What do you consider trolling?

[smileysjm]

Jun 24, 2015 17:49:49 GMT -8 Sassy said:

I already commented on what I thought trolling was.

Let me be more specific for you.

If someone joins my forum, and hasn't posted in a 3 month period, but reads on a daily basis instead, it sends up red flags. I will PM that member usually, to see if anything is wrong. If I don't get a response, they're deleted.

I've belong to other forum places before, where constant readers only, were nothing but trouble. So because of that, I don't allow constant readers/non-posters.

I hope that made it a bit clearer for you.

Hi Sassy, can you please clarify what you mean by "where constant readers only, were nothing but trouble"? I thought that it might be the other way around. The ones that post are the ones I would be more concerned with. The trollers are harmless in their very nature - they simply read and move on.

Or have I got this totally wrong. Please assist me to understand what you mean here.

Thanks for your patience with me as I am a new member to ProBoards Support.

[Sassy]

Jun 24, 2015 18:11:39 GMT -8 smileysjm said:

Jun 24, 2015 17:49:49 GMT -8 Sassy said:

I already commented on what I thought trolling was.

Let me be more specific for you.

If someone joins my forum, and hasn't posted in a 3 month period, but reads on a daily basis instead, it sends up red flags. I will PM that member usually, to see if anything is wrong. If I don't get a response, they're deleted.

I've belong to other forum places before, where constant readers only, were nothing but trouble. So because of that, I don't allow constant readers/non-posters.

I hope that made it a bit clearer for you.

Hi Sassy, can you please clarify what you mean by "where constant readers only, were nothing but trouble"? I thought that it might be the other way around. The ones that post are the ones I would be more concerned with. The trollers are harmless in their very nature - they simply read and move on.

Or have I got this totally wrong. Please assist me to understand what you mean here.

Thanks for your patience with me as I am a new member to ProBoards Support.

People who read constantly .... learn all your personal information, if you post any ... and use it against you, elsewhere ... Or, better yet, they take your information you've posted, and twist it around to suit their needs on another site, or a social media site.  

I've had this happen to me, at another forum place, because of people who just read constantly and never posted.   So I'm very leery now .. and I'm very cautious of what I post about myself and who is allowed even, into the forum, even though it's public .. I'm very careful and check up on everyone who enters.   

Once bitten, twice shy ... and sorry for the smart remark, lol  

[mmhmm]

Ours is a general forum (with a financial focus) with restricted registration. We do our checks before we accept members. We really have a lot of lurkers (that's what we call those who join but don't post), but so many of them have lurked for a loooong time, then decided to post because they had something to ask about, or a subject captured their interest. Some will post here and there but may have only a few posts over the course of years. We've never really had a problem with these folks.

We consider trolls to be those who post in a disruptive manner, or who spam advertisements, etc.

[steveliddle]

have to admit trolling can be good if used well

Had some guy appear to cause me problems in the distant past, so joined a landrover usenet forum with a name almost identical to him, where a mutual friend was a contibuter but was not aware of who the account was associated with.

got a late night phone call suggesting all manner of things could happen when he got proof it was me, so asked him if he had proof and he had to admit that he had none.

got stalked on another forum for 3 years waiting for me to admit to the above, had no idea he was waiting and watching

current site is more or less self moderated, if people want to appear to be a fool, then most people will let them know about it...

[Pebbles]

when they bitch and got no respect for others
+ ignore the forum rules in a very obvious way

[kono]

They ignore rules. Do not sign before posting on the rules. Stop by but never make a post. Only agenda is to promote their forum.

[Shaliza]

May 8, 2017 20:35:40 GMT -8 kono said:

They ignore rules. Do not sign before posting on the rules. Stop by but never make a post. Only agenda is to promote their forum.

I couldn't agree more with this. I've had this happen to me multiple times, and it's not pleasant.  

Apart from the spammers who show up and post stupid ads for everything from kitchenware to curtains, I also consider trolls to be people who sign up and the first thing they do is PM me to join their own board. When I refuse, either they never post again on my board, or they leave me a rude message before deleting themselves. Good riddance to bad rubbish when they resort to the latter, is all I have to say. Now I have a rule that you absolutely CANNOT PM other members to join another board and that doing so will result in an instant ban.

I've dealt with many PB forum admins who joined my board only to do this, and so now I'm very wary of people who join, especially when they have a forum of their own. I've not resorted to approving new member accounts before they can post, but if this keeps up, I will have no choice but to do so. 

