# Can't people recognize an obvious troll anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 11, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200 "2009-11-11T17:33:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/41 "2009-11-11T20:42:20Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > If you don’t include a smiley with even the most obvious of sarcastic comments, people WILL take you seriously around these parts. That’s the single stupidest statement I’ve ever heard on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/42 "2009-11-11T20:45:06Z")
It’s sort of a corollary of Poe’s Law. There is no parody of internet cranks so blatantly over the top that it’s not overtaken by actual internet cranks. I’m halfway through reading the linked thread and I’m still not sure which case this is an example of. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/43 "2009-11-11T22:19:02Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > racism. Stupidity isn’t a race, deart heart. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/44 "2009-11-12T00:14:56Z")
I don’t think he’s a troll, I think he’s a child. And if you’re an ill educated child, I wouldn’t be shocked to find out that you think “racism” means, specifically and exclusively, prejudice against black people. (There’s also a school of thought that defines racism in practical terms: if you have no power, your racism is ineffective, so it’s irrelevant. Therefore only whites can truly be racist.) In other words, depressing as it seems, I think the kid is sincere. Let’s hope he gets some education somewhere along the way. For one thing, I think his coming here to ask about something that’s bothering shows that there’s some hope, so I hope we don’t chase him away with presumptions and attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/45 "2009-11-12T00:29:15Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > I’ve met tons of people who think that an election basically makes him King and don’t understand how people are even allowed to oppose him. > > Anyone who has a problem with him (if he indeed is not white as he says) is RACIST. Intolerant. Not respecting diversity. No you haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/46 "2009-11-12T00:39:01Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > I’ve met tons of people who think that an election basically makes him King and don’t understand how people are even allowed to oppose him. Your sock **Dynastic** doesn’t count. _J’accuse._ ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/47 "2009-11-12T01:43:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > That post just makes me more sure. The repeated misspelling of “racist,” the blatantly dumb insistence that black people can’t be racists. This is a parody of what the troll thinks black, liberal Obama fans think like. My guess is that his assumption was that all the board liberals would jump in to defend him. It doesn’t sound sincere to me. It sounds like somebody snickering and trying to push buttons. Yeah. Sounds like a 4 Chan kid who dislikes Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/48 "2009-11-12T01:53:31Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > That’s the single stupidest statement I’ve ever heard on this board. Well done. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/49 "2009-11-12T12:20:46Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > (And the median is one kind of average, others being the mean and the mode). Actually the mean is the average in statistical terms and is one measure of “central tendancies”. The median and mode are other measures of central tendancies, the median being the line where 50% of the population is on one side, 50% on the other and the mode is the most frequently occurring value, but they are not the average value. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/50 "2009-11-12T14:55:25Z")
He didn’t strike me as a troll, just a young kid, in his teens I’d wager. But troll or kid, his posts made it clear that he wasn’t worth arguing with. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/51 "2009-11-12T14:59:25Z")
Go read the comments on a Facebook poll and _then_ tell me you don’t think anybody really believes her shit. The breadth and depth of human stupdity is beyond your ken, **Dio**. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/52 "2009-11-12T15:10:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Stupidity isn’t a race, deart heart. No, but it does breed. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Joe\_Meager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Joe_Meager)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/53 "2009-11-12T15:11:51Z")
> [@bri1600bv](#): > > Not respecting diversity. Respect my diversitah !! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/54 "2009-11-12T16:02:21Z")
> [@Covered\_In\_Bees](#): > > No. Not on this board anyways. Is it different someplace else? It’s hard to get people to ignore something on a message board - it’s not like they lose anything by responding. > [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > Doesn’t strike me as a troll either, though I didn’t look at the thread before linked to it in this thread’s OP. There are tons of people who are really this stupid. The average board member just isn’t used to dealing with somebody of average intelligence. Let’s not pat ourselves on the back too hard. I’ve seen plenty of terrible ideas and posts on this board; just because they had better spelling and grammar than **Dynastic** ’s effort did not make them better in any other way. By the way, I note that **Dynastic** hasn’t come back since his last post. Full day of classes today? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/55 "2009-11-12T16:31:21Z")
> [@cards](#): > > Actually the mean is the average in statistical terms and is one measure of “central tendancies”. The median and mode are other measures of central tendancies, the median being the line where 50% of the population is on one side, 50% on the other and the mode is the most frequently occurring value, but they are not the average value. Mean is (by far) the most _common_ form of “average”, but mode and median have valid claims on the term as well. Heck, even within “mean” there are variations. Arithmetic (add up all the terms, divide by the number of terms) is again the most common, but Geometric and Harmonic means are useful, too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/56 "2009-11-12T20:19:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Mean is (by far) the most _common_ form of “average”, but mode and median have valid claims on the term as well. > > Heck, even within “mean” there are variations. Arithmetic (add up all the terms, divide by the number of terms) is again the most common, but Geometric and Harmonic means are useful, too. If there is a single statistic being presented to you, and it is called the “average” the chances are extraordinarily high that it will be the Arithmetic Mean. You’re right that the other statistics exist and are used, but they’re not nearly as likely to be called the “average”. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2009, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/57 "2009-11-13T05:03:39Z")
Meh. I’ve come to define a troll as anyone who primarily posts to stir things up. I don’t care if they believe what they say or no. It’s a nice way to get around Poe’s Law. And it’s a lot easier to figure out a person’s intent than to determine if they are faking unintelligence. (And if you wonder why I don’t consider Curtis a troll is because he has AS. [He admitted it unprovoked in a [non-trollish thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=11643548&highlight=asperger%27s#post11643548)]. Aspies are the one class of people that don’t understand the concept of stirring things up.) ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/58 "2009-11-13T16:45:20Z")
**Dynastic** did reenforce a long-held belief of mine. If you have to use more than one exclamation point to make a point, you may not have a point. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/59 "2009-11-13T16:55:05Z")
> [@tv time](#): > > **dynastic** did reenforce a long-held belief of mine. If you have to use more than one exclamation point to make a point, you may not have a point. I agree!!! ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200/60 "2009-11-13T17:03:59Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > I agree!!! This!!! (Only kidding 😉 ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-people-recognize-an-obvious-troll-anymore/517200.md?page=4)