# What's so bad about calling someone a troll? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 12, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644 "2003-12-12T18:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/1 "2003-12-12T18:44:18Z")
This has come up in other locales, eg the banning of TVAA, but without answer. Why is the accusation of trolldom such a forbidden action, worse than flaming in GD, on par with hate speech? Heck, its almost as bad as telling a joke in The Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/2 "2003-12-12T18:53:51Z")
Fair question, fair answer. This is a large message board. We have over 40,000 registered members. Inevitably, the law of big numbers means that we also have a decent amount of fuckwits among those 40,000. Most of them banned. And some of them like returning. We’ve learned, through the years, that they tend to come out of the woodwork especially when the debate centers around trolldom. In order to save us the trouble of hunting and killing dozens of socks per day (well, _partially_ saving us that trouble, anyway), we implemented the “Report trolls to moderators, and don’t discuss them on the boards”-rule. It’s easier on the administration, and it lowers the exposure the trolls get. And since trolls are all about exposure, that’s a good thing. Hope this helps - I’ll leave this thread open for a while, but chances are it’ll have to be closed when one of the usual suspects pops up. Clockwork, I tells ya. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/3 "2003-12-12T19:00:44Z")
IIRC, there have also been cases when real newbies have posted something questionable and have been immediately labelled “troll.” So right off the bat, they’ve already got a big chunk of the board hating them. Not exactly the best way to welcome new folks. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/4 "2003-12-12T19:05:49Z")
You couldn’t pay me enough to be a moderator here, or on any other large board. You guys have to deal with trolls and other nasties all the time, and as a reward get the unfriendly attention of people with nothing better to do than post personal insults. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/5 "2003-12-12T19:07:59Z")
Thanks for the answer. Close at your pleasure, leisure, whathaveyou. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-so-bad-about-calling-someone-a-troll/218644/6 "2003-12-12T19:15:43Z")
What can I say, **Malthus** : it’s a calling. 😉 **DSeid** , let’s do just that.