Posted by Sad Sara on November 6, 2004, at 17:01:10
In reply to Re: one last point and then i'm done with this thread, posted by Sad Sara on November 6, 2004, at 11:37:45
"the internet, because it is so anonymous and a breeding ground for "trolls," etc. (can someone offer a link on this for Sara et al.?), is a place where such rules are that much more needed, because people tend to not be restricted as much by the usual social norms that prevent people from being rude to and hurting each other. in other words, people are often meaner and less sensitive on the internet than they are in real life"
No one gave me the link, but I happen to know what a troll is. I don't think "troll" is the most used term though, but I can't come up with the right one now, maybe you know what I mean after reading this. I was accused of being one once. And I promise you, there is no rules that can prevent trolls. I did not act rude, and I did not put anyone down (well, I awas accused of, but I did not understand that it would... read and judge).
I was a member of a music board for one of my favourite bands. The vocalist died of AIDS a many years before I joined that board. I have always been very anonymous on the internet, and told minimal about myself. This had lead many to be suspicious of me. On that board there was one place where you could write about your dreams. I wrote about my dreams of meeting that person, and discuss certain issues with him. Since this was a kind of "daydream" I would tell on a regular basis about things I would like to discuss with him (mostly philosofical topis, like why do we exist etc). I created a rage on that board for being disrespectful of that singer. Because that singer would never have been interested in sitting down and discuss these things with me, why would he? And then they told me WHAT this person was interested in etc etc etc. Besides, I was waaay too young to understand this singer (without going into details, I at some point felt that this was the sore point, that I was too young to appreciate his music and thereby was disrespectful) I had apparently been hurting the feelings of the more "fanatic" followers of this guy (sorry for using such a negative word, I dont know how to describe them otherwise... it's a typical word used in the music world about people extremely interested in specific persons, more than the music itself often). At some point the discussion escalated into me being a troll with the only intention of hurting this bands real fans. That was when I left this board and investigated a bit what troll is... and actually, it is a quite regular thing if it is what I found out.To put it shortly, a troll is someone who say they are someone else than what they really are, and roam the internet to provoce. provocations can be done in EXTREMELY subtle ways. It can be someone who is just posting a seemingly innocent question about something they KNOW will stir up emotions and lead to discussion... not because they are truly interested in the question they are posting, but JUST to make people argue. Or complain about something to administrators of the board, not because they have problems with the content of what they are complaining of, but becaus ethey KNOW that they can complain and want sto becaus ethey want people to fight. Then throw in an argument now an dthen to keep it running.
They are called trolls because they say they are very interested in the subject of discussion on the board, but at some point they will usually just disapear, without having been contributing to anything positive. They are also called trolls because it is not REALLY important things they start messing around with, but minor things they blow up to become giant.
There are many ways of being a troll, and even though the most usual is to be rude and disrespectful, it is absolutely possible to be nice. The thing is that they clame they are someone they are not, and to be interested in something they are not interested in (and thereby creating unnecessary fighting).
poster:Sad Sara
thread:411881
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20041027/msgs/412644.html