# HOW is this NOT trolling? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 5, 2018, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790 "2018-09-05T10:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/1 "2018-09-05T10:26:39Z")
I’m referring to the ‘Democrats on stage with Louis Farrakhan’ thread. How are threads such as these NOT trolling? After all, it was deliberately sensationalized and politicized, grossly misrepresentative and clearly posted to simply to outrage and attract reactions. The OP makes no attempt to defend his stance, respond to other posters, or ever return to his thread. This isn’t an accusation, if it WAS considered trolling it would have been modded, I assume. Can anyone explain what makes these kind of threads, by long time posters, NOT trolling? I’d be really interested in understanding the distinction. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/2 "2018-09-05T10:52:01Z")
[Link to the thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=861589), for interest’s sake. I guess it’s not trolling because it’s in the Pit? I know trolling’s technically against the rules there too, but they take a more charitable view of what is and isn’t trolling than other forums - piss-poorly constructed rant against “liberal hypocrisy” probably gets a pass. There’s probably also some thinking that, being in the Pit, it’ll generate more fitting punishment than anything they’d dole out ( **Miller** ’s not one for warnings when gentler modding will do, after all) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/3 "2018-09-05T10:54:48Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m referring to the ‘Democrats on stage with Louis Farrakhan’ thread. > > How are threads such as these NOT trolling? After all, it was deliberately sensationalized and politicized, grossly misrepresentative and clearly posted to simply to outrage and attract reactions. > > The OP makes no attempt to defend his stance, respond to other posters, or ever return to his thread. > > This isn’t an accusation, if it WAS considered trolling it would have been modded, I assume. > > Can anyone explain what makes these kind of threads, by long time posters, NOT trolling? I’d be really interested in understanding the distinction. …based on that particular posters other posts here: the thread wasn’t posted with the intent to stir up trouble. But was a genuine expression of exactly what they think. Hence it was “not trolling” but a rant posted in the wrong forum, so it was moved. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/4 "2018-09-05T10:56:37Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [Link to the thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=861589), for interest’s sake. > > I guess it’s not trolling because it’s in the Pit? It was started in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/5 "2018-09-05T11:05:57Z")
Genuine? Really? OP never returned or responded to posters. Does that sound genuine? Not to me. How was it meant to do anything other than stir up people? Sorry, I remain unconvinced. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/6 "2018-09-05T11:40:16Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Genuine? Really? > > OP never returned or responded to posters. Does that sound genuine? Not to me. > > How was it meant to do anything other than stir up people? Sorry, I remain unconvinced. :: shrugs :: …62 million people voted for Trump. People believe that 9/11 was an inside job. Pizzagate is a thing that actually happened. I was talking to a very close friend the other day and she turned around and said to me “but I don’t believe in that evolution thing. I didn’t come from a monkey!” There are millions of people that hold alternative opinions to what one would consider the “mainstream.” They exist. I’ve talked to them. People vote for them. They actually believe what they are saying. They aren’t making it up. Trolling is a deliberate act with the intent of getting people angry. You’ve made a case that this is what happened here: but you haven’t made a particularly strong case. Sorry, I remain unconvinced. I’ve posted to a thread before then had to go to work and not revisited it for a week. And by the time I got back to it the conversation had drifted so much it wasn’t worth dropping back in. It happens. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/7 "2018-09-05T12:04:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > It was started in MPSIMS. That does put a different blush to it. > [@elbows](#): > > OP never returned or responded to posters. Does that sound genuine? Some posters don’t post in the Pit. Don’t know if that includes **Mangosteen**. They’ve certainly never started a thread there, ever. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/8 "2018-09-05T12:18:54Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > I was talking to a very close friend the other day and she turned around and said to me “but I don’t believe in that evolution thing. I didn’t come from a monkey!” My go-to in this situation is a modified quote from Futurama: “As a man of science, I assure you we did, in fact, evolve from filthy monkey-men.” ETA: I’ve said this IRL 6-10 times. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/9 "2018-09-05T12:40:06Z")
Now, see, if we had ONE place called “Politics” where ALL political post had to be, these types of situations could be much more easily avoided! 🙂 … Yeah, I know, I can be a nag. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/10 "2018-09-05T13:01:05Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …based on that particular posters other posts here: the thread wasn’t posted with the intent to stir up trouble. But was a genuine expression of exactly what they think. Hence it was “not trolling” but a rant posted in the wrong forum, so it was moved. This. 90% of my friends on FB are Repubs, and they often express the same sentiment. I’m not sure if I would want to silence people like these. I REALLY don’t want this place to become more of an echo chamber than it already is. That said, I do understand your frustration **Elbows**. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/11 "2018-09-05T13:26:47Z")
