# Standard for troll-banning **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832 "2007-12-13T07:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/1 "2007-12-13T07:33:44Z")
What is the standard for determining that a poster is a troll, and how has it not been met by **copperwindow** [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=447359) ? Especially given this post: > [@](#): > > When the vast majority of the teeming millions agree that I was (am) an asshole, I’m able to overlook it. After all, I’m starting to seriously doubt that the number of the teeming millions are actually in the millions. But when both Q.E.D and Monty, two dopers with an impressive amount of knowledge, both agree I was in the wrong, I need to re-evaluate it. The way I it, either my concern could have been better handled by someone of my own race, or they couldn’t. If they could have been better handled by a caucasian, I feel I had the right, as a customer, to get the most helpful service. If they could not be better handed by a caucasian, if a black person is going to give me equal service as a white person, how is that racist? If the race of the employee is meaningless, it would have been like me asking to speak to another black employee. If that would have been racist, who would it have been racist to? Furthermore, isn’t Circuit City being racist by not hiring enough white people to work in customer service? Here in Vermont, the reason we don’t hire black people is because there aren’t any to hire. In a diverse place like NYC, the melting pot of the world, I fail to see how they can have that problem. Every single line is clearly crafted to troll. Indeed, if I wanted to craft the ultimate post to troll the SDMB, it would likely involve race, customer service, prescriptivism, de-clawing, and making fun of one of the usual targets (i.e. Sampiro, QED, et al.). 4/5 ain’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/2 "2007-12-13T07:54:47Z")
I bet de-clawing is going to come in somehow, soon enough. ETA: And shoe etiquette. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/3 "2007-12-13T08:14:16Z")
Are you fat, OP? I’m just curious because I’ve noticed fat people are more likely to start threads about trolls. Must be all the screwed up blood sugar levels making them paranoid. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/4 "2007-12-13T10:03:34Z")
It boggles my mind that the referenced thread is _still_ active. The mods must have started x-mas break. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/5 "2007-12-13T10:34:05Z")
Making it more odd to me is that this is troll season - different family IPs, free time, and all that. My guess is that it’s being discussed, but RL is slowing the process. Personally I enjoy it when they stay open but relatively on-point. (Best in show for me: “I changed the title for you.”) Once they drift into other sniping, I drift away. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/6 "2007-12-13T10:44:34Z")
Or have given the Pit denizens **copperwindow** as an early x-mas present to play with… ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/7 "2007-12-13T14:16:05Z")
If you are genuinely and truly a racist and/or really don’t like people of other races waiting on you, then the quote in the OP isn’t a troll. A troll says things he doesn’t believe to get a rise out of people. Racist do tend to get banned but that’s because being a jerk is a bannable offense and most racists are jerks. P.S. I did not read the thread in question, I’m only throwing in my opinion on the OP of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/8 "2007-12-13T14:26:36Z")
Myself, I’ve been seeing a lot of (ostensibly) banned socks. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/9 "2007-12-13T14:31:20Z")
Why _do_ we continue to prosecute victimless crimes like baby-raping? ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/10 "2007-12-13T16:41:28Z")
Troll: someone who generates more complaints than pageviews. That thread keeps people visiting and puffing the site metrics. It helps the site. If the numbers of complaints makes it seems like it is not worth the hassle of fielding them, it will be closed. Until then, it is good. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/11 "2007-12-13T16:45:14Z")
The thread in question and its ilk are one of the best things about the board- always good for several laughs per page. And since the number of views on them are generally triple any other current thread, obviously lots of people enjoy them as well, so why ban them or close them? Hell, I say encourage more of them! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/12 "2007-12-13T17:14:15Z")
