maxextz
12-26-2009, 05:43 PM
How to spot a troll on forums.
There are some individuals out there who don't just enjoy winding up people on newsgroups and bulletin boards - it's their sad lifestyle choice! Using every known disruptive trick in the book, these troublesome types don't go out to the pub, meet members of the opposite sex or enjoy life. They spend their time hunched over their computers trolling.
Here's how they work:
INTRODUCTION
Section 1: What Is A Troll?
The WWW gives this as a definition:
troll v.,n. To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies"; which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling";, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite.
The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll.
If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.
The following extract is from a broader expansion of the defining comments given above:
In Usenet usage, a troll is not a grumpy monster that lives beneath a bridge accosting passers-by, but rather a provocative posting to a newsgroup intended to produce a large volume of frivolous responses.
The content of a "troll posting generally falls into several areas. It may consist of an apparently foolish contradiction of common knowledge, a deliberately offensive insult to the readers of a newsgroup, or a broad request for trivial follow-up postings.
There are three reasons why people troll newsgroups:
People post such messages to get attention, to disrupt newsgroups, and simply to make trouble.
Career trollers tend for the latter two whilst the former is the mark of the clueless newbie and should be ignored.
That represents the perfect response to any troll. The mark of a gullible lunatic that will almost certainly believe anything you tell them. A total group embarrassment. Award yourself a Troll Gold Star every time you get one!
Other good responses include, but are not limited to....
"Although this is on-topic....."
"I disagree...."
"Yes, but....."
"Can you provide a source for this...."
Try not to follow-up to your own troll. The troll itself quickly becomes forgotten in the chaos and if you just sit back you can avoid being blamed for causing it.
Remember, if you do follow up you are talking to an idiot. Treat them with the ill-respect they deserve.
You should also learn to recognise follow-ups from your fellow trollers. Sometimes an average troll can be elevated into majestic proportions when several trollers spontaneously join forces via the medium of the follow up troll.
Ignore cries of wasted bandwidth! This is pure drivel that will always be posted by the anti-troll lobby.
These jerks fail to understand that trolls are the best way to drive people off the internet thus making available multi-mbs for the rest of us to download our porn.
If you've spent any time in chat rooms, bulletin boards or posting on Usenet you may have already come across one of these troublesome creatures.
Often suffering from a mutant strain of compulsive posting disorder, a troll's basic mission in life is to mischievously manufacture inflammatory opinions in an attempt to stir up disharmony and discord.
The most common breed of troll seeks attention by enthusiastically posting up a stream of off-topic drivel or by being clumsily provocative (like posting up, "PCs ROOL!" on an Apple Mac discussion board.)
Ignore them. The worst thing you can do is to try and engage them in rational debate as this only encourages them to hang around.
And once they find themselves the centre of attention, they inevitably become more and more 'controversial' before building up to a crescendo of abuse, followed by a theatrical flounce.
But these are mere bagatelle compared to the Nasty Troll. Like an unruly two year old in a perpetual temper tantrum, these destructive keyboard bullies want to break everything and spoil everyone's fun.
A Nasty Troll has no redeeming features whatsoever and they'll employ every dirty-no-good trick in the book in their tedious quest to wreck an online community.
This usually includes hurling around oceans of gratuitous abuse and defamatory comments, all delivered via a range of anonymous identities - with a few forged ones thrown in for good measure.
Sharp eyed bulletin board editors can usually ban 'bad boy' trolls before they can cause too much trouble, but on unmoderated newsgroups the damage can be terminal, with some communities giving up in the face of relentless attacks.
But not all trolls are quite so evil. A sophisticated, well researched troll can breathe much needed life into slumbering bulletin boards, turning soporific posters into turbo-charged Ian Paisleys with just a few carefully chosen posts.
Although an audacious and cunning troll can sometimes earn the begrudging respect of its target audience, such levels of sophistication are rarer than a Swansea City goal, and for most people trolls are an irritation they could live without.
