Please show where anyone here is trying to get you banned. Thanks.
As far as you are aware, can you be banned from the forum if you are deemed by the mod’s to be a troll? If your answer is “Yes.”, what would you then call accusing a poster of being a troll, if it’s not an attempt to influence their banning?
Consider that 99% of people never get accused of trollery. Years and years pass and never a single accusation. Some of them are Republicans, some Democrats, some racists, others conspiracists, and yet they never get accused of trolling.
Knowing that, and seeing yourself accused of trolling regularly from an array of posters; doesn’t blaming others seem a bit disingenuous? Everyone just happened to pick you, out of the blue? We don’t even know if you have red hair.
You can bark and howl all you want that people, moderators, or life is being unfair to you, but ultimately if you’re being singled out and accused of something the wise bet is that reason lies in you and how you present yourself. If you can’t figure out what it is about your personality or presentation it is that causes that, like I said to Rand Rover, the easy solution is to read more and post less. Someone will likely happen along and make whatever points it was you wanted to make, but in a non-inflammatory manner – so it’s not like you lose out. You still get all the same information, get all your questions answered, and are able to do so in a way that doesn’t have you risk getting suspended or banned.
I would point out that some, perhaps many, people don’t know what trolling is. Often, they regard unpopular opinions or petty bickering as trollwork.
If you can’t point out exactly, or better than vaguely, what it is that I’m doing wrong - and I don’t just mean YOU, I mean ANY of you - isn’t it a little disingenuous of you and your ilk to try and blame me entirely because I get under the skin of some of you?
And hence the reason for this thread.
I think some of the posts above were enlightening (as I said), but I still don’t see how intimating that I am a troll could possibly be trolling. That post doesn’t meet the criteria for a trolling post laid out above. It seems to me that there is a separate offense of “claiming that oneself is a troll.”
I would assume that your claim of trolling merely struck people as you admitting to it. They already had you pegged as one, so to have you say as much was simply proof.
There are many cases of trolls admitting to being trolls, despite what you may think.
Please show where anyone here (in this thread) has accused you of being a troll. Thanks.
Who’s talking about this thread specifically, apart from you?
Please show where anyone who posted a reply to you in this thread has called you a troll in this thread or any other thread. Thanks.
Tell me the relevance and I’ll consider it.
ps. Protip — this thread is about the definition of trolling applying across the forums, and not just related to my involvement.
Nearly missed this little gem. It’s a pity we are not talking about “Life”, but still, not a bad try.
If I was face-to-face with you, I’d ask you to watch my lips. As I am not, I’ll type a little slower.
I am trying to get clarification on an ambiguous board issue - ie. the definition of “trolling” and how it is quantified by the board in relation to a person being banned - nothing more, nothing less.
Now, what is your interest in this thread, other than nitpicking my posts?
Trolling includes intent, something that is difficult to assess. Stating your intent would make it plain, as you did.
No double secret Rand Rover-only rules necessary.
So, Samclem, you ready to “make it right” or what?
I think he already did.
I’m not going to reopen it.
The moderator/admins were about 50-50 on whether you were trolling with that thread. I actually voted to not warn or suspend you. I think you are masterful at taking it right up to the edge, whether it be merely starting a hot-button topic or by making carefully worded responses to other poster’s reactions. But that thread was turning into a trainwreck with some of the poster’s reactions.
samclem
Generally it is intended as a corrective action. If a poster is notified that the staff looks on a particular type of action as trolling, then the astute poster will refrain from further posting in that manner.
If the poster no longer behaves in a trolling manner, then the staff will not continue to consider banning.
If we just wanted to ban someone, we could keep all the discussions of trolling in e-mail and then simply ban them once we had reached accord. By publicly announcing that a poster appears to be trolling, that poster then has an opportunity to modify his or her behavior.
Can shit-stirring be a good thing? Sure.
Is it intrinsically good? Only to a small extent, if at all. Can it have harmful effects? Of course. Is it highly likely to do far more harm than good? Absolutely.
Does it advance the fight against ignorance? Not as currently practiced. Being a wise-ass seldom does. Is being a nuisance a good thing, insofar as it creates more pointless work for the volunteer mods? Of course not. In fact, it’s rude.