Why ban trolls? Fair question. Partly because this board is about information, and trolling takes up bandwidth by, at best, being neutral and at worst spreading ignorance. I would think that if you’ve ever complained about board speed or spam threads, you’d want to reserve all the resources for actual posters. Plus, why reward jerks? Seems like punishing jerks is an end unto itself. [QUOTE=Biggirl] If you are genuinely and truly a racist and/or really don’t like people of other races waiting on you, then the quote in the OP isn’t a troll. A troll says things he doesn’t believe to get a rise out of people. Racist do tend to get banned but that’s because being a jerk is a bannable offense and most racists are jerks. P.S. I did not read the thread in question, I’m only throwing in my opinion on the OP of this thread. [/QUOTE] Well, I think we ought not ban sincere racists. Web interaction is probably our only hope of reaching such people and planting seeds of tolerance. But it seems clear beyond reasonable doubt to me that \*\*copperwindow \*\*is not sincere, but is instead trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/13 "2007-12-13T17:15:56Z")
Yes, the only reason I would look at a thread I’m subscribed to is because of the sheer Christmas joy it brings. :rolleyes: Nice work, Sherlock. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/14 "2007-12-13T17:19:51Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] Are you fat, OP? I’m just curious because I’ve noticed fat people are more likely to start threads about trolls. Must be all the screwed up blood sugar levels making them paranoid. [/QUOTE] I thought picky eaters, with their child-like chicken finger-based diet, were more likely to start such threads, because they lack the sophistication to discuss worthwhile topics. Macs rule. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/15 "2007-12-13T17:22:02Z")
[QUOTE=CarnalK] Are you fat, OP? I’m just curious because I’ve noticed fat people are more likely to start threads about trolls. Must be all the screwed up blood sugar levels making them paranoid. 😉 [/QUOTE] No, my faith in the lord keeps me quite svelte, as god designed me to be. That’s why muslims are all so fat. Also did you hear that Hillary Clinton gave a blowjob to an elementary school dodge ball bully? That’s sodomy, right? Global warming. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/16 "2007-12-13T17:24:09Z")
**copperwindow** is the standard member of another message board I visit from time to time. (It’s tied to a certain online policial simulator). The site is full of em. They think they’re being insightful but their pseudo logic just misses the point. So he may be an asshole, but it’s not proof of a troll IMHO. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/17 "2007-12-13T17:30:23Z")
I just closed that thread and warned **copperwindow**. While we suspected trolling from the get-go, I didn’t see a problem with letting him argue his position (and get chewed on by the TM for it). Saying stupid, unpopular things is not necessarily trolling and there was always an outside chance he is a racist who wanted to try to defend it. At the end, however, it became painfully obvious he was simply playing dumb to get responses, at which point he was just wasting everyone’s time. Just a warning, though, unless it happens again. The standards for banning paid members are quite a bit higher than banning guests. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/18 "2007-12-13T17:31:13Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Yes, the only reason I would look at a thread I’m subscribed to is because of the sheer Christmas joy it brings. :rolleyes: Nice work, Sherlock. [/QUOTE] I’m not understanding. Are you not being sarcastic and the thread actually does bring you Christmas joy and that’s why you subscribed? Then the roll eyes are throwing me off. Or you are being sarcastic and you subscribed to the thread for some mysterious, masochistic reason? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/19 "2007-12-13T17:48:09Z")
I subscribed to the thread because I posted to it. When I saw new posts and checked it again, it was to see if **copperwindow** had responded. Believe me, there was no joy in checking that thread, and I’m glad it’s finally been closed. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832/20 "2007-12-13T17:49:55Z")
Instead of banning trolls, we should just remove their source of fuel by declaring certain topics off-limits. Many of these so-called “controversial” questions have been definitively resolved anyway, and only someone who’s trying to be facetious would argue them. For example, there’s no longer any question that all women who breastfeed are lesbians; that black people are bad tippers not because they’re cheap, but because their brains are unable to calculate percentages; and that having a cat’s paws amputated is a perfectly acceptable way to protect your expensive furniture. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/standard-for-troll-banning/429832.md?page=2)