About trolls...

[rockymountaindem]

I've been here for a couple of weeks now and visited some threads on pretty controversial topics, and I haven't seen any posts and then said to myself "wow, there's a troll". Am I missing something? What does one of these troll posts look like?

[EstimatedProphet]

1. They're really big

Thery carry cudgels and clubs.
They're usually accompanied by orcs.
:)

[MrPrax]

14. Live under bridges?

and support political candidates for office with great 'troll-like' exuberance...

Fire-resistant if I remember my D&D... heh

[lastknowngood]

2. They were operating pretty heavy before Iowa but not much

since. Of course some of the Du's can be pretty trolly from time to time.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. They have been getting quieter lately

and there does seem to be fewer of them.

However, if you do see one try not to feed them.

[stanwyck]

4. Very recognizable

in addition to the truly atrocious spelling and grammar, they usually run along the lines of, "I'm not that big a fan of George Bush, but..." and then go on to list his supposed virtues. Rather transparent. On CSPAN's Washington Journal, they're just as obvious. It's all hate-radio rhetoric. Listen to what Rush says (if you can stand to...)and the next day his sheeple will be calling and trolling. Squawking like mindless parrots whatever Rush/Hannity/O'Reilly spewed forth the day before.

[Bridget Burke]

5. They often come out at night....

Or on weekends. The moderators are pretty good at tombstoning; they usually remove the evidence.

[Gman]

12. And usually late, after their first fifth of Jack Daniels,

sitting all along in their little bare apartment that they've lived in since their wife left them 17 years ago and had them committed for 12 years until they got out about 5 years ago. They usually drive a 1977 old, dirty beat up Cadillac Deville with the backseat full past the rear window of boxes of crap and the bumper so dirty you can barely make out the Bush/Cheney bumper sticker.

[Maeve]

6. Don't try, please

Some folks look for any sign of non-progressive thought and call "troll!" and that is just as much against the rules as trolling--it's considered a personal attack to call someone out. If you see a post that advocates a right-wing POV, hit "alert" and let the mods deal with it.

Sometimes folks get labeled "troll" or "freeper" when they are really just a tad off on a single issue--or have a POV that the troll hunter disagrees with. If it's really a right-wing partisan looking for a fight, it will get dealt with. Just hit the "alert".

[wuushew]

7. What is "non-porgressive" thought?

n/t

[Maeve]

8. A failure to use the spell-check

Corrected, thanks.

[earthman dave]

9. Look at another thread...

entitled "Is the US exporting an abortion war?"

Somewhere, three goats are crossing a bridge unmolested :)

[flaminbats]

10. trolls are smart lads!

And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

[Wonk]

11. There are a number of definitions. Here's are some good ones, imho.

http://www.walthowe.com/glossary/t.html
troll
An outrageous message posted to a newsgroup or mailing list or message board to bait people to answer. Trolling is a form of harassment that can take over a discussion. Well meaning defenders can create chaos by responding to trolls. The best response is to ignore it.

Also, the person who posts such messages.

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TrollDefinition
A troll is deliberately crafted to provoke others with the intention of wasting their time and energy. A troll is a time thief. To troll is to steal from people. That is what makes trolling heinous.

http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?query=troll
troll

An electronic mail message, Usenet posting or other (electronic) communication which is intentionally incorrect, but not overtly controversial (compare flame bait), or the act of sending such a message. Trolling aims to elicit an emotional reaction from those with a hair-trigger on the reply key. A really subtle troll makes some people lose their minds.

[flaminbats]

13. this is a very broad definition!

"Trolling aims to elicit an emotional reaction from those with a hair-trigger on the reply key. A really subtle troll makes some people lose their minds."

Does this mean we are all trolls? Going after legit freepers is one thing, but every person has a different way of expressing their views. This doesn't mean that they are cowardly or "beneath us".

Are you suggesting that if a DUer has a strongly felt point of view, he or she should not post it, but just keep to themselves?

[Old and In the Way]

15. 2 Basic varieties.

Trollus Dumbass{/b] - Recognizable by loud obnoxious statements, low post count (usually <10). Poor grammatical, social, and spelling skills. Trollus Dumbass can be persistant in his attempts to post and is often seen on site in packs of 2-4. Trollus wants to play, but usually cannot help him/herself and is quickly tombstoned before he can progress past minor irritant. Dumbass is likely to follow a rather formal and easily identifiable phrase code. Some of the popular riffs (with various spelling illiterations) are:

"DemacRATS are Traters" <notice the mandatory "RATS" inflection>

"If you like Saddam so much, why don't you go to Iraq?" (historically updated from China, Russia, and other enemies of paranoid Republicans)

"George W. Bush is our gratest President because he not afraid to fight terrorists" (Except, of course on 9/11)

Trollus Republicus Disinfoptus - A much more skilled and refined Troll. Extremely hard to recognize and rarely outed. Superior communication skills and can readily adapt to his surroundings. Able to discuss ideas and concepts in full sentences with minimal insults. Trollus prefers refuge behind a candidate icon (except Kerry) which is handy protection. While not a lot of time is spent extolling the virtues of the candidate whose icon he uses, it provides great cover to attack all other Democratic candidates/ideas at will with devastating effective results. Republicus can quickly drive up the BP of many innocent DU posters and has been known to take out ("name deleted") more than a few DUer's on a single thread. Interestingly, the more time Republicus spends at the DU, the more at risk he is on becoming enlightened thereby losing his ability to troll.

At that point, he just becomes another DUer who loves to argue.

Hope this helped.

[Moderator]

16. Locking

While this might be better asked in another forum, I doubt it. This discussion is off-topic for this Forum and contrary to the spirit intent of the civility rules ...

Do not publicly accuse another member of this message board of being a disruptor, troll, conservative, Republican, or FReeper. Do not try to come up with cute ways of skirting around the spirit of this rule. If you think someone is a disruptor, click the "Alert" link below their post so the moderators can deal with it. Unfortunately, it has become all too common for members of this message board to label anyone with a slightly different point of view as a disruptor. We disapprove of this behavior because its intent is to stifle discussion, enforce a particular "party line," and pre-emptively label a particular point of view as inappropriate or unwelcome. This makes thoughtful and open debate virtually impossible.

Just one observation ... perhaps administrators, moderators, and members can take some pride in keeping a forum free enough of such "influences" that you haven't noticed it. After all, in an ideally-managed forum that'd be the experience of most if not all.

As always, if any DUer sees posting behavior that breaks DU rules, please use the Alert function. "Vigilante" posts are firmly discouraged.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
DU moderator