Until recently I was hardly aware of the trolling phenomena but lately I must admit I've been a bit "caught up" with it. I was so surprised by some of the absolute nonsense post that I started to respond, and post more and more. I even gotten a bit angry and frustrated at time. Exactly what a troll is looking for. It kind of shocked me so I started reading a bit more about the trolling experience. This led me to the following:

 

I found 3 basic forms of trolls on AN:

 

1 the harmless/banter where the troll writes a post that is mostly a figment of his/hers imagination. Can be good fun sometimes.

 

2 the propaganda where nothing but links from the most obscure places on the internet are provided as proof, The more links the better, harmless but cluttering up the screen.

 

3 the addicts. Now this is another matter. Where as numbers 1 and 2 do no harm this one is destructive. Not so much if you are on the receiving side (like you and me) but -in fact- for the troll itself. The addict troll show signs of isolation, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and lack of personal hygiene. It can even lead to suicidal behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

General forum is NOT the place for this, neither is discussing other members, that is against forum rules.

 

MOVED to the Lounge

18 minutes ago, bubblegum said:

Until recently I was hardly aware of the trolling phenomena but lately I must admit I've been a bit "caught up" with it. I was so surprised by some of the absolute nonsense post that I started to respond, and post more and more. I even gotten a bit angry and frustrated at time. Exactly what a troll is looking for. It kind of shocked me so I started reading a bit more about the trolling experience. This led me to the following:

 

I found 3 basic forms of trolls on AN:

 

1 the harmless/banter where the troll writes a post that is mostly a figment of his/hers imagination. Can be good fun sometimes.

 

2 the propaganda where nothing but links from the most obscure places on the internet are provided as proof, The more links the better, harmless but cluttering up the screen.

 

3 the addicts. Now this is another matter. Where as numbers 1 and 2 do no harm this one is destructive. Not so much if you are on the receiving side (like you and me) but -in fact- for the troll itself. The addict troll show signs of isolation, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and lack of personal hygiene. It can even lead to suicidal behaviour.

 

 

Put the razor down now and walk away.

Come back Bob.

People get offended too easy on here.

 

You also get reverse trolling where a troll accuses somebody else, you get that a lot

9 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

People get offended too easy on here.

 

You also get reverse trolling where a troll accuses somebody else, you get that a lot

Your right and it's absolutely disgusting 

I was accused of being a Transexual in a  schoolgirl uniform recently, things like this can cause PTSD later in life ,horrid 

 

33 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Your right and it's absolutely disgusting 

I was accused of being a Transexual in a  schoolgirl uniform recently, things like this can cause PTSD later in life ,horrid 

 

Casually thrown clart rarely sticks.  If you are embarrassed about being as noted, or wanting to be as noted, I can see the impact.
 

 My view is that you can’t be much of a man if your sexuality is compromised by wearing women’s clothing and singing in the pantomime.   Back in the day…

Pretty sure there are some troll/bot/sockpuppet networks running on this site.  Like Spamouflag.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/china-linked-spamouflage-network-mimics-americans-online-sway-113342948

 

They are obviously most interested in the major social media platforms but I suspect they use secondary sites as a kind of testing ground to see what sticks.  It is also possible there are accounts around here specifically for the purpose of increasing engagement.  Connect the dots on that.

 

Or maybe this site just has a lot of really dumb people making a lot of really dumb comments.  However, there are a lot of accounts posting very obvious misinformation. People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.  The conspiratorial side of me wonders why those accounts don't get banned.

 

11 hours ago, shdmn said:

People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.  The conspiratorial side of me wonders why those accounts don't get banned.

Similarly, those little messages inside of Fortune Cookies should be banned. They are not facts. They never come true. It's clearly disinformation that can be damaging and dangerous. I take that personally! 

When someone complains of trolling, I get an image of something like this.   

 

On 9/3/2024 at 11:51 PM, bubblegum said:

The addict troll show signs of isolation, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and lack of personal hygiene.

Spot on description of the physical characteristics of a serial troll.

 

On 9/9/2024 at 10:05 AM, radiochaser said:

When someone complains of trolling, I get an image of something like this.   

 

That's trawling. 🎣

 

I used to go trawling on the south NSW coast, near Montigue Island, where the continental shelf is not too far off the coast. 

My mate had a nice boat, I remember we took our girlfriends out early one morning, not long after setting out for the continental shelf the girls started throwing up, sadly we had to turn back. 

 

 

On 9/4/2024 at 10:51 AM, bubblegum said:

3. the addicts. 

The addict troll show signs of isolation, lack of sleep, lack of appetite and lack of personal hygiene. It can even lead to suicidal behaviour.

