# I've been warned for accusing another of trolling. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [May 4, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835 "2012-05-04T03:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/1 "2012-05-04T03:52:19Z")
We really need clarify this rule, **Idle Thoughts**. I never accused **Sicks Ate** of being a troll, I accused him of trolling. There is a difference, In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15031043&posted=1#post15031043) **Sicks Ate** posted about a gay Republican who came out against a gay bill. In his OP, he said it was good “fodder”. After 36 minutes he didn’t have a bite so he posted this: > [@Sicks Ate](#): > > Well, either I was wrong or I didn’t bait the hook properly. > > Allow me to try again. The guy is: > > 1. Republican > > 2. Gay > > 3. A farmer (not sure what that has to do with it, but maybe somebody will come up with something) After telling him that farming doesn’t have jack shit to do with being gay I posted these two, which is what I was warned for. > [@A Monkey Wit A Gun](#): > > What I meant by that is that it looks to me like you were trying to start a political fight so you could sit back and enjoy the fireworks. You wanted inflammatory responses to your OP, you didn’t get them, so you “baited the hook again”. > > You’re fishing, buddy. I went canoeing up in Minnesota in a canoe a while ago. We dropped fishing lines out the back as we paddled. That type of fishing is called trolling. It is what the annoying internet behavior is named after. It means not doing anything except letting the fish in the lake do all the work. > > You’re fishing. > [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Let me clarify something, though. Sicks Ate, I don’t think you are A troll, I think you are trolling. Just don’t do make a habit of it. I got warned by **Idle Thoughts** for that. Has “trolling” become such a word that we get warned for even using it? Hell, it’s origin is a fishing term. The guy even said “bait the hook”. I don’t think **Sicks Ate** did anything necessarily improper in that thread. But he did do what “trolling” is originally named after. i.e. fish for a fight. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/2 "2012-05-04T03:59:26Z")
And let me remind everybody there is a difference between “A Troll” and a poster who is “trolling”. Both are bad, but it’s the difference between “an asshole” and “being an asshole”. And no, I don’t think **Sicks Ate** is either an asshole or a troll. But I do think he was fishing in a way I don’t like. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/3 "2012-05-04T04:02:36Z")
Huh, I never thought about that. Do trolls fish? Is there water under the bridge? You sort of called him a troll when you referred to how the “internet behavior” got its name, but it’s a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/4 "2012-05-04T04:06:17Z")
As I said in PM (and the thread itself), it’s also against the rules to accuse someone of trolling (outside of the Pit). If you think another person is trolling (or a troll), you should just report the post rather than resorting to calling them out on it in the thread (which may lead to further heated words or arguments). You can also start a Pit thread about them. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/5 "2012-05-04T04:09:19Z")
That’s not trolling, anyway. He wasn’t looking for political fireworks. He wanted zingers. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/6 "2012-05-04T04:15:16Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Huh, I never thought about that. Do trolls fish? Is there water under the bridge? > > You sort of called him a troll when you referred to how the “internet behavior” got its name, but it’s a stretch. Stretch?! It’s the etymology. [cite](http://computer.howstuffworks.com/troll.htm). > [@HowStuffWorks](#): > > Originally, the Web version of a troll alluded to a fishing technique. In fishing, to troll is to pull a fishing line behind a moving boat in hopes of coaxing a fish to take the bait. Web trolling is very similar ---
**Author:** ![living\_in\_hell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@living\_in\_hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/living_in_hell)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/7 "2012-05-04T04:20:00Z")
I’m not crazy about you telling me to stop hijacking a thread where I was replying to posters who were replying to me. I haven’t figured out how to quote multiple posters in one reply post yet, so I reply individually. If you have an issue with my behavior in a thread, kindly reply to me in a PM or report it. But to say “You’re hijacking. Stop” makes you sound like a bossy pants hall monitor to me. I’m guessing that you will probably say I’m hijacking this thread, but it seemed like as good a place as any to address your policing. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/8 "2012-05-04T04:24:55Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > We really need clarify this rule, **Idle Thoughts**. I never accused **Sicks Ate** of being a troll, I accused him of trolling. There is a difference, There’s no difference as far as the rule is concerned. As **Idle Thoughts** said, accusing someone of trolling is explicitly against the rules in itself, not just calling them a troll. [From here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298) > [@](#): > > It is against Straight Dope Message Board policy to accuse someone of trolling outside the Pit forum. See, the accusation of trolling is “feeding” them – it’s responding to them. The best response is silence. If you see behavior that you believe is trolling, do not respond in the thread – instead, report the post to the Moderators. Let them handle it. > [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > I got warned by **Idle Thoughts** for that. Has “trolling” become such a word that we get warned for even using it? Hell, it’s origin is a fishing term. The guy even said “bait the hook”. I don’t think **Sicks Ate** did anything necessarily improper in that thread. But he did do what “trolling” is originally named after. i.e. fish for a fight. It seems you are just being disingenuous here. You weren’t accusing him of fishing by trolling, you were clearly accusing him of the internet behavior that’s named after it. You might have thought you could skirt the rules by phrasing it the way you did, but that’s not going to work. