I've Seen a Live Troll ... It isn't pretty

[easysurfer]

I've seen a live troll for about two weeks. I will never under appreciate roles moderators play and downplay how much disturbance a troll can cause again.

The troll wasn't here but at a Facebook group I belong in. The troll was purposely posting divisive stuff trying to get people to argue. To add insult to injury, the supposedly Admin for the group is a no-show. In other words, a town without a sheriff so the troll was spiking the ball posting stuff taunting posts like "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

The disturbance to to the point where other members were threatening to leave. But just leaving isn't so easy as then that involves walking away from about 5 years of videos and pictures group members enjoy following.

Moral of the story ... give your mods a hug. They deserve it for what they have to put up with.

 

[dirtbiker]

I post in a bunch of different forums, and they run the gamut from over-moderated to under-moderated, and most fall in between.

In most cases, I'd prefer an under-moderated forum to an over-moderated one. But there was one motorcycle forum I left because of two trolls that just made the place miserable. Nothing was ever done, and I had enough, and never went back. I've also left a few forums for being too over-moderated. Too many threads shut down, posts deleted, bans all the time (for the record, not me being banned!), etc.

Either way, I doubt moderating a forum is an easy task... But at least the perks are worth it. You know, the fat paychecks, moderator lounge, etc.

 

[upupandaway]

I post in a bunch of different forums, and they run the gamut from over-moderated to under-moderated, and most fall in between.

In most cases, I'd prefer an under-moderated forum to an over-moderated one. But there was one motorcycle forum I left because of two trolls that just made the place miserable. Nothing was ever done, and I had enough, and never went back. I've also left a few forums for being too over-moderated. Too many threads shut down, posts deleted, bans all the time (for the record, not me being banned!), etc.

Either way, I doubt moderating a forum is an easy task... But at least the perks are worth it. You know, the fat paychecks, moderator lounge, etc.

It must be the fat paychecks.

I have a theory that the weaker the thread that binds the group the harder it is to moderate. I watch a person I know struggle who moderates our local community Facebook group. The only inherent characteristic in common with the members is we all happen to live in the same place. I swear these folks could fight about a free lunch.

"Who's paying for the lunch?"
"Probably the state"
"Probably our taxes"
"Taxes are too high"
"Our town is is the worst"

 

[ivinsfan]

Why do people troll? This is a serious question. I can't figure out what purpose it serves.

 

[kimcdougc]

Time to say THANKS to the mods for being so active and doing a great job for the over 8 years I have been on this forum.

 

[RobbieB]

They're looking for an argument. But they'll have to pay first.

 

[Sojourner]

Why do people troll? This is a serious question. I can't figure out what purpose it serves.

My theory is that it's a twisted form of entertainment for certain anti-social people who thrive on "insult and outrage" melodrama. Before the Internet and social media came along, these people were probably addicted to trashy, vulgar tabloid talk shows like Jerry Springer. Now that anonymous Internet forums exist, they can participate in their own personal, interactive version of tabloid talk, which no doubt gives them an even more intense thrill than simply watching someone else do and say vile, mean-spirited, low-class things. Unfortunately, there are lots and lots of these kinds of people, considering that The Jerry Spring Show aired for 26 years and was so popular in the early 2000s that Springer was paid $6 million annually.

 

[dirtbiker]

My theory is that it's a twisted form of entertainment for certain anti-social people who thrive on "insult and outrage" melodrama. Before the Internet and social media came along, these people were probably addicted to trashy, vulgar tabloid talk shows like Jerry Springer. Now that anonymous Internet forums exist, they can participate in their own personal, interactive version of tabloid talk, which no doubt gives them an even more intense thrill than simply watching someone else do and say vile, mean-spirited, low-class things. Unfortunately, there are lots and lots of these kinds of people, considering that The Jerry Spring Show aired for 26 years and was so popular in the early 2000s that Springer was paid $6 million annually.

And they're probably also the same ones who are addicted to watching the garbage on the Bravo channel.