I had a trolling member constantly bugging me, asking nonsense questions, antagonizing me on every comment I made, he seemed to bounce through the different threads looking for my comments to annoy me, it was like having a nagging woman attacking you constantly. These type can't accept that we can have different opinions, they ignore the truth and facts. Once they latch on they are hard to lose, they hang on, never letting go. They don't have a life, just sitting behind their warrior keyboards most of the day passing time.
I had the mods remove most of his Off topic comments, I soon learnt ignoring their comments is the best solution. 

 

I hope he doesn't see this comment 😂

 

You people should stop talking about sue. He/she/it may not like it.

does AN allowed to vote for the most annoying troll of each month? 

i could name a few ... 

17 minutes ago, motdaeng said:

does AN allowed to vote for the most annoying troll of each month? 

i could name a few ... 

Start a poll

3 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Start a poll

 

Actually, don't!

 

Fwom da-roolz: -

What are the reasons we are here?

1. Visa questions - this is too serious and please - no trolling there please!

2. Entertainment and holy wars - liberals vs Trump, Russia vs the West etc - people are seeking for entertainment in such topics. So trolls are those who entertain other people and themselves also - exactly what is needed for everyone. But at some point, one of the participants in the entertaining discussion suddenly discovers that something very important to him has become the subject of ridicule. At this point it is far time for hypocrisy like "stop trolling me! you are troll and should be banned!" etc

4 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

That's trawling. 🎣

 

I used to go trawling on the south NSW coast, near Montigue Island, where the continental shelf is not too far off the coast. 

My mate had a nice boat, I remember we took our girlfriends out early one morning, not long after setting out for the continental shelf the girls started throwing up, sadly we had to turn back. 

 

 

I traveled to Japan and back on a ship back in 1952-1954.   I had no problems with it.  The ships crew helped me celebrate my 5th birthday at sea.  

 

I traveled across a bay in California on a motor powered sail boat.   10 minutes into the 45 minute trip, I thought I was going to puke any minute!  

 

I did a search for trolling and that was the best picture I found.   Down in Louisiana we used to troll behind a motorboat (never felt like I was going to puke) for large mouth bass.   I could not fin a picture like that.   

2 hours ago, zmisha said:

What are the reasons we are here?

1. Visa questions - this is too serious and please - no trolling there please!

2. Entertainment and holy wars - liberals vs Trump, Russia vs the West etc - people are seeking for entertainment in such topics. So trolls are those who entertain other people and themselves also - exactly what is needed for everyone. But at some point, one of the participants in the entertaining discussion suddenly discovers that something very important to him has become the subject of ridicule. At this point it is far time for hypocrisy like "stop trolling me! you are troll and should be banned!" etc

BS

Just now, SAFETY FIRST said:

That's trawling. 🎣

 

I used to go trawling on the south NSW coast, near Montigue Island, where the continental shelf is not too far off the coast. 

My mate had a nice boat, I remember we took our girlfriends out early one morning, not long after setting out for the continental shelf the girls started throwing up, sadly we had to turn back. 

 

 

Depends on where you are from. In UK trawling is dragging a large net, trolling is dragging a lure/bait.

9 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Depends on where you are from. In UK trawling is dragging a large net, trolling is dragging a lure/bait.

You're right, my bad, cheers 👍

 

21 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

I traveled to Japan and back on a ship back in 1952-1954.   I had no problems with it.  The ships crew helped me celebrate my 5th birthday at sea.  

 

I traveled across a bay in California on a motor powered sail boat.   10 minutes into the 45 minute trip, I thought I was going to puke any minute!  

 

I did a search for trolling and that was the best picture I found.   Down in Louisiana we used to troll behind a motorboat (never felt like I was going to puke) for large mouth bass.   I could not fin a picture like that.   

Thanks mate, I wasn't aware of trolling being a fishing term 👍

 

 

7 minutes ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Thanks mate, I wasn't aware of trolling being a fishing term 👍

 

Yes, since at least 1927, when my New Century Dictionary of the English Language was published.   Most likely for more than 100 years.   Trolling is a term used for fishing, in one form or another.  Out of about 12 or 13 uses of the word trolling, which includes singing, to pass a bowl of liquor from one to another around the table, the most common use of the word trolling has to do with fishing, in which it is used 4 different ways for fishing, in the above dictionary.   

 

The above dictionary, pre internet of course, does not include the more current use of the term trolling to mean:  make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.   Which seems to me to be mostly used as a negative connotation towards anyone that has a difference of opinion from the person making the accusation that the other poster is, trolling. 
 

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You're right, my bad, cheers 👍

 

I used to look after the radio comms. at the island lighthouse.

Got stuck on the bar once on the way out and big wave knocked the  trawler's cabin and window off.

Yeah they suck

8 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

Yeah they suck

Been transphobic all your life Chris?