Bump.

I need a dental grant for my bridge-work.

9-11 was perpetrated by Islamists.

This should be fun...

Wrong. Trolls should be crushed and hammer-locked...

Redline wrote:Wrong. Trolls should be crushed and hammer-locked...

Yeah, the effin' turkey-necks!

rocker654 wrote:

Linus Van Pelt wrote:Bump.

you been here all this time?

Just out of curiosity, can you please define a"troll" for me? I've never really full understood what this means.

RMW wrote:Just out of curiosity, can you please define a"troll" for me? I've never really full understood what this means.

It's a little hard to really pin down. I think originally it referred to someone who was only posting to get a rise out of people - "trolling" for a negative response. This person doesnt necessarily mean everything he's saying - he just says it because he knows people will be so offended by it that they'll have to respond. This doesn't have to be deeply offensive like "I eat babies" - on this board, a post like "Ryan Adams has far more talent than Steve Albini could dream of" would be an obvious example. Such a post almost certainly has nothing serious to say, and only wants to see what we say when our "sacred cow" is gored.

The term has sort of evolved to include a poster who's not interested in debate or discussion, but simply wants to make his points, and any responses are either ignored, or met with personal abuse. This poster might make outrageous or extraordinary factual claims without evidence, might accuse other posters of certain actions or beliefs in the face of repeated correction, and might do more name-calling than reasoned discussion.

The main thing separating the two kinds of troll is motivation. The first troll probably doesn't mean it, though he might, but is really just going for the laughs he gets by seeing people mad. The second troll might be okay with the negative reactions, or even prefer them, but his main motivation is hammering home his message. Don't mistake this for actually wanting to convince anyone. Persuasion holds no appeal for this second type of troll. It's simply saying what he needs to say, as loudly and as often as possible, and belittling the opposition when possible, and ignoring them otherwise.

I would guess there are even other types of poster that fit this word "troll" - like I say, it's a little hard to pin down.

RMW wrote:Just out of curiosity, can you please define a"troll" for me? I've never really full understood what this means.

If you look carefully, you may be able to spot an example.