I am not going to be a hypocrite and name names or provide links, but will rant in an abstract instead. I would appreciate if names are not mentioned here as feeding the trolls is something I do not want to do.
There are real reasons to pit posters and venting a spleen is sometimes cathartic, but there are those trolls who just thrive on the attention and a goodly number of otherwise sane posters who keep feeding them. Why?
Sure, throwing out a lifeline to see if the poster may actually just needs some face saving way out is reasonable for a post. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps they really are just that dumb and trying some basic remedial education is okay to try, but when they declare themselves either a troll or willfully ignorant give it up. Even if poster is merely an attention whore with neurons who have had a spat so have have stopped talking to each other or even sending Christmas cards once a year, why keep them whoring themselves here, and in other fora?
I’ve been recently guilty of this. In my case, it was not ever having had anything to do with that poster before and erroneously believing that if I engaged them on a personal level, then perhaps I’d get through. The arrogance of that belief was in not realizing that many others had tried the very same bent and been unsuccessful, so why I thought I would be any different was ridiculous. So I’m doubly ashamed for not crediting others with their disregarded attempts to help and not doing my homework before going down an obviously distraught path of futility.
I’m sorry for this wrongheaded approach of mine and will endeavor to be more conscientious in the future.
Well, I didn’t get the official troll list, so I’m not sure who is on it. And I suspect that if there was an official list, I’m 100% sure I’d disagree with it. The people who I think are attention whores and/or trolls are clearly not who others think they are in many cases.
What is this about? Is this some sort of oblique reference to someone that I’m unaware of? If so, weren’t you going to be making this generic?
On the other hand, a generic rant like this doesn’t have meaning since we’re probably all thinking of different people when someone is saying something about the so-called “trolls”.
I honestly haven’t noticed any trolls lately - have their threads been deleted, or am I just not looking in the right place, or worse, not recognising obvious trollery?
Just guessing here, but I think the OP is using 'having a spat and no longer exchanging Christmas cards" as a way of describing the relationship between the neurons of a non-specific, hypothetical stupid/trollish poster (ie: no neurons firing = stupid). I read the sentence too quickly and had the same question as yourself until I re-read. The nature of the metaphor combined with my quick initial reading of the OP did make it seem like the writer might be referring to a specific, human example.
Well, in my own instance I don’t believe that the complete definition of a troll covers the person I’m thinking of. Instead, you have someone that appears not to post on anything else but controversial topics with opinions that are pretty much diametrically opposite to everyone else. Further, they are then impervious to any attempts at logic and, as far as I’ve counted recently, there’s at least 3 different threads going on with several members trying to reach them.
And Og no am I not mentioning who it is. I have no desire to have them following all around the board. I just wanted to post to let DSeid know that I’d done what he noticed and then wished to apologize to the Teeming Millions for perpetuating such infuriating trolling.
Well I have to agree with** Heffalump and Roo **in that I am not sure who the trolls are. The term gets tossed around pretty easily at many posters. Even some that I consider good and interesting posters.
Maybe some people “feed” those you consider “trolls” as they don’t consider the posters “trolls” but just posters with very different views. Would you at least consider PM’ing me those you are talking about. I am always curious about these things. My own list is very short currently and I don’t even think I would use the word troll. So I guess I am also with Mangetout on this.
Sorry if my neurons not talking to each other metaphor was unclear. Lib sorry I missed your reply. I will return to that thread and respond. If you honestly do think I have behaved trollishly - ever - please let me know. Or Pit me! I am one of the boring middle of the road posters who never makes either the favorite poster lists or the Pit lists - being Pitted once would be a new experience for me.
faithfool I was not specifically meaning you but I appreciate the fact that you appreciate what I am meaning.
Hefflelump let us just say that there are threads in which the vast majority of regular posters have concluded that the poster is either a troll or willfully ignorant (with opinions varying about which one) and in which the poster is obviously enjoying the reactions that the poster is provoking (there are some for whom even negative attention is attention). I personally have hard time seeing a big difference between a troll and someone who is willfully ignorant but I suppose it exists. There are other posters who have stated that they have concluded that the poster is a troll or a willfully ignorant attention whore and yet they keep taking the bait again and again. Those are the posters I am questioning.
If you really need a specific example private message me and I will share one in a non-public venue.
I have to agree with Heffalump and Roo. It’s hard to know who’s a troll and who just disagrees with you, sometimes with great vigor and ignorance. I think of a troll as a person who came to the board specifically to get a reaction out of people, not someone is truly holds the beliefs they claim. Shodan, for instance, is often accused of being a troll, but I don’t think he is. He’s just someone who vociferiously posts a view most people here disagree with. I’d say trolls are usually either making shit up, or posting things they know are likely to get a rise out of the Dope community, for the sake of their amusement.
But…but…some of them are so cute! And they look like could use a good meal, so I toss them a few scraps. What harm does it do? Everybody deserves some social interaction, even if it is heaps of abuse from total strangers. So they get off on it. Big deal. Some of us get off on pretending we are superior to trolls. Everybody has their place. It’s The Circle Of Life.
I think if you’re going to ask people why they’re responding to a given poster, I think you have an obligation to identify what poster or posters you’re talking about. How are we supposed to know who you think is a troll, and how are we supposed to explain specific posts if we don’t know which posts you’re referring to?
Oh wow. The Danish Ballad of Eline of Villenskov makes total sense now!
There were seven and a hundred Trolls,
They were both ugly and grim,
A visit they would the farmer make,
Both eat and drink with him.
Out then spake the tinyest Troll,
No bigger than an emmet was he,
Hither is come a Christian man,
And manage him will I surelie
Yes, but the problem as the OP said is that there are some trolls that clearly get off on the idea they have irritated someone, so if the OP identified them he’d be a hypocrite based on his own OP (as he said). There’s at least one poster who I never respond to or discuss in any way for this reason despite them being eminently pit-able.
