What is a troll?

[Juan BH]

I thought it might be good for us to consider this question today. Anyone care to weigh in?

[Xadrian]

What is a troll?

In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by trying to start arguments and upset people.[1]. They may do this by posting deliberately inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4]

Source: Wikipedia

Says it all, doesn't it?

[Juan BH]

What is a troll?

Yes it does!

I also thought the 'Concerned Troll' definition was interesting.

A troll could have a lot of fun manipulating people in a place like MWO.

[bleep]

What is a troll?

The problem with this forum, and baclofen in particular, is that it all very experimental. People who are doing it already feel they are pushing the envelope, and for a lot of people, it is the furthest they have ever gone in terms of away from the norm. This makes a lot of the readers of this forum particularly susceptible to any form of trolling.

Whilst it readily apparent to me, and to other long term subscribers of the forum, when someone is trolling, it is impossible for a casual poster, or sometime reader, to determine who is or isn't genuine. Since a lot of these swines couch their crap in pseudo-genuine posts, it makes it impossible to determine what the truth is on a post by post basis.

Where the truth comes out though, is in the other 99% of posts, and this is why it doesn't panic me. Yes, there may be waves of trolling, and the boards get swept up in the fever, but if you look back through the posts of yesteryear, it is the posts that meant something that rose to the surface. The trolling posts get a few hits, then they fade. People reading through this board looking for information will go to the threads that were read, and they are the genuine posts, 99 times out of 100.

It happens everywhere, it will keep happening, it is nothing really to worry about, and sometimes they raise an interesting point that is worth discussing, although not often.

[Juan BH]

What is a troll?

Very insightful. I am new to this and it's nice to have your perspective bleep.:thanks:

[spiritwolf333]

What is a troll?

Troll

Juan, I too am new this forum world. My three young adult sons informed awhile back what a troller was -happens all the time on their online gaming games. X and Bleep have done a fantastic job describing this term. Trolling can be fun and interesting in some cases. I don't think it is funny worth a damn on mwo (as bleep explained).

A prime example happened on one of my threads a couple of months ago (I think it has been pulled from MWO). Anyway, a person comes on (new poster) and out of the blue starts talking about how dangerous baclofen is -and he/she tries to do this in a very innocent way ("I'm glad it works for you, but I ended up in a coma...bla..bla.." -this was after he told us all he had been doing many other drugs right before).

Well, I did a little research and found out that this fruit cake had his own website -not related to Baclofen but was somehow receiving benefit by the number of hits he was receiving relative to his post. (He received over 7,000 reads on his post and was at the top of the google search for "Baclofen Alcoholism") I don't know how all this internet stuff works but I do know that he received a lot of attention on google.

As bleep says, we will always have trollers. And perhaps I should revise my ways when accusing someone of trolling. I guess I just know how much damage someone can do to newcomers to this board and baclofen -and this is sad.

[spiritwolf333]

What is a troll?

And Juan -thank you for asking the question and bringing light to the subject -for us all.

[On.Bac]

What is a troll?

A troll is someone who post just to get people into arguments or to get them to debate with no real interest in the subject, sometimes with the sole purpose of derailing the original topic. Pompous members of forums can inadvertently be trolls using their member power and cause new comers to not get a much needed answer by deeming them stupid and unworthy of an answer as their question appears off the wall from the group mentality or persuasion. et al. Marijuana is safe, a member may have an opinion or idea of how it may not be safe while the entire board supports the reputable members idea that it is safer than water. A topic board tends to agree in many ways and go along with a certain ideas. eg: baclofen is safe and treats alcoholism better than any other drug.

