A Word About Trolls.....Keep Calling Them Out.

reply to post by MichiganSwampBuck


That answer sounds like trolling to me.

There are way to many variables to label people trolls.The amount of topics vary to much.Just take religion as an example.
Take into account all the religions alone, you are going to have so many opinions from atheist to extreme fundamentalists.
If you need to use the troll argument, you need to find some other answers to support your position.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
But im saying people who rage on about 'paid shill's' or trolls are just as likely to be the real shills as the people they are pretending to be complaining about.

There's a well know phrase..a wolf in a sheep's clothing

edit on 9-3-2013 by PhoenixOD because: (no reason given)

Exactly. If there are people paid to influence opinion on boards like this it would be counterproductive to appear as the typical "troll" everyone complains about.

Originally posted by cyoshi
We have seen this even on our own forums — trolls pose as supporters of the Liberty Movement, then post long, incoherent diatribes so as to appear either racist or insane..

There unfortunately ARE real supporters of the "Liberty Movement" who appear as racist and/or insane. How do you distinguish them from the real paid "trolls"?

Originally posted by AfterInfinity
reply to post by MichiganSwampBuck

 

That answer sounds like trolling to me.

It's was meant to sound that way, however, I'm hoping the message is understood none-the-less. The wink should have given it away I would think.

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
paid trolls don't exist imho

I've read this opinion a number of times (usually less respectfully stated, coupled with heaps of mockery or ridicule directed toward the person who "believes in" paid trolls.) That said, I mean you no disrespect, but I find your opinion to be a little silly, and absolutely ignorant.

I'm sure you've read that write-up which has circulated repeatedly among conspiracy (and other) sites-- the confession of the person who was supposedly paid to troll. (If not, you should seek it out and read it.) But I assume you have.... as I assume 75%+ of people who spend a lot of time on sites like this have. And I've seen many who discount the idea....

....and I suppose it would be an easy idea to ridicule-- if there weren't so much proof that it's true. Aside from the well-known supposed confession of a paid disinfo agent, aside from the fact that A LOT of discussions on sites like this get side tracked easily, and there are always certain members lurking about who are quick to comment with ridicule, mockery, and use other techniques like "forum sliding" etc.... it is an easily verifiable fact that there are many people hiring and being hired for jobs online that require posting on forums and blogs for money.

Google "paid forum posting," and see what you come up with.

Do a little reading on the subject. After you finish, if you can't imagine people being hired to do this to sway public opinion (as opposed to just shilling products-- one of the most common reasons for paid posting) I suggest you get your imagination checked.

reply to post by iwilliam


Everyone on this site is familiar with the "Confessions of a Paid Internet Shill"and the portion of the information that is left out (as it's from ATS to begin with) was that it was a story someone wrote for the Short Stories forum and it got taken way out of context and as fact when in reality it was a very well written bit of fiction, which is why ATS removed it, too many places were citing it as fact without prefacing it from exactly where it was from.

reply to post by PhoenixOD

OK OK look I'm not a paid shrill or troll and hopefully looking at my past and future output would confirm this. I believe in harmony and getting along and all the good stuff in life. I'm glad to be a part of this community and I will often leap to the defence of those coming under attack by others.

I will say that there does appear to be a core that praise the system, love their taxes being used to polish nuclear warheads, eat chemically laced food and don't see any problem with the way things are and then go on to shout about it on here.

reply to post by totallackey

What does it take to be an UN-paid shill? um Ignorance, Misguided loyalty, Much needed emotional work.

Who knows. With the topic I delve into paid shills are more of a threat. If someone disagrees with me that doesn't necessarily make them a paid shill. It can be difficult at times to single someone out as one. And I realize not everyone has the same opinion as me. However with regards to specific issues many people hold the opinion they do because of successful disinformation campaigns of the past.

Originally posted by dirtybird
i see alot of these paid trolls in chemtrail discussions all the time.

OR they just disagree.

Whether one is a paid troll or not, in my two-tiered thread proposal, if they disagree with the OP, their post would essentially be flagged. That will give advance warning to the reader of the nature of their post. The 'flagged' post would be easy to detect... Maybe the background color might be different, maybe the font style is different. It would be easy to distinguish apart from the posts that are actually trying to build on the OPs idea. This will serve as a way to skip over contrary posts (which I post at times as well). It's not severe as an ignore button... It's a more civilized approach I believe.

See ATS Thread link and/or the link below in my signature for more details.

BTW, ignore the troll posts in the referenced thread.... people trying to throw the thread off the track.

reply to post by lacrimaererum

The irony in your post...
Looks like you're number 2 on the list.


An interesting thread op, I've definitely seen a LOT more trolls in the last couple years, I'm not sure if they're paid trolls or just people with no life.

Originally posted by cyoshi
reply to post by PhoenixOD

 

OK OK look I'm not a paid shrill or troll and hopefully looking at my past and future output would confirm this. I believe in harmony and getting along and all the good stuff in life. I'm glad to be a part of this community and I will often leap to the defence of those coming under attack by others.

