Nightingale 0 #1 January 16, 2004 I've seen several folks on here asking what trolls are... here is the basic field guide: Author: Phil Elmore Online discussion can be very rewarding, but it is also rife with hazards. One of these is the presence of trolls. A troll is a bulletin board participant who posts for one or both of two reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention. THE MAJOR BREEDS The Vulgar Troll. These, the crudest of all trolls, make no attempt to hide their species. Often, they make racist comments, or they may post porn and other spam. Vulgars usually confine their comments merely to primitive, profane, off-topic observations. When you log into the Really Profound Serious Philosophical Discussions board and see the post, "I smell my farts," you've spotted the Vulgar Troll. Other species of troll sometimes revert to this form when cornered. The Deceptive or "Classic" Troll. More sophisticated but often easily identified and exposed, the Classic Troll gratifies his ego by pretending to be someone or something he or she is not. Classics make up elaborate stories about themselves, sometimes weaving some amounts of truth into their lies. As a web of lies is difficult to build with consistency, however, Classics are often "outed" by other forumites. When this happens, Classic Trolls have a bag of tricks to which they turn: – Classic Troll Tactic Number 1: If the heat gets too much for you, claim it was all "a joke." In this way you can excuse any and all deceit by claiming people just weren't smart enough to "get" the humor of it. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 2: Create another account, and log on pretending to be someone else, in order to show support for the Troll in Question (TiQ). These puppet accounts sometimes claim to be disinterested third parties. At other times they pretend to be "friends" of the TiQ. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 3: When your lies paint you into a corner, claim that your little brother, or some unnamed friend, has commandeered your account and made you look foolish. This technique can also be applied in claiming that the puppet account(s) you created may not, in fact, be disinterested third parties or friends, but that they are your relatives ("little brother" is most common) only trying to help support you. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 4: When nothing else works, claim that now, finally, you're telling the truth about all the lies you told before. Make up a fresh set of lies, and throw yourself on the mercy of the forumites. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 5: When all else fails, claim to be leaving forever. Trolls who claim they are leaving never do, of course; you can bet that anyone who proclaims, "I'm never coming back here," will most certainly at least check back for responses, and probably will not be able to resist posting again. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 6: Have a tantrum. When all their other tricks are exhausted, Classic Trolls will become angry and start shouting. Often they revert to Vulgar Trolls when this happens. – Classic Troll Tactic Number 7: The insincere apology. Similar to Tactic 4, this involves pretending to repent for one's trolling and is accompanied often by great melodrama. Insincere troll apologists hope that they'll be forgiven if only they act disgusted enough with their own behavior. Classic warning sign behaviors may be shared by other breeds. Virtual Tough Guys are a subspecies of Classic Troll. The Contrarian Troll. A sophisticated breed, Contrarian Trolls frequent boards whose predominant opinions are contrary to their own. A forum dominated by those who support firearms and knife rights, for example, will invariably be visited by Contrarian Trolls espousing their beliefs in the benefits of gun control. It is important to distinguish between dissenters and actual Contrarian Trolls, however; the Contrarian is not categorized as a troll because of his or her dissenting opinions, but due to the manner in which he or she behaves: – Contrarian Warning Sign Number One: The most important indicator of a poster's Contrarian Troll status is his constant use of subtle and not-so-subtle insults, a technique intended to make people angry. Contrarians will resist the urge to be insulting at first, but as their post count increases, they become more and more abusive of those with whom they disagree. Most often they initiate the insults in the course of what has been a civil, if heated, debate to that point. – Contrarian Warning Sign Number Two: Constant references to the forum membership as monolithic. "You guys are all just [descriptor]." "You're a lynch mob." "You all just want to ridicule anyone who disagrees with you." – Contrarian Warning Sign Number Three: Intellectual dishonesty. This is only a mild indicator that is not limited to trolls, but Contrarians display it to a high degree. They will lie about things they've said, pull posts out of context in a manner that changes their meanings significantly, and generally