 

[Golden sunsets]

I've seen a live troll for about two weeks. I will never under appreciate roles moderators play and downplay how much disturbance a troll can cause again.

The troll wasn't here but at a Facebook group I belong in. The troll was purposely posting divisive stuff trying to get people to argue. To add insult to injury, the supposedly Admin for the group is a no-show. In other words, a town without a sheriff so the troll was spiking the ball posting stuff taunting posts like "You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"

The disturbance to to the point where other members were threatening to leave. But just leaving isn't so easy as then that involves walking away from about 5 years of videos and pictures group members enjoy following.

Moral of the story ... give your mods a hug. They deserve it for what they have to put up with.

Yes it could be a miserable unsocial misfit. I don't know what your group is devoted to as a subject, but if it is at all cultural, or dare I say political (I'm sure it is not) or could be in some way controversial, this could be a russian bot or a troll from another country trying to sew division and create chaos. Unfortunately that is the price we pay today for living in an open society (which I wouldn't give up for anything). Social media has transformed the way we communicate and as a result we get the good the bad and the ugly.

 

[Gumby]

Here is an article describing how trolls gained control of a private facebook group regarding a criminal case of local notoriety.

https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Jennifer-Dulos-Facebook-group-shut-down-after-14308293.php

“Somehow, some way, someone gained access to our group,” said Jonathan Riches, a Florida resident and former administrator and creator of the group. “I don’t know whether it was via a hack, or someone sort of wormed their way in to convince another admin to (give them) admin (privileges). But once they gained access to the group, they ‘unadminned’ all of us. We lost all our admin capabilities of the page, so we lost control of the page. Then they added a bunch of troll accounts or troll people and they just basically trashed the group.”

 

[easysurfer]

Yes it could be a miserable unsocial misfit. I don't know what your group is devoted to as a subject, but if it is at all cultural, or dare I say political (I'm sure it is not) or could be in some way controversial, this could be a russian bot or a troll from another country trying to sew division and create chaos. Unfortunately that is the price we pay today for living in an open society (which I wouldn't give up for anything). Social media has transformed the way we communicate and as a result we get the good the bad and the ugly.

The group is not devoted to politics but fans of an entertainer. I was monitoring the troll's posts and my guess (just a guess) is a russian bot. My theory is because the poster never actually had any typewritten texts. But instead each FB post was of those pre-made slides attacking each political side among other silly stuff (the You can't catch me type like "So and so is the best actor" just to get folks upset). I even did further searching as on one post that actually looked like a scripted text had someone's name. I googled the name which led to a twitter account. In the twitter posts there was conversation saying to no go only to twitter but expand to Facebook.

Sad part is the troll's posts were starting to get folks riled up who normally were totally friendly to each other starting to go to their tribal corners.

 

[Janet H]

IMO trolls comes in 2 flavors:

1. Folks who are basically bullies and drama-addicts or intent on destruction. They enjoy being right more than they enjoy reasonable discourse or learning from the experience of others. They thrive on drama and want to be at the center of whatever is brewing. they also want to control the discussion and will run over folks to retain that control. They are toxic to forums because reasonable people simply disengage and checkout. There is rarely a scenario where arguing with a troll is effective.


2. Inadvertent trolls. Not really a true troll but we see them occasionally - they are folks who just have a somewhat different standard of what reasonable posting looks like and their posts often hit others a little wrong. These posters are these folks that the bulk of the ER.org rules are written for... they clearly define (in painful detail) what we consider trolling and what "polite posting" looks like.


This little bit of the site rules was crafted to handle both scenarios:

Trolling or cyberstalking are NOT allowed and are grounds for account restriction or banishment. Trolling on this board includes posting controversial and often irrelevant or off-topic messages with the intention of (or anticipated result of) baiting other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal, harmonious on-topic discussion, especially when a pattern of such posting is apparent.​

This bit up nearer the top of the site rules is for the rest of us reasonable folks:

Be Courteous and Appropriate! We aim to ensure that the forum is an enjoyable place that you want to visit time and time again. Our underlying philosophy is that the strength of the member relationships we build here is what sets us apart from the other boards. Treating each other with respect and kindness, and thinking before you speak will go a long way towards making this an enjoyable place.

