I'm pissed!! (political trolls and hacks)

I agree that the political trolling does need to stop.

We all can disagree without being disagreeable.

Examples of trolling could include calling someone an obamabot, or a republiCON, or a demoncrat.

And while I don't believe there is anything wrong with posting ones views. Sometimes it seems that some posters are just here to forward a certain political agenda. I don't have to name names because it's obvious when you look at these members threads what agenda they are going for. In a way this is being a political hack.

It's fine to disagree. I often disagree with members on here. Typically we enjoy a few rounds of political discourse showing our views on the subject and remaining civil. While I may not agree with them, the fact that each of us can remain civil in that discussion shows respect.

reply to post by whatukno


Dammit whatukno, you keep being civil, damn you!

reply to post by EMPIRE

His buddies will give him star after star after star. Most people here run in cliques, you know this, I know this, and most people who pay attention know this. If we have a system where bad or "falling stars" are given, we run the risk of perfectly good posts being removed.

But your primary goal should be to discuss your opinions...not to get stars and attention.

I know that almost every single one of us, at some point or another, have posted something that has pissed off S.O. or the mods...im positive i have, although unintentional...i believe it comes with the territory of political debate. Sometimes you just have a bad day, and, like Harrison Ford in the Raiders of the Lost Ark, you'd rather shoot that son of a **** than fight with him.




So i guess it's a slippery slope to choose to participate in these days. Without proper caution being exercised on our parts, we could find our asses being paddled with the ban-hammer. But hey - this is their website man, we have to abide by their rules. This isn't a democracy, it's a conspiracy

[edit on 25-2-2010 by Snarf]

I'm pissed!! (political trolls and hacks)


[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/88099129423f.gif[/atsimg]



Everybody response...

Really anytime you discuss sensitive subjects like politics and religion, you are going to inspire strong emotional response naturally. You can't really avoid it from happening, and only thing left to do is delete post of that person. Which eventually can form a heavy biased opinion of the mod or website doing the moderating. Who is and isn't a troll can be a matter of personal opinion.

reply to post by genius/idoit


It's FACT, not OPINION, that Americans have been partaking in a political process that is a sham. Same game, different faces.

History is on my side here, but this thread isn't about me. It's about political hacks, and a person who makes thread after thread bashing Obama would probably be considered as such.

I agree with you completely! Trolls have no place at ATS. If you want to discuss an issue reasonably, by all means, that's fine. But when you Spam & Flame & don't even open your mind to other possibilities, you shouldn't be on ATS in the first place... Just like the OP said, silence will kill them. Why do you think they post such flames (besides being idiots)? They want to get a reaction out of you. If you don't say anything, they will eventually go away (I hope!). Or ban them if they are caught spamming/flaming, even just ONCE. I know it seems a little harsh, but hopefully in the end it will discourage some members to flame.

-aNaRcHiSt ReBeL

reply to post by Snarf


The primary goal should be to discuss opinions, debate, whatever. However, if a system is implemented where users can star a post and have that post removed after a number of stars, we run the risk of having perfectly good posts removed.

reply to post by EMPIRE


Again that is your Opinion not a fact.

[edit on 25-2-2010 by genius/idoit]

www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Im starting to see a trend here...

Sadly TAN have to send out these emails ever so often to try and manage the posts that tend to bring the quality of ATS discussion and debate down, It will make a impact for about 2 days, maybe they can stretch it to a week.

But after that the same cycle will return...sigh~

I suggest a name and shame violation scenario.
rather than just a T and C violation.
Perhaps
"Political Trolling" post removal
and
"Political Insult Violation" post removal

Both which get a label for three days (not just warn but the symbol for these violations) on the members avatar.

reply to post by ownbestenemy


For some people here tact and wit are foreign concepts. They are oblivious to such things and might as well be asleep or worse.

Some examples would be very helpful

For example, would a Super Moderator who attempted to discredit me .. thus my posts and opinions in a thread .... by publicly comparing them with the style, not content of other of my posts in other, unrelated threads ... be considered a 'troll' ?

Does this also go for people's taglines? How about there pictures?

reply to post by genius/idoit


Again, history is on my side. Same promises, same game, different faces. You have members of both sides of the coin holding membership with groups such as the CFR, TLC, etc. Their alligence is to the almighty dollar, precious metals and other resources. History, not the opinion of EMPIRE, proves this time and time again.

reply to post by jackflap


You were critically thinking about it and that is something a large clump fails to do even in the most basic thread such as this. You dug deeper and asked questions. You sought more information.

This is what OS and the site I believe wants more of. It should be what the ultimate goal of all of us here posting. More questions, more deep thought, more understand and more conviction is needed.

Hope to see you around for some deep debate and discussion

reply to post by EMPIRE


Then the laugh is on them. By engaging in the mudslinging and dirt, along with name calling it just shows you to be at the same level as the person who effectively borrowed their way under your skin to break your decorum.

In such a situation, all credibility is lost in that moment because of the failure to rise above.

The wit and tact may be directed towards the person, but one doesn't need that person to understand to know that ones who get the underlying tones and meanings do get it.

Having felt this in recent times, I'm glad this whole point has been brought up. As much as I would like to say I am innocent, I find myself guilty in even acknowledging the trolls and allowing them to invoke an emotional response out of me.

However, I shall try my best from this point forward. After all, the more your feed them, the bigger they grow.

reply to post by EMPIRE


Whatever.

Originally posted by EMPIRE
If someone posts about the illogical belief in "the right to vote" or any other voting madness, and they make it a point to post in those threads because they believe it is a conspiracy, are they trolling?

If they're providing substance to the discussion without insults designed to derail the topic, of course not.