# What is trolling? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 24, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298 "2010-06-24T01:25:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/21 "2010-06-24T02:11:24Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > OK, we are getting somewhere. So you think that posting something with the intention of getting someone’s goat (i.e., to tweak someone on an issue they seem to care about) is trolling and is therefore against the board rules, is that correct? No, that just makes you an [checks forum]… a not-always-nice person. Repeatedly and needlessly disrupting the peace of the forum by “getting someone’s goat” for your own personal amusement is what would make you a troll. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/22 "2010-06-24T02:12:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Besides, almost nobody is banned for a single instance of trolling. You weren’t banned, right? So what’s your definition of trolling? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/23 "2010-06-24T02:13:47Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > No, that just makes you an [checks forum]… a not-always-nice person. > > Repeatedly and needlessly disrupting the peace of the forum by “getting someone’s goat” for your own personal amusement is what would make you a troll. Right–we are back to the viewpoint discrimination inherent in some definitions of trolling. If everyone is bashing on people with a particular viewpoint and I point out that they are all complete idiots, I’m sure you’d think that that violates the peace of the forum. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/24 "2010-06-24T02:17:06Z")
Well, get over it. Trollery is one of those things that, while there may be no perfect definition, you know it when you see it. If the Mods agree that you’ve been trolling, then there’s really no appeal left to you, especially when a large number of the Members also think you’ve been trolling. That’s just life here in the cyberwebs. Hair splitting and rules lawyering will do you no good–change your behavior or you’ll eventually get banned. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/25 "2010-06-24T02:17:09Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > I’m apparently on thin ice in regards to trolling, and I may get banned if I continue to troll. We do ban people if they make a habit of trolling, but nobody said you were in imminent danger of getting banned. It’s not in **Miller** ’s post, at least. > [@](#): > > IMHO, “trolling” means the act of taking on a persona or position just for the lulz generated by riling people up. So the rule against trolling allows banning of people who are found out to have been a complete fake who joined up just to rile others up and get attention. The rule does allow us to ban people who do that, but that’s not the only definition of trolling. A fake persona is not required. Trolling is posting with the intent of pissing off another poster or posters. That’s exactly how you define it in definition (iii), although you used somewhat softer language. You do that kind of “tweaking” a lot. It’s the basis for that warning, and for some of the flaming you have attracted during your time here. Saying that one is trolling can be trolling, and it’s often the basis for warnings because we’d rather read the text of a post than try to determine the intent behind it. Trolls often taunt people that way. I agree that (ii) having an unpopular opinion or [my addition] playing devil’s advocate in an argument is not trolling. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/26 "2010-06-24T02:19:40Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Also, Colibri, it’s very specious for you to rely on the Registration Agreement here. It isn’t, and this argument is just not going to get you anywhere. The Registration Agreement is the basis for all the rules here. Trolling is definitely one of those things that is included under the good old “don’t be a jerk” principle. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/27 "2010-06-24T02:21:22Z")
Earlier, I called you a truly worthless human being. That’s not entirely true, though. You do a lot of good in threads that would just be a flash, a bang, and a whimper by igniting new debate. I have to give you credit for that. But the way you’ve been doing it _is_ often trollery. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/28 "2010-06-24T02:21:22Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > Well, get over it. Trollery is one of those things that, while there may be no perfect definition, you know it when you see it. If the Mods agree that you’ve been trolling, then there’s really no appeal left to you, especially when a large number of the Members also think you’ve been trolling. That’s just life here in the cyberwebs. > > Hair splitting and rules lawyering will do you no good–change your behavior or you’ll eventually get banned. Well, that’s the point there bub. I think that the definition of trolling is loaded against people with a viewpoint that is different than the majority on this forum. If that’s who you guys want to be, then you go right ahead, just recognize that that’s what you are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/29 "2010-06-24T02:24:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It isn’t, and this argument is just not going to get you anywhere. The Registration Agreement is the basis for all the rules here. Trolling is definitely one of those things that is included under the good old “don’t be a jerk” principle. OK, so please demonstrate how the following text in the Registration Agreement is adhered to by the moderators: “insults . . . will not be tolerated.” Thanks. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/30 "2010-06-24T02:24:29Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Well, that’s the point there bub. I think that the definition of trolling is loaded against people with a viewpoint that is different than the majority on this forum. If that’s who you guys want to be, then you go right ahead, just recognize that that’s what you are doing. More importantly, we recognize what _you’re_ doing. Some of us have been here a long time, and what you are doing is not that new, clever or cute. ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/31 "2010-06-24T02:26:21Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > OK, so please demonstrate how the following text in the Registration Agreement is adhered to by the moderators: “insults . . . will not be tolerated.” Thanks. The old “Watch me make the moderators jump through hoops” ploy. How original. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/32 "2010-06-24T02:28:29Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Well, that’s the point there bub. I think that the definition of trolling is loaded against people with a viewpoint that is different than the majority on this forum. If that’s who you guys want to be, then you go right ahead, just recognize that that’s what you are doing. Nobody wants that. Well, OK, maybe a _few_ people do. But this board would dry up and blow away without differing viewpoints and the debates and discussions they create. But seriously–even in the Pit–is > [@$700 Health Insurance](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/700-health-insurance/543986/20): > > So? So the fuck what? even worth the keystrokes? A few posts later, you had some great points to make, and they helped to start off more discussion. But that initial “So the fuck what?”, with no other… anything… how could that be anything but trollery? ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/33 "2010-06-24T02:28:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > More importantly, we recognize what _you’re_ doing. Some of us have been here a long time, and what you are doing is not that new, clever or cute. What am I doing, exactly? ---
**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:** [June 24, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/34 "2010-06-24T02:30:42Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > What am I doing, exactly? Keep holding that hoop up-I’m going to jump through _aaany_ time now. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/35 "2010-06-24T02:35:08Z")
> [@SoulFrost](#): > > Nobody wants that. Well, OK, maybe a _few_ people do. But this board would dry up and blow away without differing viewpoints and the debates and discussions they create. > > But seriously–even in the Pit–is > > even worth the keystrokes? > > A few posts later, you had some great points to make, and they helped to start off more discussion. But that initial “So the fuck what?”, with no other… anything… how could that be anything but trollery? And I believe DanBlather’s response to that post was “Fuck you,” which has so far gone uncommented by our esteemed moderators. Sometimes a “so the fuck what” is only a “so the fuck what.” My sincerely held belief on the matter of people complaining about the cost of health insurance when they haven’t even bothered to look into the easy alternatives to lower those costs and then advocating for a complete change in our system solely based on being annoyed about the cost to them is “so the fuck what.” That’s not trolling. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/36 "2010-06-24T02:39:06Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > And I believe DanBlather’s response to that post was “Fuck you,” which has so far gone uncommented by our esteemed moderators. > > Sometimes a “so the fuck what” is only a “so the fuck what.” My sincerely held belief on the matter of people complaining about the cost of health insurance when they haven’t even bothered to look into the easy alternatives to lower those costs and then advocating for a complete change in our system solely based on being annoyed about the cost to them is “so the fuck what.” That’s not trolling. Given your history and your admission of tweaking people for your own enjoyment, I don’t believe you. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/37 "2010-06-24T02:40:01Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > It will be a pleasure when I read the word “BANNED” under your user name… > [@Marley23](#): > > These kinds of comments belong in the Pit, not ATMB. Please don’t do this again. > [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > OK, so please demonstrate how the following text in the Registration Agreement is adhered to by the moderators: “insults . . . will not be tolerated.” Thanks. MPB insulted you earlier in this thread. Marley warned him. You asked how the moderators adhere to the “insults will not be tolerated” language in the agreement. Does my series of quotes from this thread answer your question? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/38 "2010-06-24T02:43:27Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > MPB insulted you earlier in this thread. Marley warned him. You asked how the moderators adhere to the “insults will not be tolerated” language in the agreement. > > Does my series of quotes from this thread answer you question? I wasn’t going to add anything more, but I actually didn’t insult anyone, I just stated my honest opinion—I know you must see the irony of this thread, started by this particular poster… ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/39 "2010-06-24T02:45:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The old “Watch me make the moderators jump through hoops” ploy. > How original. If Colibri wants to argue that the moderators are enforcing the terms of the Registration Agreement, then I think it’s reasonable to ask how they are enforcing ALL of the terms. If he can’t demonstrate that, then I think it shows his argument to be very specious. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298/40 "2010-06-24T02:46:36Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > MPB insulted you earlier in this thread. Marley warned him. You asked how the moderators adhere to the “insults will not be tolerated” language in the agreement. > > Does my series of quotes from this thread answer your question? Nope. Absolutely not. Would you like me to link to a post from every single forum showing an actionable insult in a thread on the front page? I absolutely could do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-trolling/544298.md?page=3)