I shall write 100 times: I will not feed the trolls

[sangfroid]

@BlankSlate

… jogger anal cobalt thread.

Worst. Call sign. EVER.
Now I feel guilty for just wanting to join that thread (and almost did) but it got closed first.

THe eNd. So final.

[John_Mace]

@BlankSlate

You know nothing, John Mace.

Well, thanks Egrid (or whatever the hell her name was)!

[eulalia]

@OneCentStamp

I’m actually proud of how well we’re doing at ignoring construct. I’d say over half his posts, no matter how calculated to spark a response, go unanswered these days.

Now if we could only get people to stop quoting bosbfdsfd…

[Snowboarder_Bo]

From VICE: Netiquette 101: Don’t Feed the Trolls.

[Gothic]

I agree with this pitt and will stay away from threads by Idle Thoughts.

[Shodan]

@Martian Bigfoot

Well, thanks. But, actually, I was. I was certainly keeping the page views and reply count up. And having a grand old time in the process.

We were all having a grand old time.

I don’t think you have anything to apologize for. I came late to the Cobalt trolling thread, but enjoyed reading it after it was locked. Especially your responses.

A bad troll is boring and annoying. A good one gives us a chance to riff and do one-liners. A few pages later, the troll gets banned and we go back to abusing Republicans and insisting there’s no such thing as race.

Regards,
Shodan

[OneCentStamp]

@Shodan

We were all having a grand old time.

I don’t think you have anything to apologize for. I came late to the Cobalt trolling thread, but enjoyed reading it after it was locked. Especially your responses.

A bad troll is boring and annoying. A good one gives us a chance to riff and do one-liners. **A few pages later, the troll gets banned and we go back to abusing Republicans and insisting there’s no such thing as race. **

Regards,
Shodan

This made coffee come out of my nose.

[not_what_you_d_expect]

I don’t have a problem with most Trolls and if everyone stops responding, we’re going to run out of threads for me to read.

Threads with trolls can be frustrating, but more often than not, they end up being entertaining. And they can even be educational.

[BigT]

I’m starting to think you’re just hyperaware of your own jerkishness. Lots of people here play with trolls. None of you are really causing any problems. As you admit, you aren’t trolling yourself. You’re having fun with a poster who is going to be banned soon. Personally, I call it “trolling the troll.”

DNFTT really should be something more like “Don’t let them get your goat.” I don’t think it really applies to what you were doing. I’m not even sure you can knowingly feed a troll without trolling yourself.

[Don_t_Panic]

@BigT

I’m not even sure you can knowingly feed a troll without trolling yourself.

I guess that very thought was what freaked me out. Maybe I should have picked a better title for this thread. “I shall not troll by proxy”? “I shall not be a troll enabler”? “I shall not hang out in the troll pool”?

I guess that when that thread was closed, I suddenly found myself looking around and wondering whether any mods were looking at me funny. Maybe I wasn’t exactly trolling myself (I sure hope not), but it sure felt like I had been up to *something *naughty. So a bit of soul searching felt appropriate.

[Your_Great_Darsh_Face]

@Jragon

I’m always half-tempted to just follow him around and quote all his posts with just the response “lol”, because there’s such a thing as too obvious.

lol

[FXMastermind]

@Gothic

I agree with this pitt and will stay away from threads by Idle Thoughts.

I actually got that joke

[Morgenstern]

Martain, I will share my Troll/Sock checklist with you. It’s not perfect, but it does lead to bells and whistles going off when these conditions are met.

Troll/Sock Checklist.

1. New member.

2. First (or within first few) post made at board.

3. Subject matter aimed at opinions, not provable fact.

4. Arithmetically/grammar/spelling challenged.

5. Probably not bright enough to create the subject, instead copied it from elsewhere.

6. Responds to those who feed the thrust of the troll, ignores logic and facts presented by others.

7. They avoid getting angry for things that would make a typical member angry.

8. Responding to any criticism by playing the victim.

9. Start at a mid-thread post. Would a new member be posting that, or is it something building on the trolling agenda?

Okay, this isn’t conclusive evidence of a troll, but it gives you enough of an indication that you can loosen the rails on the track ahead of the train…