Do not engage in personal attacks. Challenge others' points of view and opinions, but do so respectfully and thoughtfully. Excessive sarcasm, extreme belligerence, insults, profanity, extreme anger, offensive comments about race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and national origin, are not acceptable.​

Both were written by clever moderators after waaay too many instances of trolly posters arguing when we contacted them about aggressive posting saying "show me where it says I can't have and express my opinion"

And then we added this:

About the First Amendment, censorship and your "right to free speech": You do indeed have a right to free speech. However this forum is privately owned and requires members to abide by our guidelines and by the decisions of our moderators. If you cannot accept these guidelines we encourage you to contact one of the many good web hosting companies out there and exercise that right to your heart's content.​

It's sort of sad that all this is needed but as noted by the OP, trolls can wreck your day.

What to do when you see a troll at this forum: hit the report button and explain your issue to the site team - they will investigate and then have special soap to wash up with afterwards..

 

[CardsFan]

You do indeed have a right to free speech. However this forum is privately owned and requires members to abide by our guidelines and by the decisions of our moderators. If you cannot accept these guidelines we encourage you to contact one of the many good web hosting companies out there and exercise that right to your heart's content.

Bold by me.

This is why this place is civil.

Reminds of a comment I have seen; "you have a right to free speech, but you have no right to be listened to".

 

[Souschef]

For your entertainment:
For a number of years i have been following a troll across multiple sites: Through research, I know her name and where she lives
On one site she created sock puppets of a Romanian girl, her American husband, the two year old one l;egged orphan they adopted, and her mother. She was finally banned.
On another website she claimed she quit her job al Walmart to become a flight instructor. She has neither a pilot's license or an instructor rating. I even forwarded her post to the flight school at her local airport, and they never heard of her.
The owner said, "That lady has problems".
Like many here, I cannot conceive of a person doing this- to what end??

 

[Janet H]

Like many here, I cannot conceive of a person doing this- to what end??

For a paycheck. Paid trolls (different than rude trolls) are real and the folks who write their checks are intent twisting reality for some other endgame.

 

[GrayHare]

Trolling is just internet graffiti, an attempt to gain attention. Usenet was rife with it.

 

[ivinsfan]

Trolling is just internet graffiti, an attempt to gain attention. Usenet was rife with it.

internet graffiti a perfect description...

 

[Dalmore]

Why do people troll? This is a serious question. I can't figure out what purpose it serves.

They find it entertaining to watch people get up in arms and angry. They like to cause drama.

I had a boss once that loved, what I call, "to play uproar". He would intentionally confide half-truths to different groups to create a situation where there was no situation to begin with.

 

[Dalmore]

Trolling is just internet graffiti, an attempt to gain attention. Usenet was rife with it.

LOL. Usenet was "Poster BEWARE!" Way too many sharks in the water to ever feel safe posting.

 

[Golden sunsets]

Trolling is just internet graffiti, an attempt to gain attention. Usenet was rife with it.

I mean no disrespect, but it could be a lot more devious.

 

[Cerys]

Why do people troll? This is a serious question. I can't figure out what purpose it serves.

It gives them some sort of thrill to pull the wool over people's eyes, and get things started between other people.

And it's amazing who some of them are. Knew a seemingly sweet young school teacher who thought nothing of creating a character and getting a forum invested in him, and then killing him off and collecting the condolences...thought it was quite funny...

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Bold by me.

This is why this place is civil.

Reminds of a comment I have seen; "you have a right to free speech, but you have no right to be listened to".

Or "'Freedom of speech' does not obligate anyone else to provide you with a podium or soapbox."

 

[audreyh1]

They find it entertaining to watch people get up in arms and angry. They like to cause drama.

I had a boss once that loved, what I call, "to play uproar". He would intentionally confide half-truths to different groups to create a situation where there was no situation to begin with.

Crazy-makers. Plenty of them in the world!