ignore any points for which they have no ready answers. – Contrarian Warning Sign Number Four: Accusing the accusers. When confronted with their trolling, trolls immediately respond that it is the accusers who are trolls (see Natural Predators below). Often the Contrarian will single out his most vocal opponent and claim that while he can respect his other opponents, this one in particular is beneath his notice. – Contrarian Warning Sign Number Five: Attempts to condescend. Pursued by Troll Bashers (see Natural Predators below), the Contrarian will seek refuge in condescending remarks that repeatedly scorn his or her critics as beneath notice – all the while continuing to respond to them. – Contrarian Warning Sign Number Six: One distinctive mark of Contrarian Trolls is that every thread in which they dissent quickly devolves into a debate about who is trolling whom. In the course of such a debate the Contrarian will display many of the other Warning Signs mentioned above. Contrarian warning sign behaviors may be shared by other breeds. The YerATroll. YerATrolls are those whining forumites who devote a tremendous amount of time and energy complaining about the tremendous amount of time an energy expended by Troll Bashers and Angry Forumites on the practice of troll-hunting. A self-righteous and hypocritical breed, YerATrolls spend all their time pointing fingers at everyone but trolls, petulantly demanding that their opinions be granted the significance the YerATroll believes they deserve. YerATrolls often start threads excoriating others for troll-hunting, all the while completely oblivious to the fact that they're engaging in trolling by picking fights with everyone else. One of the most ill-tempered of troll species, YerATrolls are characterized by a childish need for attention disguised as cynical nobility and pretensions of being "above it all." The Agenda Troll. Agenda trolls are those participants who join a forum specifically to pursue an agenda of their own – often a feud or grudge with another member, or perhaps a dispute with some party not participating in that forum. When a flame war erupts on another board, for example, Agenda Trolls will follow their opponents to other forums in order to continue the spat. Some Agenda Trolls are subject-matter oriented. An Agenda Troll who thinks person X is a fraud, or who feels he has been ripped off or otherwise dealt with unfairly by Person X, will visit forums devoted to self-defense and martial arts in order to spread his or her negative opinion of Person X. Agenda Trolls may also be of the milder Spam Agenda subspecies; these are Trolls who join a board specifically to advertise some venture of their own. They are not often troublesome, though their shameless plugging is met with varying degrees of irritation. The Sophist Troll. Sophist Trolls, or "philotrolls," fancy themselves Enlightened Philosophers or Learned Experts of the highest order. Often well educated, Philotrolls are capable of speaking intelligently on a number of topics, and when the spirit moves them they can be worthwhile forum participants. Unfortunately, Sophist Trolls are an extremely hostile and intolerant species. When confronted by opinions with which they do not agree – particularly when they do not see any means of successfully arguing their contrary views – Sophists resort (repeatedly) to a variety of intellectually dishonest tactics. Most often, this is characterized by an overly snide, condescending, patronizing attitude. Philotrolls consider anyone with whom they do not agree to be "immature," and are fond of quoting that old saw that "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." When cornered they are quick to resort to personal attacks. A philotroll's bag of rhetorical tricks includes a variety of transparent ploys, such as willfully misinterpreting the opponent's words, committing Straw Man fallacies, accusing his or her opponents of engaging in the very tactics used by the philotroll, and so forth. When engaging in their sophistry, philotrolls are among the most hypocritical and aggravating of trollkind. The Affected Profundity Troll. A mutant subspecies of Sophist Trolls, Affected Profundity Trolls post endless pages of pretentious drivel that is intended to appear wise, but which generally makes little sense (if any). Affected Profundity Trolls enjoy asking themselves questions, sometimes answering them and sometimes leaving them hanging, for they believe this looks intelligent and lends an aura of mystery to their incoherent ramblings. Affected Profundity Trolls aspire to become Sophist Trolls, but lack the intelligence necessary to make the leap. The Don King Troll. Related to Affected Profundity Trolls, Don King Trolls spout gibberish in the hope that they'll either bore or confuse to death those with whom they disagree. The average Don King Troll is "a pursuitist who gromulates his adversarial computerists with height defining formulations to the disinterestingest adjunct." The Bruce. Inspired by the dictionary definition of the term – and by the movie They Call Me