I will say that there does appear to be a core that praise the system, love their taxes being used to polish nuclear warheads, eat chemically laced food and don't see any problem with the way things are and then go on to shout about it on here.

edit on 9-3-2013 by cyoshi because: Grammer.

I wasnt saying you are a shill. But i was saying that your OP would be a really great strategy for a paid shill when infiltrating a board.

I guess if people are going to point fingers then it might backfire on them as well.

I was always of the opinion to name evil is to risk becoming the definition, for to search it and name it, can easily segue into being or becoming it. The Christian religion comes to mind, foremost, in describing and illustrating this.

I feel the same in regards to naming trolls.

This is a "conspiracy" site which caters also (and mainly) to fringe themes, most of them have not a lot to stand on, many are speculation, some are just plain nonsense. This is why we love (and hate) this site.

Now, the likelihood that "paid trolls" are scouring those sites IMO is low since (I am sorry to say it out loud) there is so much garbage around it doesn't need a professional "troll" to diversify opinions or distract. The idea is hideous.

On the other hand, I think it's "interesting" that many people here in this thread immediately start to chime in and claim that trolls are THOSE people who are "against" all those fringe subjects, be it chemtrails, UFOs or whatever it might be.

Because, in my opinion, chances are MUCH HIGHER that "paid disinfo agents" are out there spreading the exact opposite of the coin, eg. making people believe in idiotic theories, for whatever reason that might be. (I know for a fact that SOME people are very active on this site promoting other conspiracy sites, for example those could be webmasters who try to draw traffic from here to their sites). It is also fact that many people known to be active on fringe shows and sites like C2C have or still have government ties, sometimes openly admitted. THOSE people who spread the most abstruse and idiotic things. Coincidence?

Ask yourself the next time...WHY on Earth should only be the one debunking or having a very skeptical view be a "paid shill"? If you really think so and are about to label anyone opposing your views (just because they do), you are pretty naive. MAYBE, the one is the shill where you just got your latest conspiracy news from, where truth is constantly bent and hoaxes are fabricated...and MAYBE you should ask yourself about the agenda of those people, not those who are skeptical.

Originally posted by MarkJS
Whether one is a paid troll or not, in my two-tiered thread proposal, if they disagree with the OP, their post would essentially be flagged. That will give advance warning to the reader of the nature of their post. The 'flagged' post would be easy to detect... Maybe the background color might be different, maybe the font style is different. It would be easy to distinguish apart from the posts that are actually trying to build on the OPs idea. This will serve as a way to skip over contrary posts (which I post at times as well).

The better alternative would be you simply unplug from the internet. This keeps the danger of encountering "dangerous" opposing view rather low, you will be surprised.

bad upbringing, bad morals, human nature coupled with anonymity, a computer and the internet brings out the worst in people, i've read the points and examples and i get the monetary aspect of these people but i just can't understand the motivation for this.

if you're a dick in life and being bored and having the internet is like a magnet so there's is no cure the only thing we can do is ignore these people because it'll deflate any motivation they have and eventually they'll just move on, if you reply in any fashion whatsoever it's their bait on the hook and is just fueling the fire.

just use common sense and that's all we can do. common sense is the key.

unfortunately a lot of people are gullible and naive and sadly some are easily drawn in to these people though and it's these people who are a big part of the problem and a trolls favorite victim because people will come in to help defend and without realizing they're baited.

Originally posted by MarkJS
Whether one is a paid troll or not, in my two-tiered thread proposal, if they disagree with the OP, their post would essentially be flagged. That will give advance warning to the reader of the nature of their post. The 'flagged' post would be easy to detect... Maybe the background color might be different, maybe the font style is different. It would be easy to distinguish apart from the posts that are actually trying to build on the OPs idea. This will serve as a way to skip over contrary posts (which I post at times as well). It's not severe as an ignore button... It's a more civilized approach I believe.

This has to be the worst ideas i have heard yet in this thread. Quite simply if you want to preach something without anyone disagreeing with you then go and write a blog and then disable the comments

I can be a "troll" at times, I think we all can. use to be called the class clown..

I see members here accuse other members of being trolls and disinfo agents. Your suppose to ignore trolls ("don't feed the trolls") instead I see the word used as a diversion tactic.

I see this 'troll tactic' used mostly by the members who make the most outlandish conspiracy theories. when someone posts their opinion that doesn't agree with the OP's, they start accusing in hopes that others will dismiss that members opinion. it doesn't work, I see right though it and im sure others do as well, it also leads me to wonder if maybe they are paid to start these outlandish threads? Nah im kidding, it doesn't concern me what someone is paid to do.

As long as your thread isn't full of it and has facts to back it up the evidence will speak for its self, no need to be concerned with trolls, they'll expose themselves.

Lastly, show respect for others opinions, especially if it disagrees with yours. It is the recipe for a healthy debate.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

reply to post by PhoenixOD

Yes I do see what you mean there, it's a tricky field to be in eh?