Trolls On Forums and Blogs

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Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:48 am

This doesn't qualify as a scam, it is an annoyance. Thank you for this great board. This is my first post.

I have a political blog. I have readers from all viewpoints. It is partisan, but tries to have respectful political discourse.

I've been bothered by a troll. A troll uses tactics as adhominem attacks, name calling, baiting to ruin your blog or forum. The troll tries to get you to have an emotional response.

How To reply To A Troll

1) Copy and paste what they say.
2) Replace their name with yours, and visa versa.
3) Don't speak first to the troll, or the game can be reversed.

This drives them nuts.

Question: Any better ideas?

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:51 am

If you're running the site can't just you delete that user, or block that IP from making comments?

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:59 am

You can't actually ban someone with blogspot. You can moderate comments or delete their posts.

I want to make trolls not want to visit.

The technique I posted I tried yesterday, and the troll didn't return today.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:28 am

Moved from misc scams to general forum since this is general and not about scams.

We have a great deal of experience dealing the trolls. If you don't have control of your own server, it is difficult to do much of any consequence. What ever works is good enough. Basically, if you don't answer trolls they get nothing in return and they have to leave. This is why we say "don't feed the trolls". Unfortunately, members always have to respond. Giving the troll exactly what they want.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:35 am

Rudo2050 wrote:

I've been bothered by a troll.

Just one? Methinks you need a thicker hide. Laughing

If you own the board and have admin control just ban him, block him and delete his posts. Treat it as spam. The Eater troll poop spade is now a 40 tonne excavator that works over-time and even on Sundays. Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:45 am

I think what would be nice is a function where a troll can be tagged, without their knowing, and subsequent threads/posts made by that user would only be visible to the original poster.

That way they would see their garbage in print on the board, but would never get any replies

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:45 am

This forum does an awesome job at keeping the spam away. I'm trying to assist the admin of another forum I frequently visit in clearing off the spam which has totally killed in in recent months and it's no easy task.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:51 am

Trolls irritate me. They don't add anything productive OR funny. However the only reason trolls do well is that members poke him. I learned when I was three that if I ignored the bully he would go away. They do it for attention, don't give them any and they move on to where they can get some.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:26 am

I love trolls Very Happy

No, allow me to amend that...I love watching Lotta loving trolls Very Happy

Now, what was it I loved?
Oh yes, I love wine
I love wine Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:51 am

Sounds like you might need a bit more control than Blogspot provides. Can you disable comments on your blog and set up a proper forum for your readers to comment? That would give you more control over both the posts and the trolls.

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

Oddly enough, rules and banage encourage the smarter trolls--as they try to dance around rules.

The most effective response I have found on open fora--as in open discussion--is to "post around" them. If you have "Ignore" and/or Firefox--with Greasemonkey--good bye. The only ones who respond to the troll are those who actually want to engage him. The rest do not see him because they have Ignored and/or utterly erased them.

Then "post around" him by discussing him in the third person--ruining his discussions. The only attention he has is others laughing at him.

Drives them crazy. See, if you start with suspensions and bans, the smart troll knows he has "gotten" to you. To be the "butt of jokes"--drives them crazy.

This is what I would call a "specialized board." Those are easier to patrol since "off-topic" threads can be closed. So if someone insists on pontificating on politics, religion, or whathaveyou--it is as out of place as the same discussion as on a fishing or pet forum. Since you have a politics forum/blog . . . that is a bit more "open."

--J.D.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:03 am

Doctor X wrote:

Oddly enough, rules and banage encourage the smarter trolls--

HAHAHA! Sorry X. Smarter trolls. Now there is an oxymoron. Great stuff mate. Keep it coming. Laughing

Trolls around here and sent down the garbage chute. Sometimes they crawl back under different aliases, but they've been tagged and released. We usually watch them for awhile and eventually they slip up themselves and are escorted to the chute again. Laughing

However you are right. If your board is political, then it just screams trouble. This is the internet and unfortunately it allows everyone to have an opinion. Even the idiots.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:46 am

<br>I love trolls. Given that this is a baiting site they really have come to the wrong place.

