Does this seem familiar to you?

[DJFyrewolf36]

Ok ok, this has NOTHING to do with cats. Buuuuut since I've noticed an ahem trend here *and I post mostly here* , I've decided to post this as an educational measure. I hope this sums things up:
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From http://members.aol.com/intwg/trolls.htm

Internet Trolls

An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and upset people.

Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.

Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.

Perhaps this sounds inconceivable. You may think, "Surely there is something I can write that will change them." But a true troll can not be changed by mere words.
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Feel free to comment

[DJFyrewolf36]

And I'm not posting this in anger. Honestly, the rest of the site is very informative!

[heinz57_79]

Personally, I like my take on it better. I just think they're people who have nothing better to do with their time. Get a hobby! Or a boyfriend/girlfriend/sheep, whatever! Teens should be in summer camp or on vacation away from any electrical outlets, like the sahara. (I'm speaking in general terms, mind you... not on individual levels! ) And parents need to pay a heck of a lot more attention to what their children are doing. There's my 2 pesos...

[Catsnclay]

I can't agree more..........

Didn't we have another "troll" back in the spring that started something also??

When I see new threads like that I tend to stay away from answering them. If you notice, they are usually from "new" people.

Ah summertime........you can always tell when someone is board (can't wait for school to start!)

[DJFyrewolf36]

Originally posted by heinz57_79
Personally, I like my take on it better. I just think they're people who have nothing better to do with their time. Get a hobby! Or a boyfriend/girlfriend/sheep, whatever! Teens should be in summer camp or on vacation away from any electrical outlets, like the sahara. (I'm speaking in general terms, mind you... not on individual levels! ) And parents need to pay a heck of a lot more attention to what their children are doing. There's my 2 pesos...

I said this every summer when I was in high school. I was a big lurker online...never posted much for exactly this reason. People do scare a lot of newbies off of boards because if a board has been troll infested and the second you post as a newbie in most places, you get flamed. I was afraid to post on here for a while too. The internet is my genuine hobby, discussing things with people who have diferent perspectives is very fun and educational. However, there always has to be someone to ruin it...

[RedHedd]

Originally posted by heinz57_79
Personally, I like my take on it better. I just think they're people who have nothing better to do with their time. Get a hobby! Or a boyfriend/girlfriend/sheep, whatever! Teens should be in summer camp or on vacation away from any electrical outlets, like the sahara. (I'm speaking in general terms, mind you... not on individual levels! ) And parents need to pay a heck of a lot more attention to what their children are doing. There's my 2 pesos...

Applause! Applause!

Yup, these kids are definitely BORED.

[AbbyMom]

Thanks for the education. I was unfamiliar with the term until I saw the "No feeding the trolls" message in another thread. I sorta got it then but the AOL explanation wraps it up. Guess I'm mostly out of it, but it's never too late to learn something new!

At any rate...trolls or just poorly behaving bored children, I do think it's best to ignore them because ultimately they're in search of attention. Let's not give it to them.

[kitten645]

Also from the site mentioned above:

The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.

When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.


Claudia

[DJFyrewolf36]

Sound advice if you ask me!

[catnapper]

Originally posted by heinz57_79
Personally, I like my take on it better. I just think they're people who have nothing better to do with their time. Get a hobby! Or a boyfriend/girlfriend/sheep, whatever! Teens should be in summer camp or on vacation away from any electrical outlets, like the sahara. (I'm speaking in general terms, mind you... not on individual levels! ) And parents need to pay a heck of a lot more attention to what their children are doing. There's my 2 pesos...

LOL!!! I totally agree!

So far, PT as a whole has been very lucky to have a low level of trolls. I've been on sites where a new trolls eemed to pop up every other day. If we stick together and politely ignore these people, we will keep PT relatively troll free.


sheep... ROFTLMBO!!!

[christa]

Now THIS is a great thread.

[QueenScoopalot]

Has anyone else noticed the trolls don't respond to any posts (like this) other than the ones they start up? I say let them out post, and annoy each other until school starts up for them. I also think many have flunked English class!

[leslie flenner]

Well, being in the mental health field, and not having thought about this before- the whole troll concept is an epiphamy! (geez, did I spell that right?) When the next DSM comes out I'm sure it will have all kinds of new psychiatric diagnosis that include our new computer world that we live in! I think these people are very much like anti-social personality disorders. They do not "feel" human emotions, and if asked, will say they "feel" like they are in a play, acting like a human and not really getting it. They don't understand what we mean by love, sadness, mourning, etc. they are only out to please themselves by hurting others. (Ted Bundy was an extreme case- most live among us and are not serial killers!) I know a person on another thread that fits this and the troll criteria! Thanks for the info! I actually felt better after reading it - there's no point in responding at all. Thank you, thank you!!!

[christa]

Originally posted by QueenScoopalot
I say let them out post, and annoy each other until school starts up for them.

LOL . . . Great idea, QSA.

[smokey the elder]

"Troll-baiting" is responding to a troll to egg him/her/it on.

"Don't feed the troll!!" was frequently seen on a now defunct message site.