Found a new troll. See the P&E thread about Daylight Savings, where newly arrived poster slice-da-lone (sans hyphens) has plopped an inflammatory post. I hope no one takes the bait.
19 posts in that thread alone, 41 overall in just six days.
That one has jumped out pretty clearly.
It’s classic trock behavior–inflammatory but within the rules. I know the mods can’t do anything at this point, but it’s obvious to me this poster is only going to be trouble until they’re banned.
I’m not seeing trolling in there, myself. They are arguing a point of view (one which makes no sense to me, but I didn’t want to read the whole thread to find out how they got stuck in that loop). They aren’t employing trollish tactics that I can see. They seem to be trying very hard to persuade people of the reasonableness of their point of view, not (figuratively) throwing dirt in their eyes.
Which one is inflammatory, exactly?
They can if they find out it’s a sock. I don’t find the frequency of posting in this thread particularly suspicious. They started slowly in the thread, and the posts got more frequent as other people responded to them. That does not require, for example, excessive familiarity with board habits, procedures, or history. If they are a sock, fine, cornfield them, but so far in that thread I’m not seeing the trolling.
I’m on the fence, but… the way they insist that everyone is supporting their POV is doing it entirely for selfish reasons seems more aggressive than the topic deserves.
Certain phrases used in that thread, along with the pomposity inherent in them though
But this thread is a testament to the various individual responses to changing the clocks. I’m suggesting starting over with an undeniable truth (the definition of “noon”) and working from there.
combined with a poster that joined 11/4, and jumped in so aggressively with multiple threads created and a ton of posts, the combo feels more likely trock than not.
Plus the incredibly (frustratingly, actually) banal “Look at me! I’m completely harmless!” threads like Is “Steven” a back-formation? with minimal grounding in facts but no clear cause to “give offense” (other than just being stupid from the get-go).
Oh, and the profile picture.
I was tempted to vote troll trying to build up a profile on fluff on those two things alone, but didn’t bother looking deeper because I realized that by caring to dig, I was giving it what it wanted. So, I guess I’m glad someone else brought it up first? With the confirmation I couldn’t be bothered to look for myself?
Quoted without linking:
It might have begun as farmers vs. city folks, but it’s changed into selfish vs. sensible people. The selfish folks have no rational basis for DST so they cling to it because it happens to suit their schedule, their particular needs, their habits, their convenience (as they perceive those things–usually, it can be shown that they’d be just fine without DST if they were susceptible to being shown anything). Their chief misunderstanding is that for every person who feels served by DST there is another person who feels disserved by it. They don’t care about that–it’s all me, me, me with them.
This is directly pointed at several posters and calling them selfish, misunderstanding, uncaring, unsensible, irrational, clingy, etc. Very much attacking the persons and not the arguments.
Yes, this. The poster follows a specific pattern that, thus far, always has eventually become a ticket to the cornfield for trocking.
Were there any complaints (I have to wonder, because we don’t see them, only the person complaining and the mods know)? Did you complain? Was there any mod response? I think I read enough of this part of the thread to understand your point of view, but as far as I can see it’s borderline at worst. So as far as I’m concerned, possibly a sock, not yet a troll (in this incarnation anyway).
Definitely rude, and also has an interesting form of logic that what I want is sensible, and what you want is just selfish.
But that could just be immaturity. If it is a trock, it’s doing an excellent job of pretending to be incompetent.
Agreed. As I said,
Trocks don’t have to pretend. It’s the one thing about them that’s consistent and genuine. Competent posters don’t need multiple accounts. Hell, competent trolls don’t even need multiple accounts.
When it comes to accounts, quantity has a quality all of its own. Except it’s an inversely proportional relationship between them.
Alternately to a serial trock, it could be any of the long time posters who pulled a ban in the last 4 months or so, who have felt lonely and left out returning and trying to semi-rehabilitate themselves, but sending up low-level tells, including a barely restrained disgust at anyone who disagrees with their utter reasonableness.
I can think of at least one name…
But it’s a minor distinction between our ongoing serial trocks, and I’m 90+% certain that even if so, they’ll slip.
Are you saying slice-da-lone is Trocky?
So you’re saying thatvwhen it comes to trolling, there’s a certain gravity?
Right. I wouldn’t even call it a “trock” if they genuinely reformed or were banned for some long-ago one-time outburst but still wanted to post. It would be against the Dope’s rules for sock puppetry but still wouldn’t be a trock.
However, most bans are for a pattern of behavior that is unlikely to change. That their behavior is more superficially reasonable with some returning posters than with others is indeed a minor distinction.
Something about his/her/their posts reminds(ed) me of Roger_That.
Anybody else remember him/her well enough to share that feeling?
Oh yes. That was my impression too.
Brand-new poster LARitchey has started a thread in MPSIMS with a very detailed story about being assaulted by her sister.
I don’t know why, but something smells funny here. Isn’t starting off with highly personal/dramatic stories asking for help a common pattern for trolls?