Well look at it this way. It wasn’t such a smart move however you interpret it.
Nope.
Trolling does not require you not to believe what you say. It just requires you to post to stir up shit. A troll gets pleasure out of the discomfort of others.
Shodan was called a troll when he admitted he posts just to tweak people sometimes. Now that he’s said that, people are suspicious that anything else he says may also be trolling. And, possibly in response, I think he’s now more careful to not come off that way, so his ideas won’t be dismissed.
When dealing with people who have not admitted to trolling, style is important. If a new guy comes in and is an asshole and happens to just find the very things that upset Dopers most, trolling seems likely. If they post obviously provocative things in a way that seems like they don’t understand how they could’ve provocative, and get angry when people tell them it is provocative, trolling is likely.
Trolling is a huge problem online, and ruins discussions. Hence we look for patterns to identify them. Yeah, our emotions color this, as that’s part of it–if it makes you oddly angry, that’s often first clue that something is up.
Unfortunately, by design, a lot of trolling is nearly indistinguishable from a sincere poster. So it’s easy to mess up. And, of course, if your community leans one way, and people join that community just to argue the other way, they are suspicious. I mean, I would never join a conservative board and start arguing with them in a hostile manner. I’d obviously just get everyone piling on me and only make them more resolute. The only reason I might do that is if I enjoyed the pileon–meaning I’m trolling.
And, like it or not, supporting someone like Trump who ran his entire campaign on a form of trolling also makes you suspicious. And posting that you enjoy how upset it makes liberals, especially on a liberal board, makes it seem all but certain.
At least it’s possible someone legitimately thinks Trump was the best choice. Supporting him because he’d piss liberals off? That’s a “Republitroll.” And fucking scary.
Stop, for God’s sake. I wasn’t equating insults with trolling, I was making fun of your bookish, obsequious OP and its suggestion of injured pride, hot on the heels of slinging handfuls of shit at other posters.
If you’re a troll, it’s because of your apparently insatiable appetite for JAQing about perceived Democratic/liberal failures, not because you called someone a dipshit in the Pit.
That said, if you want to discuss the rules about trolling, you’d probably be best off asking the mods in ATMB. My guess is that it’s Clothy’s admition plus actions outside the Pit.
Are you aware that this was in the Pit? Of course my intent wasn’t to convey information. Are you serious? You can’t know this board very well if you believe serious discussions take place in the Pit. Besides, such language would not have been tolerated (and rightly) in other forums. A really surprising reply.
You missed out the part, perhaps advisedly, where other posters were slinging shit at me. Anyway isn’t that what the Pit is for? I admit that I do enjoy the occasional bout of flyting. It’s often an entertaining challenge attempting to top the other person’s barb. I make no pretense that I’m good at it but I try my best.
In all fairness, everyone got banned once. Every last one of us. So it’s not like it’s anything new to them.