Bruce? – Bruces may correspond to any number of troll profiles but are characterized by a single, external characteristic: They are invulnerable. In the world of Internet fora, this means they cannot be banned from a site. No amount of complaining on the part of a forum's membership can convince the administrator to ban a Bruce, no matter how disruptive or useless such a troll's participation becomes. Bruces possess some innate ability to remain active despite exhibiting behavior that would draw warnings and discipline if displayed by other, more productive members of a bulletin board. A curious and perhaps hypnotic species, Bruces are often hybrids descended from Sophists, Affected Profundity Trolls, and Don Kings. The Artistic Troll. A higher species of Classic Troll, Artistic Trolls are intelligent individuals who understand the subtle art of trolling, and who do what they do specifically to make others look foolish. Often employing the techniques of Deceptive Trolls, Artistics will string forumites along until some point in time designated by their own desires, at which point they will reveal the ploy, admit that it was a ploy, and laugh at everyone for being stupid enough to fall for it. Artistic Trolls delight in sowing discord, but do it in a highly developed and fully aware manner. They do not care if they are despised, and do not seek the approval of forum participants. Chaos is their only goal, and preferably chaos with a humorous bent to it. Without a doubt, this is the most dangerous species. The Bitter Troll. Bitter Trolls are a curious cross-species. They can be trolls of any breed in their larval stages, but become Bitters after their previous activities are seen for what they were. What sets these trolls apart from other classifications is their behavior after they have been spotted and labeled as trolls. Angry, frustrated, and resentful about being "outed," the Bitter Troll will wage a campaign of indignant complaints intended to focus attention away from the troll and on whomever is responsible for identifying the creature. Often, a troll mutates into a Bitter just prior to becoming a Vulgar. The Pretender Troll. The mutant offspring of Bitter Trolls, Pretenders become outraged when outed and attempt to channel their distress by mimicking their tormentors. Pretenders always "accuse the accusers," as they say, frequently (and falsely) charging that they are being wrongly labeled for merely dissenting in the course of a debate. Pretenders sometimes try to invent their own species labels and descriptions in desperate attempts to deflect and redirect the attention of other forumites. They may also ape the language and demeanor of their accusers (though they typically fail). The WonderTroll A unique breed of troll, this particularly virulent species is characterized by an affected arrogance that masks both an obvious lack of knowledge and a pitiable lack of self-esteem. They derive some measure of satisfaction from pretending they know more about the subject matter than, well, anyone, their pretensions pointing to the fact that they feel threatened by most others. They are almost always entirely anonymous online, for any information they revealed about themselves would be used by their many enemies to expose them for the frauds that they are. They have endless amounts of free time to spend online and devote most of their activities to ignorantly criticizing others. Tearing down those by whom they feel threatened is the only way such trolls can feel better about themselves. A sad breed, the WonderTroll has little for which to live and is generally quite depressing to behold. The Holy Misroller (HM). Holy Misrollers are those online fora participants who give religion a bad name. The HM believes himself or herself to be a Christian and will generally tell anyone who'll listen about his or her faith in God and in Jesus. At the same time, however, the HM will display decidedly un-Christian behavior, frequently making an ass out of him- or herself. The HM is often characterized by a great deal of anger and hostility. The breed tends to lash out at anyone and anything not in keeping with its narrow worldview. The saddest part about HMs is that they do not truly understand Christianity at all. The Marketing Genius. A Marketing Genius is absolutely convinced that you are profiting from your participation in an Internet forum. If you have a link or a graphic block in you signature, the Marketing Genius just knows that this is your subtle attempt to assert your hypnotic powers on other bulletin board participants, luring them with the siren song of your complex and inscrutable advertising of your site. It does not matter to the Marketing Genius that forum members have been placing links and pictures in their signatures since the ability to do so was first created. Having never created anything of value themselves, Marketing Geniuses have only their bitter envy and their firm belief that you are a Dot Com Billionaire to motivate and occupy them. The Honorable Nitwit. Honorable Nitwits absolutely love to speak about