# Message Board Nomenclature

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309 "2003-11-26T03:03:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309/1 "2003-11-26T03:03:19Z")

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I think I know what a sock and troll are, not really sure what a straw man is. If you were around earlier tonight (11/25/03 about 7PM EST), we had the distinct displeasure of a poster named something like EVIL\_MONKEYS\_IN\_MY\_HEAD. What’s the official message board name for someone like him/her? A Kamikaze?

If you weren’t here, this character created a user name and began a posting rampage, like 20 posts in 20 minutes. All the posts I saw were basically nonsense.

So is there a dictionary out there somewhere that defines message board “nuisance” nomenclature?

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309/2 "2003-11-26T03:05:52Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by ccwaterback \*  
> \*\* What’s the official message board name for someone like him/her? A Kamikaze? \*\*

That was a sockpuppet, and a troll.

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**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309/3 "2003-11-26T03:13:19Z")

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Sockpuppet because he was a user (banned or not) with a second username, and troll because he was being a pest (rude and nonsensical), right?

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**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309/4 "2003-11-26T03:28:04Z")

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Troll, because he posted nonsensical stuff seeking a reaction.

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**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/message-board-nomenclature/215309/5 "2003-11-26T03:33:03Z")

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And a straw man is a logical fallacy used in arguments. You’ll see a lot of those in Great Debates. [Here’s a good explanation of a straw man.](http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/straw.htm)