What exactly constitutes trolling on ATS?

I was wondering what constitutes trolling on ATS. That is- what kinds of posts do you make total out to be trolling? I was wondering- like when I'm posting on a topic I find weird, or unusual, or I think the topic creator is being a hypocrite... what kind of behavior would constitute trolling? Would trolling be acting completely unethical and just saying you disagree with all the things that the author of the topic said... and not being a part of the discussion and using it to your own agenda? I mean... what if you post something that could be considered trolling but you were really trying to help the OP out... or like I don't know.

I'm still confused as to what exactly trolling is here since this is a conspiracy site- and there are certain conspiracies I'm more open to and other things that I'm not open to. Like so I was wondering how I could be a skeptic on those conspiracies- without trolling and calling the other people completely and totally delusional... that would be trolling. But... so trolling would be telling someone else their world view sucks?

I'm confused because this website is a lot more different than any other website that I've been to. So I just wanted someone to clear up what trolling was for me since I don't feel like I've been trolling- I just want to make sure i don't do it in the future. I mean I have in the past called an idea stupid... or laughed at some thing that was said... but it's kind of hard for me to understand what trolling is in a site like ATS.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Great question.

WiKi has it as...

In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2]

According to their description that describes about half the people at ATS
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/2a85a6ec93c9.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 10-11-2009 by SLAYER69]

Do a search on ATS you will find several thread one of them is this:=

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by SLAYER69


HEY, I resemble that remark! Off topic.

HEY, This thread sucks! Inflammatory.

HEY, Obama is an ass! Controversial(not really) and inflammatory.

HEY, I want a beer! Irrelevent and to the point.

[edit on 11/10/2009 by endisnighe]

reply to post by December_Rain


Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I was just wondering what trolling was around here since this forum has a lot of topics that are about many different things- so like when you disagree with something so vehemently and you say that the opinion has no ground in reality- that would be trolling right? Just saying that you disagree with the opinion would be different from that. But... like if it's a topic about Indigo Child... and you say something that other people might think was trolling but you deny any validity to it- would that be trolling? I don't know... does anyone know what would be considered trolling with that? I'm confused more about what is interpreted as trolling.

I see trolling as making a comment that has very little to help the argument one way or another, or making a baseless claim for the intent of derailing.

sadly, unless someone admits to trolling, we never know their intent.

basically, if you are commenting that some one is a jackhole and has no purpose posting blah blah blah without any grounds, i would consider that trolling.

not if you go..i disagree, and here is why. or asking a question so you can participate better.

does that help at all?

It's taking me a while to understand exactly what trolling is, but the first example I noticed here was when someone started a thread that sounded sincere. Roughly speaking it was in the reptilian / alien / space-gods sort of category.

When people bothered to post serious replies the OP started to ridicule them. Not just ridiculing their point of view, but making insulting remarks. But the insults weren't aimed at any one person in particular, just references to contributors being lunatics or something of the sort, thus getting round the T & C.

It's a cowardly way to go about things, but I've seen others get away with that tactic too. (Not starting a whole thread - just general references to idiots or some such).

[edit on 10-11-2009 by berenike]

reply to post by iamsupermanv2


I think so. So if you just make a comment to detract from the discussion without adding your real input that's trolling. So if you say that person X is wrong, misguided, and their view of reality is wrong and they're delusional that's trolling. If you add your own insight as to why problem X is being viewed incorrectly by the said person Y... that's not trolling? So you can't just go into a topic and say birthers are stupid. You have to provide civil discourse- even with a topic like that... whereas if you say birthers are stupid, or 2012 people are nuts... THAT'S trolling. Is that about right?

reply to post by Frankidealist35


that's pretty much my understanding of it, yes.

if you are a person who goes into a topic and tries to contribute, then you have nothing to worry about though.

Well I won't mention any names, but sometimes when trolls get hey fever
or for cold symptoms. They've been known to eat a whole box of Sinex
cold medicine. Crazy trolls. I thought it was when someone obsesses
over a thread so badly, they're still present even when they already had their azz handed to 'em in a debate and theirs nothing left to say.

Flag



[edit on 10-11-2009 by randyvs]

when someone takes the opposite side of the argument and has no real idea of what they are talking about they are trolling. People do this in conversation all the time. Usually when they are bored and have no real friends to talk to. They usually end up sounding like complete idiots and add nothing constructive to the conversation. I have often thought it would be cool to have a troll button on each post so we could vote on who is being a troll and if a user gained like 20 troll points, he would be flogged and spit on or something. I have inadvertently been a troll. It was pointed out to me by a trusted member that I was derailing a thread. I really didn't even know I was doing it, but after it was pointed out and I stepped off my hight horse, he was right. I pay special attention to that now.

Actually a nice idea for a thread. Hopefully some trolls might find this and repent, or expect the flogging they deserve.

Originally posted by berenike
When people bothered to post serious replies the OP started to ridicule them. Not just ridiculing their point of view, but making insulting remarks. But the insults weren't aimed at any one person in particular, just references to contributors being lunatics or something of the sort, thus getting round the T & C.
[edit on 10-11-2009 by berenike]

I've experienced this just today. As it turns out, I am living in blissful slumber and am worthy of shearing.

In all honesty, I'm tempted to find some other venue to discuss my thoughts on certain matters. I find that some here have minds closed as tightly as child proof bottle of asparin.