Regarding your own forum, personally, I'm with Dr X. Just ignore their posts and they will move on, hopefully to here so we can all poke them with the sharp pointed stick thing, before they eventually sneak off to have their nappy changed and 3 o'clock bottle feed.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:55 am

^^^ Have you been reading Persephone's "How to care for..." series?

The chapter, "Hugging", I think was written for owners of fluffy kitty cats.

For the OP, I'll reiterate what others have said:
4) Ignore them. Starve their ego and they'll soon depart.

Master Baiter Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 109

Trolls can be fun but has been stated, some people get way to emotional and have the obsessive need to keep replying in a big to win the argument, not realising that the troll has no interest in the argument itself.

vBulletin forum software has an excellent feature called 'tachy goes to coventry' where you can make a user 'disappear' to everyone except himself.
That is, he (or indeed, she) can post all he likes and he'll see his own posts, but to the rest of the board, he's not posting anything. That basically lets them talk to themselves until they get bored of it.

I've had fun watching trolls try harder and harder for attention without realising no one can see them Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:22 am

I love it when two trolls try to play the forum.

Me and a friend did it once on an EastEnders soap opera discussion forum. Don't ask how I got there...it was a long time ago. Anyway, I made the fatal mistake of calling Wendy Richard "Wendy Richards". Or was it the other way round? Anyway, I hadn't intended any offense but the curt responses just begged to be baited, so I roped in a friend who basically admonished me for my gross faux pas. It was fun while it lasted.

Wendy's, character, Pauline Fowler, eventually died due to rotting cardie poisoning following a routine charisma by-pass operation that went tragically wrong. She lasted only four days.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:01 am

I love to poke at trolls also. Laughing

Soap Opera? I hope you let them know about the underwear problem.
That maybe how it ended. :yikes:

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:03 pm

Nurse Nasty wrote:

The Eater troll poop spade is now a 40 tonne excavator that works over-time and even on Sundays.

Painted pink and operated by our resident first aider... Cool

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

Nurse Nasty wrote:

HAHAHA! Sorry X. Smarter trolls. Now there is an oxymoron. Great stuff mate. Keep it coming. Laughing

A specialized board like this is harder to troll, because the rules are clear and the topics limited. The True Troll--one who simply wants a response--usually goes to more open-topic boards to introduce topics and issues that are guaranteed to get other posters exploding. When those boards try to tighten up rules, then the troll can play with them because the topics are still available.

I mean, what controversial topic is a troll going to raise HERE?

Anyways, I hope Rudo is not making the common mistake to misrepresent "troll" as "someone who has a different opinion than me."

--J.D.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:28 pm

Trolls don't only go for controversial topics, X. They're generally just shit stirrers, who like to poop all over the board with their "views". They're generally idiots who try to derail topics, be antagonostic and just annoy the crap out of people.
Occasionally we get trolls who think they're under the radar. Pooping here and there, stirring up as much crap as possible, but still appearing to just be slightly controversial members. Those are my favourites. Cool

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:30 pm

I guess there can be a bit of a fine line between those who just like to advance debate about on-topic stuff and Trolls who just want to piss people off.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:36 pm

Absolutely. Trolls however, do it consistenly.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:38 pm

That's good... I like advancing a few debates about grey areas but wouldn't want to be seen as a troll.

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:14 pm

yrubraj wrote:

.. I like advancing a few debates about grey areas ..

What!? And waste all that perfectly good baiting time?

Here we bait the lads. If you have any particular concerns about your methods of baiting, and are concerned if you may be crossing any ethical lines. It's always better to PM a mod to discuss the area of concern before you post your concerns or findings. Saves us a whole lot of time and effort in responding to cyclic discussions.

Very Happy

Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:16 pm

My time zone's 12 hours out of sync with that of Nigeria and the UK so generally baiting time for me is early in the morning or in the evening. Otherwise when there's quiet time in my life what else is there to do but see what's going on in the forums.

You've had your work cut out with me lately though NN so I see where you're coming from. Hopefully I haven't annoyed you too much.

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