There are some individuals out there who don't just enjoy winding up people on newsgroups and bulletin boards - it's their sad lifestyle choice! Using every known disruptive trick in the book, these troublesome types don't go out to the pub, meet members of the opposite sex or enjoy life. They spend their time hunched over their computers trolling.
Here's how they work:
INTRODUCTION
Section 1: What Is A Troll?
The WWW gives this as a definition:
troll v.,n. To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies"; which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling";, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite.
The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll.
If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.
The following extract is from a broader expansion of the defining comments given above:
In Usenet usage, a troll is not a grumpy monster that lives beneath a bridge accosting passers-by, but rather a provocative posting to a newsgroup intended to produce a large volume of frivolous responses.
The content of a "troll posting generally falls into several areas. It may consist of an apparently foolish contradiction of common knowledge, a deliberately offensive insult to the readers of a newsgroup, or a broad request for trivial follow-up postings.
There are three reasons why people troll newsgroups:
People post such messages to get attention, to disrupt newsgroups, and simply to make trouble.
Career trollers tend for the latter two whilst the former is the mark of the clueless newbie and should be ignored.
That represents the perfect response to any troll. The mark of a gullible lunatic that will almost certainly believe anything you tell them. A total group embarrassment. Award yourself a Troll Gold Star every time you get one!
Other good responses include, but are not limited to....
"Although this is on-topic....."
"I disagree...."
"Yes, but....."
"Can you provide a source for this...."
Try not to follow-up to your own troll. The troll itself quickly becomes forgotten in the chaos and if you just sit back you can avoid being blamed for causing it.
Remember, if you do follow up you are talking to an idiot. Treat them with the ill-respect they deserve.
You should also learn to recognise follow-ups from your fellow trollers. Sometimes an average troll can be elevated into majestic proportions when several trollers spontaneously join forces via the medium of the follow up troll.
Ignore cries of wasted bandwidth! This is pure drivel that will always be posted by the anti-troll lobby.
These jerks fail to understand that trolls are the best way to drive people off the internet thus making available multi-mbs for the rest of us to download our porn.
If you've spent any time in chat rooms, bulletin boards or posting on Usenet you may have already come across one of these troublesome creatures.
Often suffering from a mutant strain of compulsive posting disorder, a troll's basic mission in life is to mischievously manufacture inflammatory opinions in an attempt to stir up disharmony and discord.
The most common breed of troll seeks attention by enthusiastically posting up a stream of off-topic drivel or by being clumsily provocative (like posting up, "PCs ROOL!" on an Apple Mac discussion board.)
Ignore them. The worst thing you can do is to try and engage them in rational debate as this only encourages them to hang around.
And once they find themselves the centre of attention, they inevitably become more and more 'controversial' before building up to a crescendo of abuse, followed by a theatrical flounce.
But these are mere bagatelle compared to the Nasty Troll. Like an unruly two year old in a perpetual temper tantrum, these destructive keyboard bullies want to break everything and spoil everyone's fun.
A Nasty Troll has no redeeming features whatsoever and they'll employ every dirty-no-good trick in the book in their tedious quest to wreck an online community.
This usually includes hurling around oceans of gratuitous abuse and defamatory comments, all delivered via a range of anonymous identities - with a few forged ones thrown in for good measure.
Sharp eyed bulletin board editors can usually ban 'bad boy' trolls before they can cause too much trouble, but on unmoderated newsgroups the damage can be terminal, with some communities giving up in the face of relentless attacks.
But not all trolls are quite so evil. A sophisticated, well researched troll can breathe much needed life into slumbering bulletin boards, turning soporific posters into turbo-charged Ian Paisleys with just a few carefully chosen posts.
Although an audacious and cunning troll can sometimes earn the begrudging respect of its target audience, such levels of sophistication are rarer than a Swansea City goal, and for most people trolls are an irritation they could live without.