So it sounds like the poster in question has a long and contributory posting history that provides useful context to what certainly appears to be a troll OP? Is that the general consensus? ---
**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:** [September 5, 2018, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/12 "2018-09-05T14:01:48Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > This. 90% of my friends on FB are Repubs, and they often express the same sentiment. I certainly know a lot of people who think that Farrakhan is a really bad guy, and who see the cropping him out of photographs next to prominent Democratic figures, and the omission of his presence from what was otherwise heavy news coverage (and covered as a very political event), as evidence that he gets preferentially delicate treatment from the media. It’s not politically effective outside an arena like the Dope simply to say that it’s trolling to mention that Farrakhan was there in a place of honor. Maybe MPSIMS was the wrong forum, but that was solved by moving it. The tone of the post struck me as juvenile, but that’s hardly unique among politically-charged posts. The failure to return to the post I leave to the mods to evaluate. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/13 "2018-09-05T15:30:09Z")
> [@andros](#): > > So it sounds like the poster in question has a long and contributory posting history that provides useful context to what certainly appears to be a troll OP? Is that the general consensus? The OP has been here for 13 years and has a posting history of starting many, many non-political threads, in addition to the occasional foray into Trumpville. Poor reasoning, yes. Troll, no. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/14 "2018-09-05T16:05:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The OP has been here for 13 years and has a posting history of starting many, many non-political threads, in addition to the occasional foray into Trumpville. Poor reasoning, yes. Troll, no. Agreed. It is not uncommon for some posters to post screeds they don’t return to. There is no requirement they do so, nor should there be. A rant is a rant, however inflammatory. It needn’t turn into a debate. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/15 "2018-09-05T16:16:09Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > I’m referring to the ‘Democrats on stage with Louis Farrakhan’ thread. > > How are threads such as these NOT trolling? After all, it was deliberately sensationalized and politicized, grossly misrepresentative and clearly posted to simply to outrage and attract reactions. > > The OP makes no attempt to defend his stance, respond to other posters, or ever return to his thread. > > This isn’t an accusation, if it WAS considered trolling it would have been modded, I assume. > > Can anyone explain what makes these kind of threads, by long time posters, NOT trolling? I’d be really interested in understanding the distinction. Simple; it’s right wing. On the SDMB like everywhere else there’s a huge double standard favoring the political right. Right wingers can and do regularly post in ways that would get an infraction for a non right winger. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/16 "2018-09-05T16:44:59Z")
Hmmm…thank you all for your input, you made some solid points, for sure. I guess I wrongly thought a mod would stop by to answer why this isn’t trolling, it looks to me to be on the ragged fringes of trolling. Guess I’ll never know, shrug. Oh well, I guess what makes one thing trolling and not this is the kind of knowledge you have to be born with! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/17 "2018-09-05T17:01:10Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Simple; it’s right wing. On the SDMB like everywhere else there’s a huge double standard favoring the political right. Right wingers can and do regularly post in ways that would get an infraction for a non right winger. You mean like this? [Trump is a threat to our nation, and those who are not actively opposing him are traitors](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=861617) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/18 "2018-09-06T03:14:36Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > You mean like this? > > [Trump is a threat to our nation, and those who are not actively opposing him are traitors](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=861617) Which is not coincidentally in the BBQ Pit, since that’s about the only place left that truth can be spoken. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/19 "2018-09-06T03:42:21Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Which is not coincidentally in the BBQ Pit, since that’s about the only place left that truth can be spoken. Lol. I guess you don’t frequent any of the other forums where insults directed at Republicans, conservatives, etc. are quite common. Assuming that’s what you mean by the “truth.” ---
**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:** [September 7, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790/20 "2018-09-07T00:35:02Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Which is not coincidentally in the BBQ Pit, since that’s about the only place left that truth can be spoken. I have no earthly idea where you’re getting this nonsense. Especially considering all the whining we get from conservatives over the years that this place is biased towards the left. (Which is bullshit as well) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-this-not-trolling/820790.md?page=2)