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/9 "2012-05-04T04:28:12Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > As I said in PM (and the thread itself), it’s also against the rules to accuse someone of trolling (outside of the Pit). Why? Seriously, why? Must I come to you every time I think somebody is close to fishing for a reaction, but maybe not actually meaning it? On preview, **living\_in\_hell** , I have nothing against you. That’s a different thread. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/10 "2012-05-04T04:29:01Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Stretch?! It’s the etymology. [cite](http://computer.howstuffworks.com/troll.htm). Er, sorry. I meant it was a stretch that you were calling someone a troll. Being a troll and trolling really don’t mean the same thing anymore, if they ever did. Whew. I wonder if you would have been warned for saying “you’re fishing” which could be interpreted as an accusation of trolling. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/11 "2012-05-04T04:36:23Z")
**Colibri** , I’ll take the god damn warning. Just consider this thread as me registering a protest. I’ll take it, and I won’t fight it that much, but I am damn sure going to post my displeasure about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/12 "2012-05-04T04:45:22Z")
It’s a well-known board rule, and you broke it. I’m not really seeing the problem. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/13 "2012-05-04T04:48:59Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > **Colibri** , I’ll take the god damn warning. Just consider this thread as me registering a protest. I’m not sure exactly what you’re “protesting.” In the OP, you suggested that the rule “needed to be clarified.” We have pointed out that the rule didn’t need to be clarified, since it quite explicitly prohibits exactly what you said. > [@](#): > > I’ll take it, and I won’t fight it that much, but I am damn sure going to post my displeasure about it. You’re welcome.😉 ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/14 "2012-05-04T04:54:49Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > It’s a well-known board rule, and you broke it. I guess what gets me is that it IS a board rule. I’m allowed to say “Stop fishing for a fight”, but I’m not allowed to bring up the “t” word. meh. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/15 "2012-05-04T04:59:25Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > I guess what gets me is that it IS a board rule. I’m allowed to say “Stop fishing for a fight”, but I’m not allowed to bring up the “t” word. If you were obviously using the euphemism “fishing” as a way to accuse another poster of trolling, then you would still be liable for a warning. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/16 "2012-05-04T05:07:59Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If you were obviously using the euphemism “fishing” as a way to accuse another poster of trolling, then you would still be liable for a warning. But see, that’s what I don’t get. Y’all have such a zero tolerance policy when it comes to trolls that it loses rationality. “Trolling” isn’t always a character trait, it can be a behavior. You know that. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/17 "2012-05-04T05:20:55Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > But see, that’s what I don’t get. Y’all have such a zero tolerance policy when it comes to trolls that it loses rationality. “Trolling” isn’t always a character trait, it can be a behavior. You know that. Accusing someone else of trolling is an insult. That’s why it’s against the rules (outside the Pit), and why you were warned. Whether someone else is actually trolling is for the moderators to decide. So if you think that’s what they are doing, report it. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/18 "2012-05-04T05:32:10Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Accusing someone else of trolling is an insult. I don’t think calling out a behavior is the same as a direct insult. Maybe that’s where you and me differ. I’m not being a smartass here. Maybe the thing is that we DO look at insults differently. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2012, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/19 "2012-05-04T05:33:46Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > But see, that’s what I don’t get. Y’all have such a zero tolerance policy when it comes to trolls that it loses rationality. “Trolling” isn’t always a character trait, it can be a behavior. You know that. Why would this be relevant? The point is that accusing someone of that behavior trait is against the rules. It has nothing to do with the desire to stop trolls. It has to do with the fact that it’s incendiary. Trolling even once is a horribly disliked behavior, and thus eve accusing someone of doing it once is considered an attack. Trolling is not something you can do accidentally. You might not call it that, or realize it’s wrong, but you must have a fundamental desire to try and stir up needless confrontation. That desire is what is considered wrong. It’s so wrong that accusing someone of having that desire is itself considered wrong. To accuse someone of trolling is to say something fundamental about who they are as a person. It doesn’t matter whether they do it once or make a habit of it. It’s still an attack on their character. The acceptable way of voicing your opinion would have been to say that it “sounded like trolling, but you knew it wasn’t due to his character.” Or to have just done what you said you wanted to do, and opened a thread in the Pit about it. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835/20 "2012-05-04T05:37:22Z")
Wait, seriously? If someone posts that they are “baiting the hook” and someone points out that that is, by definition, trolling, they can get warned? That’s not an insult, it’s a definition! And could the other poster get warned simply for saying that they are “baiting the hook”? After all, they are _literally_ admitting to trolling! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-been-warned-for-accusing-another-of-trolling/620835.md?page=2)