A troll only wants to cause controversy or be the center of attention (this can apply to your favorite members of any board), have other members recognize them and stroke their 'e'go. Many times people get called trolls who aren't trolling and their questions get disregarded usually followed by that person being rejected from the community. This is often the case when forum friendship and proving intellect is more important than answering outsiders questions on the board topic. read: bandwagoning

I'm exhausted, insomnia due to baclofen taper. I was called a troll today infact, because i'm new and not part of the group. If i was a long standing member i would be able to outcast any member and label them a troll if i wanted to dismiss their topic and not grant them membership to the community, most of the time the members who do partake in such actions are "big-headed" and take great pride in their online reputation. Which i do not. I believe it's the mind that's the behind the name, not your avatar, forum status, and signature line.

Be careful who you call a troll and be sure the purpose is to cause controversy, it may appear that way if you disagree with the a new member, but they may raise good questions. As there are no stupid questions, only stupid answers. I have answered in depth numerous troll post on drugs forum, because the information can still answer a few questions for people searching google. For instance, questions people can answer themselves, such as what tepid water means.

If you've been through a baclofen taper, you understand 48 hours of awake time with intermittent cat naps dulling your intelligence. I feel this topic was created due to my arrival. I may not be known here, and i often speak in simple sentences and if not i take the time to put things in lamens terms rather than speak over your head (something i learned from speech class, simple and direct so everyone can understand), but my interest in neuroscience, psychology and pharmacology will be brought to the table in a easy to understand format. In the mean time, please visit drugs-forum.com if you have any real interest in drugs other than baclofen. I am part of a harm reduction group and am more concerned of how my advice will affect someone elses health more than convince them of my intelligence through my grandiloquence.

I hope this is yet another harm reduction community i can be a service too, as well as learn from. :thanks:

[JDizzle]

What is a troll?

A troll is a pussy that causes trouble behind a computer because they would get their ass whipped in real life. :goodjob:

[COSGringo]

What is a troll?

Sadly, I have seen a good share come and go through this board.

It happens and it has it's waves here and there is little moderation on this board.

Just try to ignore when it happens. You can't do much to stop it here so no sense in feeding into those that only care to disrupt.

Buenos viajes

[Juan BH]

What is a troll?

[QUOTE=I feel this topic was created due to my arrival.
That is correct, sir.:goodjob:

[Juan BH]

What is a troll?

I feel this topic was created due to my arrival.

I would prefer to call it a rhetorical question, but that works.:goodjob:

[On.Bac]

What is a troll?

Leave responses that answer the trolls questions and others can value from it. There is a way to use a troll positively, and not let it get nasty. Don't try to engage in an argument. Simple answers work best. Leave emotion out of your reply, and respond only on the inquiry. Leave it at that, and you'll never have to worry about a troll.

Stay on topic. People here have problems with that anyway it seems. Tangents are ok if they apply at least somewhat to the OP's subject.

[Cinders]

What is a troll?

Trolls are individuals whose lives are so pathetic that the only joy they receive in life is to cause anger and irritation with members of a forum.

Sadly, a troll can also divert much needed and serious attention away from valuable advice and information.

Trolls also seem to have an expanded view of their intelligence and importance, which can be the only explanation as to why they consider themselves subject matter experts.

Trolls are dutifully reported to the administrators and eventually are banned from MWO. However, if they can spoof ips, the administrators do have a difficult keeping them from creating new accounts and continuing.

It is usually best to ignore trolls so they can just vanish into the oblivion which they richly deserve.

[Lo0p]

What is a troll?

liquorlost;1527903 wrote: Are Otter and Cassander somewhat related to dr Chick?

No. Both are long standing and respected members of the community.

Otter is a good friend of mine and, I believe, has probably been in written and/or verbal contact with Dr. Jonathan Chick possibly numerous times. That's just an assumption, however, based on the fact that I know Otter to be an angry little bastard (lawyer) who has lobbied every medical body in the UK and more. He's even communicated with Dr. Ameisen.

Dr. Chick is a famous doctor who (someone correct me if I am wrong) is the editor in chief of the prestigious journal Alcohol & Alcoholism, and probably is the head of a department in a Glasgow area hospital.