trolls

Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one. Of late, there has been a lot of juvenile name calling. One of those names is troll. What exactly is a troll? Is it someone who will debate you? Is it someone who has an opinion that you don't like? Is it someone you don't like and you don't know them? Let's get serioius on this for a moment. If you want to start with the jackass comments, take it random thoughts. This thread will show just how mature the SportsJournalists.com crowd really is.

 

My definition is a troll is someone who adds nothing to the conversation except to stir the pot. Also, someone who follows someone else to other threads and talks trash about every post they make just to piss them off (Yes, I am guilty of this one. But I got over it).

 

A troll is someone who posts on a message board with the sole intent of pissing off 99% of the people who post there. He (or she) will intentionally post comments that will lead to nasty name-calling.

 

A troll doesn't debate. A troll simply spouts off instigative nonesense in order to get a rise out of other posters.

Debate requires a back and forth with an exchange of opinions and where those opinions come from. Trolls don't bother with such things.

 

Exactly. For example, a troll would see the running soccer thread and post "Soccer sucks."

That said, posters can go in and out of troll mode. They might specialize in trolling certain categories like politics, global warming or religion. But on other threads be reasonable, intelligent posters.

Trolls are also attention whores.

 

As with most things, few people are actually "trolls".

But we have plenty whose trollish behavior is the rule, not the exception. And the thing is, it's pretty easy to tell who is who.

Click on someone's post history. If everything is trollish, they're a troll.

Yawn is a troll.

Dyepack wasn't always a troll, but eventually his trollishness got the best of him.

 

THIS THREAD SUCKS

 

This is the essence of trollery. Sometimes, folks get so riled up that they can't express their views without being abusive, sarcastic or condescending. That's rude and regrettable, but it isn't trolling in the strict sense. A true troll offers little besides insult and provocation and won't engage in a reasoned discussion.

 

See: Mike Lum.

 

I feel foolish for taking the bait with that one. But I'd never read him in action before, so I treated him like a serious poster until he proved otherwise. Hopefully I'll have the sense not feed any more trolls any time soon. I was good about not feeding trolls for a while, but then I got careless. Duh.

 

No. Dyepack was always a troll. There was never a time here when he wasn't pushing his limited little agenda.

Yawn, I don't really have an opinion, because I'm not a political debater. I do tend to think that if people spend ALL their time debating politics, they're very boring people.

Mike Lum ... definite troll tendencies to this point.

boots, whatever you do, don't think that troll is a throw-away term. It's quite real, and they ruin a lot of good times on this board.

And I also get a little weary of the "don't feed the trolls" faction. I'm not going to sit here and chuckle to myself while somebody's being an assclown to me or my friends. I'll call them on it, and that's not going to stop. Sorry.