# 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:** 488
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14281 "2026-02-25T20:37:06Z")
If you’re **being an asshole** on purpose, because you like to argue, you’re riling people up recreationally. That does not describe most people here or I wouldn’t waste my time. There’s only a few people like that on this board and they’re on my ignore list. The first rule of this board is “don’t be a jerk” after all. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14282 "2026-02-25T20:44:13Z")
You talkin’ to me? 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14283 "2026-02-25T20:47:35Z")
Aspenglow called out nonobaddog for the “LOL”, but apparently didn’t catch that the “sorry about your condition” had to be an accusation of having Trump Derangement Syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14284 "2026-02-25T20:52:23Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Half the people on this board come here to argue with people. > > No they don’t! Did you pay for the 5 minute argument or the full half hour? [/hijack] ---
**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 25, 2026, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14285 "2026-02-25T20:53:08Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > If you’re **being an asshole** on purpose, because you like to argue, you’re riling people up recreationally. I’m not saying there’s something wrong about enjoying an argument. In fact, in my experience, people who like arguing are usually the ones who win arguments, for the same reason that people who like running are usually the ones who win races. That’s fine - it’s how the world works. The question is, are you arguing to win, or are you arguing to piss people off? The first is OK; the second makes you a troll. ---
**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 25, 2026, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14286 "2026-02-25T20:59:12Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The question is, are you arguing to win, or are you arguing to piss people off? The first is OK; the second makes you a troll. How does the reader tell the difference? ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14287 "2026-02-25T21:09:54Z")
“I could be arguing in my spare time.” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14288 "2026-02-25T21:14:49Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > How does the reader tell the difference? They can’t, what matters is if their argument comes across as being a jerk, or an asshole, though there are times that a person admits it. There was one person here who admitted that they took contrary points they didn’t actually believe because they wanted to try to irritate people they felt were intelligent, as sort of an exercise. That person I labeled as a troll and ignored. (They haven’t posted in over two years so I suspect they’ve given up.) Most folks aren’t that blatant though, and you have to infer from how they post, and how they react to being called out for it. I’m sure the mods here have said that they don’t care if someone is sincere when they post, if they are indistinguishable from a troll they will be treated as one. Which is the only same way to handle it, as they can’t be mind-readers. ---
**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 25, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14289 "2026-02-25T21:17:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > How does the reader tell the difference? If it were easy, they wouldn’t be paying us the big bucks. ---
**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 25, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14290 "2026-02-25T21:20:54Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m sure the mods here have said that they don’t care if someone is sincere when they post, if they are indistinguishable from a troll they will be treated as one. Colibri said something along those lines, yeah. I’ve mentioned it a couple of times in 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:** [February 26, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14291 "2026-02-26T01:19:24Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m sure the mods here have said that they don’t care if someone is sincere when they post, if they are indistinguishable from a troll they will be treated as one. Which is the only same way to handle it, as they can’t be mind-readers. Well, if this is true it is a _major_ sea-change from years past, as many (former) mods were on record as saying the exact opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14292 "2026-02-26T01:34:51Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Well, if this is true It is. > [@Magellan01 is Banned for Trolling](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magellan01-is-banned-for-trolling/988869/1): > > **Note** : you can sincerely hold a belief and still troll. We see it too often in fact. ---
**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 26, 2026, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14293 "2026-02-26T02:40:11Z")
It wasn’t before: we’d always get told that just “disagreeing” with someone wasn’t enough to merit a warning/suspension/banning, no matter how odious their tactics and rhetoric were, with the implication that the troll in question would get a free ride because mods _weren’t_ mind readers. [I then got a warning when I tried to point this out, undelicately admittedly] This changed when we got a brand new batch of mods c. 2020-2021. > [@Pointing out trolls, a question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pointing-out-trolls-a-question/845677/11): > > The poster you refer to has been a member for almost two years. The views he expresses are evidently held by a significant number of Americans. Just because you disagree strongly with someone’s political opinions doesn’t make them a troll or their posts trolling. The OP should keep this in mind. Which of course involved “reframing” (strawmanning) the poster’s [@Euphonious_Polemic’s] concern by the (former) mod in question, after someone got warned for calling out a troll’s tactics in a non-Pit thread. Note I am _glad_ for said sea-change, as mods mollycoddled these people for far too long. Haven’t seen the above kind of dismissal by any mod in a number of years now, and very few “instigator” warnings of the above sort. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14294 "2026-02-26T03:10:19Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Note I am _glad_ for said sea-change, as mods mollycoddled these people for far too long. Haven’t seen the above kind of dismissal by any mod in a number of years now, and very few “instigator” warnings of the above sort. I agree 100%. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14295 "2026-02-26T09:42:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Half the people on this board come here to argue with people. Sorry, but this is Abuse. You want Great Debates next door. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > There’s a thread in MPSIMS about a writer/blogger named James Lileks, whom a number of us used to read back in the day, but who many of us stopped reading, in part because of his politics. Wait, what? Am I going to be sad if I read that? ---
**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 26, 2026, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14296 "2026-02-26T09:55:33Z")
Probably. He lost his marbles after 9/11 and became a paranoid, reactionary xenophobe. But he’s hardly alone in that (see also Dennis Miller, among many other examples). ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14297 "2026-02-26T11:07:14Z")
Damn you, Bin Laden! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14298 "2026-02-26T15:01:09Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > (see also Dennis Miller, among many other examples). … and Dan Simmons, of _Hyperion_ fame. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14299 "2026-02-26T18:18:49Z")
**hayden** plus **lily** is back, this time in the disgraced President Trump pit thread, and unless racial slurs disguised as AAVE slang are OK even in the Pit, I’m expecting a banhammer soon. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518/14300 "2026-02-26T18:28:59Z")
In the cornfield. His 16 posts including racial slurs removed and the 1 thread he started. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518.md?page=487) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trolls-r-us-resurrections-part-1/950518.md?page=489)