What constitutes a "troll" on this site?

[Skwink]

Nail down your position.

Did the Lord not say: "Thou canst nail down what is made of steel"?

you sound hot. Can i get your digits?

1-800-356-9377

 

[caketastydelish]

@Oldschooler88
Alright. So a neo-nazi could come here and start spouting righteous holocaust denial stuff and not be considered a troll?

No. If they truly believe the holocaust did not occur, they reserve the right to say it even though any reasonable person knows they're wrong.

You're only trolling if you're insulting other posters, or if you say something that you don't even believe yourself, just to trigger a reaction.

For example, Winner was trolled by several posters in which they falsely accused him of being a white supremacist, and put several words into his mouth.

Ghostwriter was trolled by Mobboss just because Ghostwriter doesn't like Mitt Romney and prefers Gary Johnson instead.

It doesn't count as trolling if you're genuinely stupid.

I think there are some very intelligent people that have unpopular opinions, many of which I disagree with myself.

 

[azzaman333]

<nvm>

 

[rugbyLEAGUEfan]

None of the people you mentioned in the OP could be described as intelligent.

Now that's trolling

 

[Kaitzilla]

As a reformed internet troll myself, I have to point all aspiring trolls to the following website. It is the Mecca of trolling since it is entirely fake, but looks quite real. Enjoy the hilarity as the dregs of the internet come to spew their hate and are egged on by completely fake "pastors"
http://www.landoverbaptist.net/

Or, you can eat the blue pill and watch some piglets http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NCtdoPXfmEs

 

[Valka D'Ur]

You've made this former moderator cry...

 

[Bugfatty300]

I consider myself a passive-benign troll.

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

I'm heavily involved in Real-Life trolling, occasionally troll the internet.

 

[Borachio]

As a reformed internet troll myself, I have to point all aspiring trolls to the following website. It is the Mecca of trolling since it is entirely fake, but looks quite real. Enjoy the hilarity as the dregs of the internet come to spew their hate and are egged on by completely fake "pastors"
http://www.landoverbaptist.net/

Or, you can eat the blue pill and watch some piglets http:// www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NCtdoPXfmEs

Good grief. It is a fake site*! They've gone to an awful lot of trouble there. What is it for?

I love the piglets.

*I thought for a minute you were trolling me here.

On torture, of "mudslums":

"I think a lot of the American culture is being feminized. I think the reaction to the stupid torture is an example of the feminization of this country,"

That's right, he may be in a dress, but what we're suffering is worse.

 

[bathsheba666]

My first ever infraction, many years ago, was partly to do with my trolling.

The slight problem was, I did not really know what a troll was at that time, and after the infraction I sent the mod involved a series of perplexed/indignant pms as I did not really know what either trolling or the problem was.

Of course, with hindsight, they must have thought I was simply continuing my trollish ways and seeking to wind them up further. Probably very lucky I wasn't banned then.

 

[Nick Carpathia]

It is a worthless definition.

 

[civver_764]

Trolling is just taking advantage of the internet's anonymity to mess with people. Being a dick or holding weird positions does not make someone a troll, unless their intention is specifically to piss people off.

 

[JollyRoger]

So, from the OP, a neo-nazi is not a troll while someone that makes Cold Play jokes is?

 

[Farm Boy]

Trolls are people who post things to stir up a reaction.

That's a useless definition. Everyone who starts a new thread wants a reaction from others.

Yet it is the original source of the term. I don't think "trolling" really had anything to do with the creatures who live under bridges, it has more to do with the type of fishing. You "troll" around fishing for negative reactions so you can feed off the drama.

 

[Borachio]

I thought you were making it up. But it appears you're right.

It has been asserted that the verb to troll originates from Old French troller, a hunting term. A verb "trôler" is found in modern French-English dictionaries, where the main meaning given is "to lead, or drag, somebody about". In modern English usage, the verb to troll describes a fishing technique of slowly dragging a lure or baited hook from a moving boat.[8] A similar but distinct verb, "to trawl," describes the act of dragging a fishing net (not a line). Whereas trolling with a fishing line is recreational, trawling with a net is generally a commercial activity.

I'd rather it had something to do with bridges and billy goats gruff.

 

[caketastydelish]

So, from the OP, a neo-nazi is not a troll while someone that makes Cold Play jokes is?

How could you come up with that from the OP? I never even mentioned coldplay in the op.

 

[warpus]

For example, suppose I go on a far right forum and state spouting righteous indignation about how holocaust denial should be a criminal offence, I think it probable I could be described as trolling. Yes? No?

You are doing it to get a rise and/or reaction out of them, so yes, this would be trolling.

Your intent is what matters when deciding whether something is trollish in nature or not.

Oftentimes it's not easy to distinguish between trolls and genuinely stupid opinions though, that's the problem.

 

[peter grimes]

I haven't seen much of anything that I personally consider to be genuine trolling. But when I have seen it, it's been mostly regarding the US southern states' right to secede. That appears to arise in quite disparate threads, and sometimes it seems like it's only brought into a discussion for the express purpose of diverting the natural flow of the arguments.

I've seen a couple of instances of it regarding abortion threads where someone will raise the issue of the death penalty, but I'm not sure I agree with the premise that the originator of a thread has control over the course the discussion takes.

But simply holding a fringe opinion doesn't rise to the level of trolling in my book.

Perpetually posting on the same themes regardless of the subject of the discussion, however, does.

EDIT: these are all my personal views, not necessarily in line with the policies of this forum or other forums I visit, like CreationConversations (great stuff in that one!)

 

[Deaths Advocate]

A troll is one who posts with a specific intention to provoke a negative response.

More specifically, they know they are doing it, and it is their goal. Outright flaming isn't trolling, subtle flaming that doesn't evoke retribution from others, but riles someone specifically is the highest form of trolling.

 

[illram]

Moderator Action: closed pending review
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