[steveliddle]

Trolling can be fun as well, in the past had some guy who seemed to be behind my expulsion from some group, he declined to take my calls or return them, so came across a mutual friend on a car forum, made a new user who was so close to the guy's known by name that it could have been him and started posting stuff about the chosen car, sort of inane questions on the car to make it look like it had been bought and nothing worked as it would have been hoped it would be. Nothing nasty, but portraying an inept bumbling idiot.

Got a call from said guy who then gave me a 10 minute rant about what would happen to me, it then transpired that he could not link the posts to me and the IP address were of some location where my vpn was logged into, so asked him if he could prove it was me and he had to admit he could not, But !... so cut him off

he then joined a car forum where I was a member of and followed me for three years when I let slip what had happened, phone call the next day and he coughed up the name of the couple who with hindsight were more likely to be the guilty party.

The current board blocks applications from TCN's and forum spammer ip or emails

[bai]

There are two types of trolling to me; the funny kind and the abusive kind.

Funny:
Makes amusing comments and threads
Is considered the class clown of the forum because s/he keeps everyone laughing
Is always able to easy forum tension (if any)
Finds the funniest media and reposts (like funny Tweets, memes, etc.)

Abusive:
Makes inflammatory and rude comments all the time about other members or people in general
Is a debbie downer
Creates posts that have false, salacious "information" in them
Upsets everyone most/all the time
Only finds joy in posting when they can hurt feelings, gross people out, etc.

[Retread]

Apr 29, 2009 10:39:14 GMT -8 Patrick [ASE] said:

When you are on the internet, you run into various types of people from around the world. Some people are very friendly, while some are not. To the latter, the most common term applied to them is "troll."

As a staff member, how do you determine "trolling? What are your different levels of it? How does your forum handle "trolls?" Are there stipulations in your rules in regards to "trolling?" Why or why not?


Submitted by HoudiniDerek

Our forum doesn't have  a specific rule targeted at trolling, per se.  We have a rule precluding flaming and harassment but trolling is never mentioned.

Rules are useful but personally I find Guidelines to be even better.

Guidelines, Targets, and Goals go beyond rules. Rules define the minimum standards.  Aspire to be better than 'just good enough'.
Read more:  supportvolunteers.proboards.com/thread/1#ixzz5XHdb823A

If you ask 10 people what they consider trolling, you're likely to get 20 different opinions.

I would begin a definition of trolling as: 

• Posting in a manner that displays hostility or other unacceptable behavior.
• Posting with the intent to elicit  hostility or other unacceptable behavior from the other members.
• Wantonly disregarding the proper usage of the particular posting environment.

Blatant and obvious trolls are easy to spot and deal with.  Those who are more subtle and attempt to elicit bad reactions from others often tend to fly under the radar for a while but once they show their true colors, they always seem to repeat.  Often they'll make a few token 'good threads' or 'good posts' in an attempt to throw the staff off their scent.  But they predictably go back to their old tricks.  They push the envelope until it tears.

Feb 26, 2018 13:14:18 GMT -8 bai said:

There are two types of trolling to me; the funny kind and the abusive kind.

Funny:
Makes amusing comments and threads
Is considered the class clown of the forum because s/he keeps everyone laughing
Is always able to easy forum tension (if any)
Finds the funniest media and reposts (like funny Tweets, memes, etc.)

Abusive:
Makes inflammatory and rude comments all the time about other members or people in general
Is a debbie downer
Creates posts that have false, salacious "information" in them
Upsets everyone most/all the time
Only finds joy in posting when they can hurt feelings, gross people out, etc.

Hi bai

Clowns (in my personal opinion) aren't inherently trolls.  There was a clown we saw on the Support Board who made himself a nuisance by repeatedly ignoring rules like necroposting, etc.  And of course he pretended he just wasn't aware.  So I would characterize him as a troll.

But for the most part, those behaviors you cited in the 'Funny' category are perfectly acceptable in the proper venue.

[Radrook]

A troll is defiined as a person who trolls the waters of the internet in order to find people to annoy.

To me person who persistently violates forum rules is a troll.

Many are characteriszed by the following traits:

1. Thread Hijacking

The troll comes to the thread, and tries to very caually deviate the subject away from the theme.

