Forum Trolls

[corcor]

Now we're not talking about the little goblin like creatures which live between the links from bloggeries and other forums. Forum trolls are real, and they are out there.

A forum troll is simply a user posting on a forum with the intention of causing a negitive response. They look to pick fights from the comfort of their keyboard and only enjoy the disruption their post causes.

Trolls are not limited to forums, as we all have blogs about, they can attempt the same at our blogs. On your blog it is your choice what to do about it. My reccomendation would be to never let their comment hit your page unless something constructive would come from it.

Forums are normally created to be a friendly place where people with similar interests can share thoughts, ideas, and learn. When a forum troll steps in and steers the post down a negitive path, the forum becomes fighting grounds rather than a constructive place.

They don't always go on the offensive in public, you may get a PM from one. The best thing you can do is don't respond, forward the original PM to an admin so they can decide how to handle it.

A while ago on a separate forum I ran into a forum troll. This particular member was posting constructive material on the forum, but causing problems with members via PM. I had recieved a PM from a member telling me the guy was harassing him. So I sent a PM to the troll to figure out what was going on, only to find myself on the recieving end of the harassment. Not wanting to take it I responded, but kept everything within forum guidelines. The member posted a public response with an edited version of my PM and accused me of harrasment and foul language. Lucky for me I was a respected member of the community and able to prove the message was edited, but it took some work to clear my name.

For your names sake, and to make everything easier on you. If you get hit up by a forum troll, report them. There is a red triangle in the top right side of each post, that triangle will alert the admins that there is a problem. Don't give them the pleasure of a response, let the people in control of what goes on here decide on how to handle it. It'll save everyone a lot of grief in the long run.

[Nathan]

Looking through our ban records it looks like we have only ever had one troll and they were banned. Most people with that personality type haven't stuck around long enough to get themselves banned.

[MexicansStareAtMe]

I think on almost every forum I've ever posted on (except this and one other) I've been called a troll...but I've never had the intention of "trolling".

I think the term "troll" is thrown out loosely...it's hard to take seriously for me.

I've been called a troll because people don't agree with me...because I didn't agree with a forum "bully"

It seems as if the people that throw around the word troll loosely are "forum bullies".

[Nathan]

Its alright to disagree, as long as you keep the conversation civil. I agree with you that some people troll by calling other people trolls. It is a recursive function.

[Workforced]

Its a very weak thing to do, to pick on people online. That's as cowardly and as anonymous as could be. I do well to remember that anger is itself a form of suffering.

[Freakin' Delicious!]

I never knew they were known as forum trolls.
There are a lot of those on Youtube!
It gives them pleasure to piss people off, the only solution is really just to block or report them.

[QuirkyJessi]

Originally Posted by Freakin' Delicious!

I never knew they were known as forum trolls.
There are a lot of those on Youtube!
It gives them pleasure to piss people off, the only solution is really just to block or report them.

Yep, there are sure. And while there aren't many around 'this' kind of forum, in general, trolls love forums!