Trolls

Nethack taught me tinned trolls didn't resurrect... it seems Nethack DevTeam were wrong this time :O

 

Now a touch of trollieyness is fun if done right.

 

To be fair, there's a thin line between sarcasm and snarkiness. :/ Sometimes people use sarcasm to be rude, intentionally. Because sarcasm can sometimes be pretty rude and dismissive, even when it isn't intended. Others are just trying to make a point but then get people jumping on them for it. You have to be careful with sarcasm, it can be a double edged sword.

But, yes, the way people react to comments they see as trollish is more important than how many real trolls there are. The worst troll only matters if people give him what he wants. In the mean time, people get hyper-aggressive against people who don't mean any harm.

 

I loved that game so much.

 

Could there be such a thing as a two headed troll? What would that be like?

 

Perhaps it would troll its self....

 

Uhm, yes.
It's when you are two people going trolling.
One person starts a topic in one end with flamebait then the other responds with a complete hyperbole flamebait towards the other side.
You can do it in your own if the forum allows sock puppets.
The result is that both sides of the issue will get engaged immediately whereas a single troll only would get one side.

Here such would be easy.
Start with a Full loot PvP everywhere, then respond with someone demanding account bans for AFK kills or character deletes for murderers taken by the guards and thus executed "so that we can guillotine those reds".
Then step back and watch it burn.

After that do a "I paid more than you so Ishould get function X while you shouldn't", then respond with a "everything in pledges should be in the game - no rares" and "everyone should get a home".
And watch it burn again.

 

Suggest that Spoon be banned from forums for giving trolls The Roadmap.

 

It's fine giving them a roadmap it's the bridgemap you should be worried about.

 

And the two headed Trolls speak eh

 

Yes me and Budner would make for a magnificent two-headed troll. Lucky you we only use our powers for good... Well mostly... Well ok sometimes... Ok ok for our definition of good then...

 

The thing is, sarcasm is also quintessentially British, and that is possibly why someone mentioned cultural differences; Having once ruled the world, and then being humbled, and having the time to accept that, it's now part of our culture to see wisdom in deliberately mocking pretensions of greatness... to a level other cultures might find hard to understand. Consider the scathing humour of Spitting Image; an enormous success in the UK, but a disaster when trialled in the US for mocking Ronald Reagan.

Or consider the ending of BBC comedy, Blackadder Goes Forth, set in World War One; where the series ends with the scene of all the anti-heroes, cowardly villains and filthy Tommies like Baldrick going over the top together, side by side, and then being cut down and killed indiscriminately. With a laugh track for the last, grim jokes on the trench ladders, no less. And our cultural language is such that we would understand the sympathy of the scene behind the laughter, that we're laughing because we're on the side of the underdog and sometimes gallows humour is all that they have left. That the real Tommies were lice infested and underfed and wasted in a war with nothing sweet and proper about it, but that they were still real human beings for all that. A similar comedy in America, where the troops were treated as anything less than well meaning All American Heroes would be taken as hideously offensive however. It's a cultural difference, you see.

Now, here on the forums I've only reported one post, which was using language which in Britain is extremely racist; But if I know cultures differ, why report it when I know it may not be racists abroad? Because the larger principle online, whether individual cultures like it or not, is to be all inclusive. Because here we all are, all living together in New Britannia, and if we want to continue doing so, we should listen too and respect each other's sensitivities to particular usages of words. To give an example, watermelon has absolutely no racial connotations here in the UK; it's just a tasty snack. Were I running the forums here though, I absolutely would watch closely how it's used in conversation, because I know it does have offensive meaning in the US. And I'd want players from the US to feel welcome here too. Of course, I'd also want to give people time to correct innocent mistakes as well, and substitute other fruit offerings if they meant no harm...

But sarcasm is a trickier one, because it's not a single word, but a form of wider language, and more importantly one that can be used in a positive way in certain cultures. I believe you will know a troll from a Brit by simply asking what they meant to say by being sarcastic. Our first reading of a post should never be the last.

Now I myself have, as far as I know, only been moderated once. That was during a debate where certain common assumptions in US culture, shall we call it about relative political and religious worth, were I felt extremely alienating to some parts of our potential community, and the other side of the debate knew it and didn't care. But they weren't a troll by any definition of the word; in their definition, they were making a better world, by excluding certain things. My view is exclusiveness only works with gated communities and Shroud certainly shouldn't be one. I believe I was right resisting that then, but in doing so crossed the forum posting guidelines. Was I also a troll then, in doing so too? I'd also say no.

Are the Full Loot, All PvP crowd trolls? Not necessarily. Within their own mental landscape what they're saying makes sense, even where facts are outright wrong for some individual claims (user subs post Trammel is one which is objectively provable to not match the claims of "killing Ultima Online" for instance). But look to see if they go back and make the same arguments in a different way, if they want to co-exist with others, or dominate or outright ruin other communities instead, and there's your answer as to whether they are trolls or not. Most clearly aren't.

On the whole then, the community here has been remarkably restrained and adaptive to each other's differing perspectives, because they have all in turn, mostly anyway, been argued with an equal respect for separating out the true trolls from heartfelt beliefs. We don't get many true trolls here because the forums seem to have mastered the art of not feeding them. And in doing so held themselves to a higher standard too. We all just have different ways of expressing those standards.

 

to troll or not to troll that is the question.

as much as most trolls creat havoc and disaray sometimes they bring to light ideals and valuse that lesser people are feeling but to afraid to say out loud. the real fun is being able to take a trolls comment and respond with cold hard facts that are irrefutiable and make that person look stupid while all the while remaining calm.

trolls only win if they get people to rilled up to think clearly. their goal make you type without thinking first.

 

But perfected by Americans .........

 

This is a good read.......made me chuckle

 

I just had to find it lol



Lol it was just genius ..... wish they would bring it back

 

How was your tea today, m'lord?

(Oh sorry, I'm American and I just said something sarcastic. Off the gallows I go!)

 

I think the definition of forum troll is wrong Anyone who disagrees with someone now a days is automatically lumped in to the troll category. No onec an have an opinion anymore. I get told I'm being a troll all the time. Just for pointing out a different view of things. Just like a lot of things in life things change .

 

There is only one Troll i admire... he had style..

 

Absolutely not what I thought it meant but I may have been raised differently so I assumed something different. Learn something every day...