# This is not a Regards, Shodan pitting **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 26, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548 "2008-11-26T13:53:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/1 "2008-11-26T13:53:36Z")
This is a Do Not Feed The Trolls mini-rant. The SDMB sure does love to entertain some trolls. I want to pit all the people who bother to continue this tradition. This isn’t specifically about Regards, Shodan. But he is surely a top contender for Trolling-est Doper, and the subject of today’s DNFTT PSA. I don’t mean to lump all conservative posters in together as trolls, either. There are enough who can express an intelligent opinion to outnumber the trolls. That’s a rare thing, and part of why I love the SDMB. BUT [We could use less of this.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10498381&postcount=227) This is not debate. This is somebody caught in a trap. \* This is what Regards, Shodan and his breed are all about. Making you waste your time trying to unravel a ball of yarn that they are actively tying more knots into as you work. It is a crack up to watch the first few times. But after a while, you notice that it is a pattern that clogs up thread after thread around here. They aren’t dumb, so you aren’t actually correcting them or enlightening them. It is an intentional routine they perform. Imagine the things that could be accomplished with all the time these brilliant minds spend playing semantic games with the Dope’s trolls. You people are better this. New Rule: No more wasting time refuting the likes of Regards, Shodan. IGNORE THEM ALL. We can’t change them. They love trolling the SDMB, and have been refining it longer than many of us have been posting. But what we can do is read right by them. They’re a bratty child pulling at your pant-leg during a conversation with another adult. Just give them a pat on their pointy little heads and scoot them along toward the playground. If the poster is Regards, Shodan (we can identify the rest as we go, if it pleases), you can safely assume that you are not going to get Integrity with that post. You are going to get some backward tricksy nonsense dragging back and forth for a page in the middle of an otherwise good thread. Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level, and beat you with experience. \*If I really need to break down the stupidity going on there, I can post again later I guess… It seems rather blatant. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/2 "2008-11-26T14:17:55Z")
Have you got a better example? That one didn’t really fire me up. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/3 "2008-11-26T14:30:25Z")
Sorry, but we went so long here without being able to call people trolls that, now that it’s okay, if I want to feed the dang things, I’m gonna. How else are we going to have things we can call trolls? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/4 "2008-11-26T14:33:47Z")
I’m glad he stopped putting Regards, Shodan at the bottom of every post, largely in response to other poster’s requests. He didn’t _have_ to do it, and as noted in the various pits of the practice it wasn’t universally irksome. I think using “Regards” in the Pit title is kind of cheesy (is “kind of cheesy” too wimpy for the Pit?), detracts/distracts from the actual point of the thread, and given that he’s stopped, is a bit irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/5 "2008-11-26T14:36:37Z")
Meh. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly and Shodan’s gotta be an idiot. But let me get this straight, you are demanding that we ignore him with a text wall of a post dedicated to him? He rarely, if ever, merits more than a single line drive by insult. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/6 "2008-11-26T15:02:10Z")
Look, for the 88.5 billionth time (that’s the actual number; I counted them), just because you don’t like the things someone posts or the way they post them does not mean they’re necessarily a troll. As much as I dislike the idea of more rules, I wish they’d reinstate the troll-calling one just so I don’t have to hear one idiot call another idiot a troll anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/7 "2008-11-26T15:15:49Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > Look, for the 88.5 billionth time (that’s the actual number; I counted them), just because you don’t like the things someone posts or the way they post them does not mean they’re necessarily a troll. As much as I dislike the idea of more rules, I wish they’d reinstate the troll-calling one just so I don’t have to hear one idiot call another idiot a troll anymore. Did you Google that? ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/8 "2008-11-26T15:29:55Z")
Dear fuckface, Shodan is not a troll, and where the fuck do you get off telling me who to ignore? How arrogant and petty do you have to be to announce to a whole message board that it’s a moral imperative to shun somebody you don’t like? love, Seth ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/9 "2008-11-26T15:35:17Z")
He’s not a troll. He’s a robot. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/10 "2008-11-26T15:42:22Z")
I disagree with **Shodan** on just about everything, or at least everything that matters. And i sometimes find his debating style to be, ahem, somewhat less than honest or reasonable. He probably feels the same way about me. But, without reading the thread linked in the OP, i feel confident in saying that he’s not a troll. He seems pretty well convinced of the merits of his political positions, and the arguments he uses to support them. He’s never struck as someone who is here merely to get a reaction out of people, even though that is sometimes the result of his contributions. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/11 "2008-11-26T15:50:41Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I disagree with **Shodan** on just about everything, or at least everything that matters. And i sometimes find his debating style to be, ahem, somewhat less than honest or reasonable. He probably feels the same way about me. No, not really. > [@](#): > > He’s never struck as someone who is here merely to get a reaction out of people, even though that is sometimes the result of his contributions. Correct, IMO. With the caveat that sometimes I am fully aware that posting something will cause the Usual Suspects to go berserk, and still post it for the sheer entertainment value of watching the meltdowns. I don’t consider that trolling, but it verges on feeding the trolls. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/12 "2008-11-26T15:57:19Z")
I like the “Regards, Shodan” thing. I think we should all begin using "Regards, (Insert user name) in our signature line. But, it was my idea so I’m gonna let someone else be the first (next) to do it. Shodan is not a troll. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/13 "2008-11-26T16:05:16Z")
Like most others here I think he’s many things but troll isn’t one of them. And keep your rules to yourself. If you don’t want to do something then don’t do it but leave the rest of us to make our own decisions and choices. Ta yoji ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/14 "2008-11-26T16:13:56Z")
Minor hijack, but can someone post the official definition of the term “ **troll** ”? I’ve surmised through other posters’ discussions that it refers to an annoying fuck who disrupts threads. But then someone will come along and say “soandso isn’t technically a troll, he’s just an annoying fuck who disrupts threads”. So what is the real definition? (btw this is a general question and does not refer to Shodan…I don’ t think I’ve ever interacted with him before) ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/15 "2008-11-26T16:27:54Z")
The Master Speaks -[What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1764/what-is-a-troll) ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/16 "2008-11-26T16:28:59Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I disagree with **Shodan** on just about everything, or at least everything that matters. And i sometimes find his debating style to be, ahem, somewhat less than honest or reasonable. He probably feels the same way about me. > > But, without reading the thread linked in the OP, i feel confident in saying that he’s not a troll. He seems pretty well convinced of the merits of his political positions, and the arguments he uses to support them. He’s never struck as someone who is here merely to get a reaction out of people, even though that is sometimes the result of his contributions. I would agree with this, more or less. I wouldn’t characterize his style as intellectually dishonest. I do think he often intends to get a rise out of the people with whom he disagrees. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/17 "2008-11-26T16:29:41Z")
\*\*Shodan \*\*isn’t a troll. How about I just ignore you instead? ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/18 "2008-11-26T16:32:45Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The Master Speaks -[What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1764/what-is-a-troll) Thank you. I actually tried to search, but kept getting “database errors”. And having read Cecil’s definition, I will agree with the masses that you are not a troll. Regards, Enola Gay ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/19 "2008-11-26T16:46:42Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > Regards, > > Enola Gay You have to put this in a sig, or they get pissy. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2008, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548/20 "2008-11-26T17:01:06Z")
Some folks seem to use the term troll for anyone who holds an unpopular opinion, and is inclined to keep arguing without changing their basic position. I think that’s missing the point of the term, though. **Shodan** is always going to be a conservative and argue from that POV. That doesn’t make him a troll, even on a board like this one. Regards, Sarahfeena [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-not-a-regards-shodan-pitting/474548.md?page=2)