# Trolls R Us Resurrections (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518 "2021-09-11T17:26:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 432
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13148 "2025-02-03T18:19:03Z")
Yeah, it probably was a good candidate for that, but I think we should avoid that kind if snark here and welcome curosity, even if we are doubtful of the sincerity of the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13149 "2025-02-03T18:20:40Z")
Yes, I don’t disagree. Noting in passing that the “potash” thread was by a long-time poster. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13150 "2025-02-03T18:26:59Z")
Google is becoming more and more garbage every day. I like seeing _some_ of these “easily-Googleable” questions here, because the resulting discussions can be far more enlightening than a modern AI-assisted web search. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13151 "2025-02-03T18:38:01Z")
I miss the sweet spot from 5-2 years ago when Google often would give you an instantaneous but accurate answer at the top without having to click the links. That was _slightly_ better than previously when it would still return accurate links. Now, the actual search mechanism has enshittified, and the instant results are untrustworthy, sometimes being accurate but sometimes AI hallucinations. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13152 "2025-02-03T19:03:08Z")
Now the very top search result from Google is an “AI Overview”. ---
**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:** [February 3, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13153 "2025-02-03T19:24:45Z")
Yeah, about that… > **[“Just give me the f\*\*\*ing links!”—Cursing disables Google’s AI overviews](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/01/just-give-me-the-fing-links-cursing-disables-googles-ai-overviews/)** > > The latest trick to stop those annoying AI answers is also the most cathartic. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13154 "2025-02-03T19:34:05Z")
But what if “fucking” is a legitimate, necessary keyword for your search, and you want the AI overview? In that case, you’re fucked. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13155 "2025-02-03T19:35:25Z")
A simple “Just give me the “fucking” link” should do the job. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13156 "2025-02-03T19:38:45Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I haven’t seen the “Here, let me Google that for you” gadget on here for quite a while. It’s against the rules to link to that because it’s considered jerkish. I call it the Jinx Rule. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13157 "2025-02-03T19:47:35Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Has its use been forbidden? [Definitely, at least in GQ / FQ.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-official-mod-ruling-on-drumpf/748392/142) ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13158 "2025-02-03T20:29:06Z")
We did just have an “I don’t feel like reading this Wikipedia article on potash, so please tell me what’s in it” OP. Which struck me as not something to encourage. But the ensuing discussion was good so maybe it is. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13159 "2025-02-03T21:17:20Z")
I’d prefer if those “I can’t bother to google something simple” threads were more “I googled ‘potash’ because I’d never encountered it before - has anyone had it before/what’s your experience with potash/where can I get a good potash?” But I’ve usually self-selected out of “please google this for me” threads ever since LMGTFY was outlawed. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13160 "2025-02-03T21:48:14Z")
I shouldn’t have but that in quotation marks. Actual quote: > Please, can someone save me a trip to Wikipedia? ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13161 "2025-02-03T22:46:34Z")
I read the potash one and enjoyed the Doper answers. I assumed it was an archaiic term like fly ash, but did not know its origins. Dopers are very good at useless trivia, and Im sure our families are all relieved to have that font of information directed at others. Wikipedia could have answered the question I am sure, but it seems some dopers didn’t mind answering. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13162 "2025-02-03T23:11:42Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > We did just have an “I don’t feel like reading this Wikipedia article on potash, so please tell me what’s in it” OP. Which struck me as not something to encourage. But the ensuing discussion was good so maybe it is. I mean, the whole point of this message board is the discussions, right? You can get answers to your questions anywhere; on the SDMB, you get answers to questions you didn’t even think to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13163 "2025-02-03T23:19:26Z")
I think the rise of Google and Wikipedia took a lot out of this board. And really the original column that spawned it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13164 "2025-02-04T00:18:21Z")
> [@Ruken](#): > > I shouldn’t have but that in quotation marks. Actual quote: > > > Please, can someone save me a trip to Wikipedia? The Potash OP is a longtime and respected poster. I took the “trip to wiki” bit as a humorously self-effacing “I’m no scientist; explain it simply … please.” Which is fair. As we discovered in the thread, there’s a lot more to the term “potash” than “its a synonym for potassium chloride”. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13165 "2025-02-04T01:22:51Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I took the “trip to wiki” bit as a humorously self-effacing “I’m no scientist; explain it simply … please.” I would prefer people just say the second phrase.“I do not know” is the beginning of all wisdom. It has been my overwhelming experience that if a question takes an expert to answer, most people will not expect you to know it or mock you for not knowing it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2025, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13166 "2025-02-04T01:25:32Z")
It certainly killed much of the value of GQ. Which was sorta the “gateway drug” to the other forums. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/13167 "2025-02-04T13:18:40Z")
And, with the demise of the GD of old (I am still totally blown at how dead it is now, vs. how active it was years ago, even adjusting for the existence of P&E), the board and its culture certainly looks a lot different now than it did back in the 00’s. If you had wandered into GD back then and told all the usual suspects there that 2 decades later a game subforum involving a bunch of silly threads would have 100x as many daily posts as in GD, they would have called you completely insane. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518.md?page=431) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518.md?page=433)