2. Insults and snide remarks:

The troll stays on the theme but casusally laces his comments with insults towards other members or groups he dislikes.

3. Disruptive Threads

The troll creates threads that are completely at odds with what the forunm is about. For example, if the forum is about praising God, the troll might crete a thread praising Satan.

4.Offensive Avatars

The troll uses politically, religiously, offensive avatars or avatars which delve into extremely morally controversial matters.

5. Sock Puppets

The troll uses several sock-puppet accounts in order to set up conversations with himself and in that way increase his disruptive power. Some of these sock puppet accounts stand out like the proverbial sore thumb because the troll lacks the writing skill of making the conversations appear genuine.

Solution?

Two warnings and a temporary banning might convince the troll to stop if he is really interested in participatin to a degree. Or it might enfuriate him and have hinm return with a vengeance. In that case a permabnebnt ban would be necessary. Each administrator being different will choose the method best for him. After all, each administrator has to deal with different personal matters. So whereas one administrator finds it esay to tolerate the troll over several infractions, another adminisrtraopr will not and ban him immediately.

Addendum:

------------------------------------------------------
Ten types of Internet Trolls
by Elise Moreau
www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894

The following is partially based on that article above albeit with additional observations added and condensed content.

How a Troll operates!

An Internet troll deliberately tries to disrupt, attack, offend or generally cause trouble within the community by posting certain comments, photos, videos, GIFs or some other form of online content.
www.lifewire.com/types-of-internet-trolls-3485894

Types of Trolls


The Insult Troll

The insult troll is a hater who likes to hate and who seeks a negative emotional response by insulting.

Argumentative Troll

Loves to debate. Must have the last word. Seemingly endless reams of posts where the same arguments are repeated and counterarguments totally ignored will clutter the thread.

Grammar and Spell-checking Troll

Always pointing out misspelled words and grammar mistakes. Knows that there are typos but doesn’t care. Some trolls use the mistake as a reason to insult.

Advertising Troll

This troll only posts to benefit himself. Advertises his web-site, tries to sell something, etc.

Always-Offended Troll

Always playing the victim and being offended over anything and everything. Often lacks a sense of humor.

Yackety Yacking Troll

Loves to share his opinion in minute detail. Enjoys spreading rumors. Doesn’t care if it’s read or not as long as he wrote it. Clutters the web-site with things that are off-topic and few are interested in.

Cursing and Caps Troll

Likes to curse and shout. The shouting is indicated by writing in all capital letters.

Few Words Troll

Some trolls will reply to profound subjects with one word such as “Cool!” Amazing!” “LOL!”
“Nahhhh!”

I found that happening at one web-site I recently visited. Other responses were: “Yea right!” “Who?” “You don’t say?” . Remember, this is all the guest to your site will see when clicking the link so the troll is doing damage.


Controlling Trolls

Banning/blocking individual user accounts (and sometimes IP addresses altogether),
reporting them to authorities, or closing off comment sections entirely from a blog post, video page or topic thread.

.

[Retread]

Feb 2, 2020 10:16:45 GMT -8 @voxxx said:

never feed the troll by acknowledging them.

If you're on the staff of a forum, that's definitely the best way to manage a troll.

If the user shows no merit in any other posts they have on the forum, just move their post to a non-public board on the forum and summarily ban them. If they have shown any usefulness elsewhere on the forum, move the post to a non-public board and PM the author, cautioning them about the content of the offending post.

By handling things quietly and privately, there are no traces of these sorts of transgressions in the public space. So others won't be tempted to use them as patterns to follow.

Any public reply to a troll post, regardless of the humor it creates and how it might make the troll appear to be impotent, tends to present a challenge to other trolls who might follow in their footsteps.

[Radrook]

One type of troll is one who uses your forum as a personal blog or diary and claims to have absolutely no interest in the hundreds of other subjects you posted. This type of troll is also averse to conversation and will snide-remark any other member who tries to converse. You might find this same a troll on their own website conversing normally with everyone and interested in everything.

[Trab]

Trolls I consider being mean to other people just because the troll has an unpopular opinion. That can be done by saying slurs, aiming at many people and calling out users. They can also be considered trolls when they insult your site on the forum itself or on any other sites. And finally, trolls can also be people who sign up with like 10 alt accounts just so they can troll.

[Sam]

For me a troll is someone with malicious intent - making posts to spam or upset others.