obviously idiotic posters. The the dumbass moderator accuses ME of being a troll. On at least one recently, after I was kicked off, it turns out that the OP was exposed as a fraud as well as a troll. I sent a PM to the Mods asking to be reinstated, and maybe a public apology, since I was proven right, but haven’t heard back. Fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/15 "2015-02-05T06:33:57Z")
As for the OP’s observation about the difference between 2006 and now, there are two obvious factors: - When SDMB was pay-to-post, one-off trolls were a lot less like to cough up $14.95 for the privilege - Now that we’re google-searchable, we’re easier to find. Plus, I suspect, once these threads get started, the googling trolls will find them, and figure this is a rich environment for their trollery. So they start multiplying - more troll threads attract even more trolls in a vicious cycle. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/16 "2015-02-05T08:52:12Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > And **Mace** nails it in one. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen these ridiculous relationship troll OPs bombarded with sincere Doctor Phil-type responses from the MPSimpletons (or IMHcompoops). Most of these OPs literally _scream_ “I am Troll, hear me roar!” Yet here come the simps, with advice to “talk to your girlfriend, who gave your best friend a blow job in front of the whole party, and draw some boundaries. Tell her to stop blowing your friends, or by God, you’re going to end it all. Good luck.” > > It’s fucking ridiculous. The problem with this is that, every other forum I’ve seen will do the exact same thing. There’s this narrative that the SDMB is extremely gullible, but they really aren’t any more so than anyone else. If anything, I encounter way more people here whose troll-radar is set way too high, going off in situations where it’s not only unlikely the person is a troll, but, more importantly, in situations where it doesn’t matter. The problem is, you can’t call someone a troll in-thread, so you don’t see all the people who have decided it’s a troll. You only find out in the Pit how much every Doper seems to be wound up looking for trolls. For myself, you’ll just see me commenting in a thread whether I think they are a troll or not, unless I think believing them will cause problems. As long as you don’t get too invested, I don’t see the downside in taking people at their word, even if you strongly suspect they are lying. If they aren’t, you’ve possibly helped them. And if they are, there’s no harm. If you think the SDMB gets more trolls than anywhere else, I invite you to check out Reddit. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/17 "2015-02-05T16:12:41Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If you think the SDMB gets more trolls than anywhere else, I invite you to check out Reddit. I certainly don’t believe the SDMB is especially troll-ridden. I belong to two other message boards than this one, both free to post: one is less trolled than this one; the other, far more trolled. My observation was simply that the SDMB is far more trolly than it used to be, and with one particular brand of troll, so much so that I wonder if it isn’t one serial offender coming back every day. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/18 "2015-02-05T17:26:26Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > And **Mace** nails it in one. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen these ridiculous relationship troll OPs bombarded with sincere Doctor Phil-type responses from the MPSimpletons (or IMHcompoops). Most of these OPs literally _scream_ “I am Troll, hear me roar!” Yet here come the simps, with advice to “talk to your girlfriend, who gave your best friend a blow job in front of the whole party, and draw some boundaries. Tell her to stop blowing your friends, or by God, you’re going to end it all. Good luck.” > > It’s fucking ridiculous. The thing is, telling other people how to fix their lives is lots of fun, in and of itself. I welcome the opportunities that come along, and life is too short to police OPs for sincerity. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/19 "2015-02-05T18:14:50Z")
I suspect these 1-and-done types dont really read the forum rules, nor take enough time to get to know this place. Perhaps creating a forum to catch/filter these posters would help mitigate them posting their trollery in the other forums. Maybe add a “Relationship Advice” forum that will attract their postings, then, regular board denizens could go there to make fun of them, or just ignore the forum altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839/20 "2015-02-05T18:23:19Z")
Guys, it’s not a “bunch of trolls”, it’s the same person trolling over and over again. A few of this person’s trolls have been funny, like the guy who kept getting anally raped while unconscious, or the morbidly obese broccoli hoarder. But most of them are just lame “my girl/boyfriend did something unforgivable, should I forgive them?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bizarre-brand-of-sdmb-trollery/711839.md?page=2)