I consider myself extremely open minded and entertain all sorts of interesting notions. Ultimately though, I seek the truth as I think most here do. I believe it's in the best interest of ATS, with an eye on maintaining the integrity of the forum, that when confronted with a situation as the one described above; Sr. forum members should step in and take a stand against that sort of behaviour. I mean come on; six lines of laughing emoticons over and over? Rediculous behaviour diminishes the forum's respectabilty.

Just a biscuit... take it or leave it on the floor... maybe the dog will eat it.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Well, I consider this particular thread, trolling.

I am going to follow SLAYER69's methodology, and explain how I see it.

Troll (Internet)

Quote from : Troll (Internet)

"Do not feed the trolls" and its abbreviation DNFTT redirect here. For the Wikimedia essay, see "What is a troll?".

In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

If you go to the disambiguation on Wikipedia, however, it takes on a slightly different meaning.

Troll_(Angling)

Quote from : Wikipedia : Troll (Angling)

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water.

This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, eg when fishing from a jetty.

Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.

Trolling can be phonetically confused with trawling, a completely different method of fishing, where a net (trawl) is drawn through the water instead of lines.

Trolling is used both for recreational and commercial fishing whereas trawling is used mainly for commercial fishing.

Trolling from a moving boat is a technique of big-game fishing and is used when fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as tuna and marlin.

Trolling is also a freshwater angling technique.

Trolling from a moving boat involves moving quite slowly through the water; this may be accomplished by use of a special trolling motor.

Hence, this particular warning before submitting the reply button on ATS.

ATS Advice :

Please do not post your own personal information.

You should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit here can be read, collected, or used by other users of these forums, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages.

We are not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit, and may remove it at our discretion.

So, having said that, I will end with this piece of information.

Did you know that former Vice-President Dick Cheney's Secret Service codename, was Angler?

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/ddfd0b83f8d4.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/a79ce316911d.jpg[/atsimg]

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/72b296b1dc74.jpg[/atsimg]

[edit on 10-11-2009 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

reply to post by SLAYER69



I prefer this definition;

Troll

One of many unsung internet heroes who are almost entirely misunderstood. Contrary to popular belief, many trolls are actually quite intelligent. Their habitual attacks on forums is usually a result of their awareness of the pretentiousness and excessive self-importance of many forum enthusiasts. As much as people may hate trolls, they are highly effective - their actions bring much of the stupidity of other forum users out into the great wide open.

UD

Basically, people who post something just to piss others off and/or to lure them away from the subject at hand.

Here's a good example

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I agree with the above poster who said that this very thread is trolling.

If you don't want to be considered a troll, don't say things like birthers are stupid or 2012 people are nuts.

This is a very cleverly disguised way to tell people who you think are "respected members" (those who respond on the business boards) that such people are stupid and that you think it should be considered Okay to reply in their threads only to call them names.

How is that for an emotional response?

Would it be out of line for me to tell you that I think YOUR world view was s-it?
Yes, it would. Don't do it to others. "Post unto others as you would have them post unto you." Or something like that.

All that said, I am guilty of inflammatory remarks myself quite often.

Sometimes it is hard not to be.
I have tremendous respect for the people here who can get involved in very contentious discussions and keep their cool.
In one respect. In another, I tell myself that they live for this internet community and put way too much stock in what people in an anonymous forum think about them as a person.

Sometimes the internet is just a good place to vent and I use it as such.

I don't understand how this thread is trolling. I see that some people are jumping on the band-wagon and calling my thread trolling. I intend to do nothing of the sort. I am merely asking the question because it occurs to me that people interpret trolling different ways. This forum- is filled with a lot of diverse views... so I merely wanted to know what exactly what would be called trolling- like what kinds of posts would be considered trolling in response to a topic in which you absolutely disagreed with... like say you think theory X is unreal... and you say that theory X is absolutely stupid...perhaps you might not think you're trolling but I wanted to clear up that this was trolling. So it's trolling if you don't contribute to the topic. I think I got it now.

reply to post by Frankidealist35


Stick by the T&C and you'll be fine.
If you drop into a thread just to say that the premise is "stupid" that is a one-line response and is frowned upon here.
But you know this much, you are a reasonably intelligent person.

I've seen three separate instances in this very thread when you picked out a specific topic and called its supporters idiots.
If you were pure in intention here, you wouldn't have mentioned a topic at all. Instead of saying: "Is it okay for me to call birthers idiots?" You would have said: "If I don't agree with topic X very strongly, can I just call them idiots and be done with it?"

You are trolling. And you are continuing to do so by trying to illicit further responses on a question that was answered in like the second post in this thread...

"But what if I REALLY don't agree?"

reply to post by iamsupermanv2

sadly, unless someone admits to trolling, we never know their intent.

o.k. I troll quite a bit...


I take the stance that there a few different types of trolls:

one version wants to pick a fight regardless of the post...pick out the weak and let 'em have it...

another version looks to promote their own views...

some choose to follow a particular member and terrorize...

and another looks for the high-n-mighty in order to bring stability back to the thread...( a dichotomy indeed...)

For those of you that feel No version should be allowed, I ask this - how does a community that denies ignorance deal with those that would detract from Our agenda...?

You let the community police itself...nuff said.