Trolls among us?
 

Okay dudes and dudettes, a long time ago I got "Trolled", like, severely.

I've been doing some research, delving into what I've discovered of their society, and I'm sorta worried about this festering underbelly of society.

It's like the Ba'al cult, logic is shunned, and they score points among themselves by causing shock, suffering and emotional damage. I'm gonna stay away from the goopy details, it's just, unsettling is all.

I've noticed that no one really talks about this issue in this way, as a social genre, and most commonly it isn't talked about much at all.

So...
Anyone got experience with this? Insight?

Oh, and I'm Skitto, btw, I don't know how this turned anonymous.

I'm not sure I follow, are you talking about internet trolls?

Well, I know it's going to be hard to believe, but I was madly in love with trolls as a kid. I would save up the money I earned from chores and purchase them. I thought they were so ugly they were cute. I still think they're adorable, though I didn't bother to bring any with me to college.

http://maribeltz.files.wordpress.com...-bank-all1.jpg

Somehow I don't think this is the kind of troll you're looking for.

Are you talking about people acting like they do on the internet in real life?

Every troll I've met in real life was ultimately more meek and introverted than I would've expected in a million years. I think it's a bit of the puffer-fish phenomenon; they inflate to grandiose proportions on the internet, but are quite literally the size of carp IRL.

...but without said "trolls" the Web wouldn't function. You know... it's as if the Web is a giant cow and the trolls are the constant flatuence that helps relieve the... okay, nevermind. Anyway, If there was some type of universal transparent credential where everybody's "street cred" was on display at all times... my god... how fucking boring would that be? The most elegant douchebaggery I've witnessed in my years has come from anonymous people.

Also: You'd all realize that I don't have a smooth spot, that Jazz isn't actually an asshole, and all those jerkoffs in Tilted Politics are total hypocrites.

I don't know why, but this is oddly comforting. I mean... you didn't have a giant pile of stuffed animals on your bed or one of those retarded papasan chairs in Barbie pink or maybe a boy band poster? My God, where were you when I was looking for an adult female to converse with?!

Wait, what? Did you just use "literally" in a metaphor?

I don't hang out under bridges, just under the bleachers with the rest of the smokers. And fuck you, P9. I am an asshole, just not here. ;)

Don't make me photoshop your face from that one picture last year onto a Carebear.

speaking about trolls in my new-found guise as hypocrite jerk-off, allow me to say that all uses of literally are metaphorical. it's not a surprise. it's not even note-worthy.

but getting back to other trolls... i'm also confused. they used to be toll-collectors under bridges in fairy tales. no-one liked them because they collected tolls so they probably got made over from perfectly ordinary members of infrastructural support squads, like plan 9, into ugly mutant things just because they people who wrote the stories didnt like paying tolls. now ain't that a bitch?

so the idea of a troll is an example of trolling.

whence my confusion.

My car was made in Trollhattan.

Lindy

RB,

Yeah, but trolling should be fun for someone. If nobody is having fun, it, the verb, wouldn't happen.

This completely shatters my understanding of smartassery.

This. This is good. So good.

...

C'mon, people, let's keep the trollin' a-going.

You know what they say: trolling is a art.

I think we need to be more specific about what you are referring to. Are you talking about sarcastic trolling, like Landover Baptist? Or are you talking about harassment and griefing? Or are you talking about taking contrary positions just to get a rise out of people?

I'll admit it here, I've trolled in the good/bad places on the net and been trolled myself. I've trolled in real life (I like to stand beside street preachers and yell along side of them). Granted, alcohol is usually involved and I generally feel bad about it afterwards.

It happens, sometimes it's just to get a rise out of someone or just crossing that line between sarcasm and trolling.

This guy did it and got to talk to a CEO. Steve Jobs Offers World 'Freedom From Porn' - Apple - Gawker

All and all, when you have complete freedom of speech and anonymity, you will find yourself surrounded by trolls.

