# If you accuse yourself of trolling, is that 2 violations? Or just 1? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 21, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925 "2013-01-21T18:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/61 "2013-03-19T19:30:12Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Ok, so don’t answer my question. In what way is this - > [@](#): > > if you’ve written multiple messages, bragging that you’re deliberately posting in all the forums (and not just the Pit) in a way designed to annoy people so as to “teach them a lesson”, yes not an answer to the question? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/62 "2013-03-19T19:51:19Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Ok, so don’t answer my question. :smack: I will try to put this in simpler terms, that we might achieve communication. Your “question” was "Do you believe merely being annoying, deliberate or not, to be sufficient grounds for a warning or ban? " This question cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” any more than the question “Is it ok to call someone a troll on the SDMB?” can be answered with a “yes” or "no. The answer to the “troll” question is “Yes, in the pit, no anywhere else.” In the same way, "do you believe merely being annoying, deliberate or not, to be sufficient grounds for a warning or ban? " is incomplete. The answer is clearly: [ul] [li]Yes, if announced as deliberate and if it’s done outside the Pit[/li][li]Maybe, if not announced as deliberate and outside the Pit[/li][li]Maybe, deliberate or not, inside the Pit[/li][/ul] To use an old example, but a classic one, Lissner was warned or at least mod-noted for announcing that he was going to call Liberal “Liberaltarian” from that point forward. He was told it was not ok inside the Pit or outside of it either. To use another, somewhat newer, example, posters were told to not use the term “buckeyes” or…some acronym that I don’t remember (it ended with “Crazy Assed Bitch”) around or in reference to Opalcat inside the Pit or outside. However these examples are few and far between, but there’s just enough of them that I don’t know the “inside the Pit rules”. But I _do_ believe, as a poster, that there is a large body of evidence (the Lissener/Liberal’tarian’ thing comes to mind) saying that posting “Ha-ha, I’m going to post “such-and-such” outside the pit, simply to annoy you and teach you a lesson” is absolutely forbidden…both the threat and the action. If this is not your understanding of the current rules, then I’d like to hear your take on them. I hope I’ve clarified my position to your satisfaction. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/63 "2013-03-19T20:41:00Z")
Let’s cut to the chase. Are you going to answer **Colibri** ’s question or aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/64 "2013-03-19T20:51:19Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Let’s cut to the chase. Are you going to answer **Colibri** ’s question or aren’t you? Geez, someone better. This shit’s keeping me up nights. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/65 "2013-03-19T21:29:19Z")
Where I come from, not answering someone’s question is liable to cause a knife fight to break out. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/66 "2013-03-19T21:33:33Z")
> [@Krav\_Manga](#): > > Where I come from, not answering someone’s question is liable to cause a knife fight to break out. Where I come from not participating in a knife fight is likely to cause someone to ask questions. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/67 "2013-03-19T21:57:50Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Are you seriously advocating that we warn or ban people for being annoying in the Pit? Well, yes. Why do posters get banned? For being a jerk. Why is being a jerk considered worthy of banning? Because it interrupts the conversation others have and that interruption is annoying. If it weren’t annoying, we wouldn’t care and wouldn’t have rules against it. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/68 "2013-03-19T22:12:27Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > Geez, someone better. This shit’s keeping me up nights. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Well, yes. Why do posters get banned? For being a jerk. Why is being a jerk considered worthy of banning? Because it interrupts the conversation others have and that interruption is annoying. If it weren’t annoying, we wouldn’t care and wouldn’t have rules against it. Oh thank god. I’ve had to pee for like four hours now. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/69 "2013-03-19T23:04:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Objection; badgering the witness! Honey Badger don’t give a shit. ---
**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:** [March 19, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/70 "2013-03-19T23:59:00Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Honey Badger don’t give a shit. Clear the courtroom. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/71 "2013-03-20T00:47:25Z")
Well personally I don’t think being annoying should be a sufficient grounds for a warning or a ban in any forum. For one thing lots of people find being corrected to be annoying and the board’s core mission can make such events all but inevitable. There will be casualties during the War on Ignorance, moderator sanity being only one such example. So what is trolling? Basically, IMHO, it’s being inflammatory for the sake of being inflammatory as opposed to when annoyance is a side effect or artifact. What should be banned? Jerks who can’t suppress their jerkishness should be banned. What about the accusations cast at **BigT**? I think you need to match a post that is disruptive to a confession of trollery. If somebody confesses to being a troll, but there exists no example of unacceptably disruptive posting, then I can’t see how that should be a bannable offense. IMHO. I perceive more lawyering than substance in this thread, though admittedly I lack a detailed understanding of the posting history of the various players here. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/72 "2013-03-31T17:20:35Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Wouldn’t it be three violations because it involves junior modding as well? 😃 Just caught up with this thread. What’d I miss? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925/73 "2013-03-31T19:28:09Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 😃 > > Just caught up with this thread. What’d I miss? **Moderator Note** **Leo** , don’t bump threads pointlessly. This is closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-accuse-yourself-of-trolling-is-that-2-violations-or-just-1/647925.md?page=3)