Trolling ???

[francois]

Wikipedia defines internet trolling as:

In Internet slang, a troll is a person who starts quarrels or upsets people on the Internet to distract and sow discord by posting inflammatory and digressive,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into displaying emotional responses[2] and normalizing tangential discussion,[3] whether for the troll's amusement or a specific gain.

It seems obvious that there are posters on this forum whose frequent posts fit the description of "troll", most likely for their amusement. And there are those posters who keep responding to the troll-like posts for reasons of their own. They just can't stop feeding the trolls and the saga continues ad infinitum.

If one wishes to stop the trolls, just don't respond to anything they post. Nothing could be simpler!

Otherwise keep on responding and feeding the trolls and they will keep up their chumming and enjoy how many suckers take the bait.

[frequent]

Wikipedia defines internet trolling as ...

Trolling was a term made up as part of the name-calling that's common on the Internet although - as that same article francois quotes makes very clear -
The context of the quote cited in the Oxford English Dictionary[26] sets the origin in Usenet in the early 1990s as in the phrase "trolling for newbies", as used in alt.folklore.urban (AFU).[28][29] Commonly, what is meant is a relatively gentle inside joke by veteran users, presenting questions or topics that had been so overdone that only a new user would respond to them earnestly. For example, a veteran of the group might make a post on the common misconception that glass flows over time. Long-time readers would both recognize the poster's name and know that the topic had been discussed repeatedly, but new subscribers to the group would not realize, and would thus respond. These types of trolls served as a practice to identify group insiders. This definition of trolling, considerably narrower than the modern understanding of the term, was considered a positive contribution. One of the most notorious AFU trollers, David Mikkelson, went on to create the urban folklore website Snopes.com.

As a number of posters have said here over the years, it simply represents a desire to censor posters and posts that the accuser doesn't like

[arsenal]

Francois. I both agree and disagree with you. Trolling is a verb that means whatever the user wants it to mean and in that respect you starting this thread could be termed as such.

Currently my favourite anti-troll firewall is MFAS. He's right on top of his game at the moment with his one line replies. Dinagam was superb also a few weeks ago replicating the Archbishop of passive aggressive, one Mr J.Bean.

[Smiles]

How about my "fuck you and fuck you" tirade? Shirley it deserves a troll blue ribbon. I'm pissed at not getting one ... kind of Donald Trump and Frequent. Harumph.

[frequent]

How about my "fuck you and fuck you" tirade? Shirley it deserves a troll blue ribbon. I'm pissed at not getting one ... kind of Donald Trump and Frequent. Harumph.

You have to ask, about posters like francois, why they simply don't use, let alone don't recommend, the "Add To Ignore List" function, freely available for all and sundry. Is it sheer stupidity, or just plain laziness? My favourite theory is that's it's actually masochism. Can you picture francois in leathers, wearing chains? I imagine him as Chuck Rhoades from Billions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NLAZSW_35o

By the way, please note my extensive use of cliches and jargon - I'm trying to make Keith feel at home here

[goji]

If one wishes to stop the trolls, just don't respond to anything they post. Nothing could be simpler!

Better still, automate the process by putting them on your Ignore list & you don't even see what they write.

[francois]

Better still, automate the process by putting them on your Ignore list & you don't even see what they write.

I don't reply to trolls so no need to put them on an Ignore list.
My post was directed to those who keep feeding the trolls and suggested that they stop the feeding frenzy. Maybe it won't help since many posters can't seem to resist responding. And if someone doesn't like my posts, put me on their Ignore list.

[frequent]

I don't reply to trolls so no need to put them on an Ignore list ... And if someone doesn't like my posts, put me on their Ignore list.

What's sauce for the goose isn't sauce for the gander?

[francois]

I did use the Ignore feature today to see how it worked. Not quite as I had expected. Instead of the posters disappearing there was this message:

This message is hidden because xxxx is on your ignore list.
View Post
Remove user from ignore list

Almost like taunting me to be put them back on un-ignore. That is not the fault of the ignored posters, but a fault of the system.

[Nirish guy]

it seems that an ignore button may also be required for the ignore button ! :-)