I was in Utah, lurking on this board and playing with theatrical lighting.

I have been guilty of being a dickhead online on occasion. It's not something I'm proud of, though, nor do I intentionally engage in trollish behavior. I take it as a sign that I need to log off and decompress for a while.

Wait, did you mean Baha'i?

Wasn't Ba'al cult the Big Bad God from Baldur's Gate? His mentions were going around fucking shit up and making it hard to play a Lawful Good character.

I don't know squat about video games, but Baha'i is the cult religion my exwife joined during my A-stan deployment. Nine-point stars and chanting.

So you're saying you don't want to tour the temple on your triumphant return to Chicago later in the summer because it will put sand in the lube before your Boystown trip? Geez, lighten up, Francis.

/billy goat gruff

Your first mistake was assuming I'm going to Chicago. This unemployment thing just caught up with me after 3 years, chief.

Additionally, I can't stand conventional religion so I'd have a real hard time getting down with offshoot supernatural space zombie worshippin' types.

OK, so that's my first mistake. What's my second? Or can you not count that high?

Trolling in a thread about trolling is FUN! Especially when the guy I'm trolling specifically asked for more trolling. Troll.

Stop cockblocking my 19 post edits!

No?


Yeah, no. That's what I'm going with.

No.

Pretty sure trolling is in reference to the fishing type of trolling. Not the mythological creature. Makes more sense to me.

Oh sure. That would explain the goopy details.

Uh... isn't that trawling, not trolling?

Zeraph, I always assumed it was the mythological creature, mainly because they're big, scary and totally unable to do any actual harm. But I can see why your version makes sense too.

---------- Post added at 04:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:38 PM ----------

Yes! Another Plan9 multiedit disrupted! Score!

Nope, but that is another method of fishing, they are often confused.

Here's trolling, otherwise known as angling:
Troll (angling) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I used to troll for trout when I was a kid.

Trawling is trolling with a net instead of a line.

Beware: Trolling too deep, will disturb Grendel.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...troll_wife.jpg

Grendel's mama
http://woodenspears.com/wp-content/u...09_468x518.jpg

Nope, it's definitely the mythological creature one, since otherwise the noun 'trolls' doesn't make sense. Unless I just got trolled...

Rick Trolled!

I'm talking about internet trolls, meaning those who spend their time on the internet pwning noobs for lulz (the evil prank cousin to lols) posting infuriating comments and destroying people's unsuspecting moralities with pictures of penises and the far side of sexual fetishisms. This being apparently done to balance out the sheep of the internet, trolls are the wolfpack.

What I was wondering was that, if this is a necessary part of the internet, why don't we have more sheepdogs than trolls?
Oh, and are trolls sane?

sane? no they are just assholes.

hold up hold up......are we talking about trolls here, or hobbits?

What does it mean, to troll? (don't type that in at work, wait till you're at home.)
http://www.cslacker.com/images/file/...emon_party.jpg

I totally understand trolls, and have participated a time or two myself in other forums. A lot of it is based on finding it funny when people get offended over things you think are silly, or when you take purposefully controversial stances just to see if people pounce on the chance to refute it and prove someone on the internet wrong. This is why the cry of 'troll' comes out a lot in threads where someone continues to fight back without giving ground over and overwhelming crush of the majority...there's a good chance if they're not 100% sincere that they're finding it hilarious how much effort people are putting into their rebuttals.

On another forum I'm on (for sports cars), we have a couple pretty common trolling methods. One is to pretend to be really impressed if new member's start spouting expensive or unrealistic plans for their cars. Another is to answer dumb questions with ridiculous answers, usually referencing car parts that don't exist (we've made up three or four favorites to use over the years, so we can link to archived tech threads if they get suspicious). A third is to pick the worst option in any 'wat shuld I do?' polls, causing it to win by an overwhelming majority.

All of the above is found generally hilarious by the established members who have been around for 6-8 years...but it's probably a reason we have a reputation for being dicks...haha. Oh well...