A little slice of heaven for me to call my own. Not all will like what I have to say, but I will say it with honesty.
Trolls and the Banned, or Banned and the Trolls
Kind of like the chicken and the egg, depending on what boards one frequents. There are those out there on the internets that have trolls follow them from board to board. Luckily for us there's really no other board like TheTM Sowal. But we definitely get our share of whackjobs. Either they're whacked before they get here and start stirring things up from the getgo, or they make some off the wall post that to them seems normal( the voices are telling them it's a rational post), and some poor schlub posts a response that sets them off, and it's all downhill from there, till being banned.
It goes something like this:
<1> Someone new arrives at Sowal and in short order gets into all manner of pissing contests, arguments, rantings, etc. with and/or targeted towards a broad variety of people
<2> The new arrival rants about individual Sowalers' intolerance, bigotry, etc., how the new arrival feels persecuted for simply voicing his/her opinion (never mind the oh-so-important how the new arrival voices his/her opinion)
<3> The new arrival blames all of Sowal, collectively, for the new arrival's poor experience here
<4> The new arrival refuses to accept any responsibility for contributing to the escalating pissing contests, arguments, relentless rantings, and general descension into the depths of asshattery, even though the only common denominator in -all- of these instances is (yes, you guessed it) none other than the new arrival
<5> The new arrival, typically spurred on by an anti-authoritarian streak, ultimately blames not just the broader Sowal community, but specifically the moderator for all the goings-on (help me, moderator, help me... protect me from the evil Sowal mob that attacks me at all turns for no reason, the new arrival wails)
<6> The new arrival eventually grows weary of the constant conflict and either / or / some combination of...
Leaves
Leaves and returns, ad nauseum, each time repeating [1-5]
<C>Sees the light and recognizes the role s/he plays in the whole debacle and turns over a new leaf, remaining at Sowal and contributing positively to the community, all while engaging Sowalers in polite and respectful fashion (and they all lived happily ever after)*
I don't think we've had one return to integrate peacefully, but we've got one now running several personalities, each one more taxing than the others. This troll cannot feel like he's missing what's going on here, he's too needy. He has to be here, even after being banned a couple of times already. It's quite sad that this person feels the need to come in and stir things up with these pitiful personalities.
And the PM's and emails are priceless, if you happen to be on the receiving end.(I have been and have saved them all for publication later :0 )
Hopefully our current troll will come to his senses and either or <C>. Just make a decision already and save us the headache and yourself the embarrassment.
blerg...
*with help from B.S.
It goes something like this:
<1> Someone new arrives at Sowal and in short order gets into all manner of pissing contests, arguments, rantings, etc. with and/or targeted towards a broad variety of people
<2> The new arrival rants about individual Sowalers' intolerance, bigotry, etc., how the new arrival feels persecuted for simply voicing his/her opinion (never mind the oh-so-important how the new arrival voices his/her opinion)
<3> The new arrival blames all of Sowal, collectively, for the new arrival's poor experience here
<4> The new arrival refuses to accept any responsibility for contributing to the escalating pissing contests, arguments, relentless rantings, and general descension into the depths of asshattery, even though the only common denominator in -all- of these instances is (yes, you guessed it) none other than the new arrival
<5> The new arrival, typically spurred on by an anti-authoritarian streak, ultimately blames not just the broader Sowal community, but specifically the moderator for all the goings-on (help me, moderator, help me... protect me from the evil Sowal mob that attacks me at all turns for no reason, the new arrival wails)
<6> The new arrival eventually grows weary of the constant conflict and either / or / some combination of...
Leaves
Leaves and returns, ad nauseum, each time repeating [1-5]
<C>Sees the light and recognizes the role s/he plays in the whole debacle and turns over a new leaf, remaining at Sowal and contributing positively to the community, all while engaging Sowalers in polite and respectful fashion (and they all lived happily ever after)*
I don't think we've had one return to integrate peacefully, but we've got one now running several personalities, each one more taxing than the others. This troll cannot feel like he's missing what's going on here, he's too needy. He has to be here, even after being banned a couple of times already. It's quite sad that this person feels the need to come in and stir things up with these pitiful personalities.
And the PM's and emails are priceless, if you happen to be on the receiving end.(I have been and have saved them all for publication later :0 )
Hopefully our current troll will come to his senses and either or <C>. Just make a decision already and save us the headache and yourself the embarrassment.
blerg...
*with help from B.S.
Total Comments 11
Comments
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Trolls 101
Great Blog entry and should be mandatory reading for those who have not taken part in an online BB in the past(as in my case). Trolls 101 I would call it. You're a very good writer John and thanks for the Troll education
Posted 04-02-2008 at 11:27 PM by aleonard
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OMG, great blog. I have some good pm's that would make for a great book as well. But they are all positive...
Well, I guess we will just keep trollin....Posted 04-03-2008 at 12:08 AM by InletBchDweller
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Of course I enjoyed this.Posted 04-03-2008 at 05:17 PM by jdarg
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No offense, but why not just ignore the trolls? If you don't respond to them (what they are hoping you will do) they will just go away.Posted 04-03-2008 at 11:13 PM by tofu
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Bravo
Great blog John R.Posted 04-05-2008 at 09:03 PM by kathydwells
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You're beautiful...Posted 04-06-2008 at 03:09 PM by NoHall
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Great summation!Posted 04-06-2008 at 04:17 PM by singinchicken
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Guess the trolls didn't read your blog because
a) a couple are hanging around
b) they havent' learned anything from your words and are still annoyingPosted 04-09-2008 at 09:27 AM by jdarg
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And yes I realize that my apostrophe is in the wrong place in "haven't" but there is no way to edit.Posted 04-09-2008 at 09:28 AM by jdarg
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Posted 04-12-2008 at 01:07 AM by Mango
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Read outloud with a southern draw and a tone of confounding dismay, this was a halarious read!
Posted 06-04-2008 at 07:36 PM by 5thGenFlo
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