honor. This breed invokes the concepts of honor, integrity, humility, and other traits straight from the Boy Scout Oath more often than a Klingon warrior on anti-depressants. Honorable nitwits are convinced that everyone around them suffers from a lack of honor – an idea they thoroughly fail to understand in attempting to use its lack to smear others. The Old Warrior. The Old Warrior has been there and done that. He has little time to spare for those who have not been there and done that. The Old Warrior has been there and done that to such an extent, in fact, that he is always right. Anyone who disagrees with him, therefore, is wrong by definition and should shut the hell up. Old Warriors place a very high premium on one's credentials relevant to the subject matter discussed – failing to understand the logical fallacy of appeals to authority. TROLL SPOTTING Trolls often have many basic characteristics in common: 1. Low post count. Trolls usually do not last long enough on a forum to rack up a large number of posts. Be particularly suspicious of any poster whose count is not yet in double digits and who appears to be causing trouble. 2. Suspicious IP addresses. Puppet accounts will have IP addresses identical to that of the TiQ [Troll in Question]. 3. Suspicious E-mail Addresses. Accounts that are similar in nature to those of the TiQ can indicate a puppet account. AOL accounts, for example, are particularly suspect, because AOL allows multiple usernames for a single account. 4. Syntax and grammar. Trolls, particularly Deceptives, invariably have trouble hiding their writing styles. Puppet accounts, or serial accounts created after previous accounts have been thoroughly discredited, will display traits similar to that of the TiQ. NATURAL PREDATORS Trolls have certain naturally-occurring enemies. Among them are these: Moderators. An active moderator is the bane of trollkind, as a moderator can lock a troll's efforts before they come to fruition, see to it the troll is banned, and generally make the troll's existence unfulfilling. Moderators are normally above more direct efforts to humiliate or expose trolls, which makes them ultimately more dangerous but less intimidating to all breeds. Troll Bashers. The worst enemy of trolls, Troll Bashers appear to possess an almost pathological hatred for trolls. Fully aware of the tools and tactics of trolling, Troll Bashers expose trolls whenever they see them. Often the first to identify Contrarians, and unforgiving in the pursuit of Deceptives, Troll Bashers are experienced and venomous. Often accused of being trolls themselves, Troll Bashers understand the difference between the initiation of trolling and the retaliation against it – and believe any amount of retaliatory abuse is justified when a troll rears its ugly head. Angry Forumites. Though normally slow to anger, and lacking the venom of Troll Bashers, Angry Forumites can pose a danger to trollkind when they gather in groups. While it takes three to five Angry Forumites to equal the danger represented by a single Troll Basher, they are not to be underestimated. The Antrollpologist® Antrollpologists are those fascinated by the psychology, behavior, and identification of trollkind. They tend to write lengthy guides about spotting and dealing with trolls, which makes them particularly troubling to the disruptors in question. (Special thanks to Matt Seling for coining the term.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydivexxl 0 #2 January 16, 2004 There was a whole thread a few weeks back about "Classic Troll #5"... Anyone remember? Hmmmmmmmm? Blog Clicky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 3 #3 January 16, 2004 I think if you look closely (or not) at the lengthy list of definitions, you'll see we're all trolls to a certain extent. quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnischalke 0 #4 January 16, 2004 OMG, that was awesome. I laughed...I cried...I relived dramas...Screennames flashed through my mind as I read the description of each subspecies. Thanks! Don King Troll #1 mike Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Unstable 8 #5 January 16, 2004 QuoteI think if you look closely (or not) at the lengthy list of definitions, you'll see we're all trolls to a certain extent. I think some of those definitions were vague enough to classify all of in at some point or another... =========Shaun ========== Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnischalke 0 #6 January 16, 2004 Admitting it is the first step. mike Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills--You know, like nunchuk skills, bow-hunting skills, computer-hacking skills. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DJL 232 #7 January 16, 2004 That's nice, but why is your avatar a picture of a baboon?"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yardhippie 0 #8 January 16, 2004 llllloooooonnnnnnggggg! but funny as hell. Good thing we dont get a large number ofr pure bread trolls here. ps. I smell my farts.!!Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD "What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me "Anything you want." ~ female skydiver Mohoso Rodriguez #865 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigWaveDave 0 #9 January 16, 2004 OMG...that's one of the funniest things I've read in a while. And here I thought (when I first opened the thread), that this was about LOTR or something...“If you hear a voice within you saying, ''You are not a painter,'' then by all means paint… and that voice will be silenced.” - Vincent van Gogh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Michele 1 #10 January 16, 2004 QuoteI laughed...I cried...I relived dramas...Screennames flashed through my mind as I read the description of each subspecies. LOL!!!!!!!! Ditto! (and quite likely some of the same screennames!) Ciels- Michele ~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek While our hearts lie bleeding?~ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevePhelps 0 #11 January 16, 2004 Am I the only guy who typically won't read a long post like that? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
champu 1 #12 January 16, 2004 QuoteAm I the only guy who typically won't read a long post like that? I'm going to be honest, I only got through "Am I the only..." and then I got bored, but I figured I'd reply to your post anyway. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sunshine 2 #13 January 16, 2004 Quote Am I the only guy who typically won't read a long post like that Well i'm not a guy, but i never read long posts like that. ___________________________________________ meow I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
themitchyone 0 #14 January 16, 2004 Many of the troll tactics look familiar, but I agree it got to the point of vagueness that many could be accused of trolling. I find it amazing that someone took the time to categorize the trolls. What's crazier is I read most of it ."If the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girl's sports such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing." - Homer Simpson Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KawiZX900 0 #15 January 16, 2004 I especially like troll # 1, sounds a bit like a guy who's films I watch. (A) Quentin Tarantino (film) and you will pay the toll to cross the bridge and see his films in the cineplex maybee not the Hollywood Archlight with it's bangin sound system but perhaps a more humble neighborhood theatre or some shit... He's the man mang. I ran into a taliban troll in the deli last night who was fighting to the tooth to convince taxpayers here in SoCal that what we did was wrong. I wanted tol et her have it U.S. NAVY style but held my tounge and repeated the mantra "ignorance is bliss" and let her keep her miguided opinions to herself and let walk. cause I'm such a good little squid, I did not push the red button allthough the finger was a hoverin. Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RkyMtnHigh 0 #16 January 16, 2004 I've always wanted to undersstand "trolls"..thanks for the clarification..very helpful! _________________________________________ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
payback462 0 #17 January 16, 2004 ahhhhh, sharp phil, i remember him from my days on Bladeforums! his website: http://www.philelmore.com/index.htm and the thread on BF which started this whole guide: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=180400 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nightingale 0 #18 January 16, 2004 yup. he'd be the guy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McDuck 0 #19 January 16, 2004 It's funny, but I'm in the process of writing a ficticious account of the back-story of a troll.Kevin - Sonic Beef #5 - OrFun #28 "I never take myself too seriously, 'cuz everybody know fat birds don't fly." - FLC Online communities: proof that people never mature much past high school. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LostOne 0 #20 January 18, 2004 What a load of trash ----------------------------------------------- Bum's the word! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkymonkeyONE 3 #21 January 18, 2004 Nice post. Chuck "the bane of troll-kind" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefallfreak 0 #22 January 18, 2004 QuoteGood thing we dont get a large number ofr pure bread trolls here. Uhh, would that be white or wheat bread trolls?? FFF "Upon seeing the shadow of a pigeon, one must resist the urge to look up." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MochaSkyChick 0 #23 January 19, 2004 QuoteQuoteGood thing we dont get a large number ofr pure bread trolls here. Uhh, would that be white or wheat bread trolls?? FFF ROTFL! PMS #62 Zarza R[red Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 24 #24 January 19, 2004 QuoteI think if you look closely (or not) at the lengthy list of definitions, you'll see we're all trolls to a certain extent. Quit that, you philotroll you!Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Antithesis 0 #25 January 19, 2004 I feel like this post is trolling me I travel the land, Work in the ocean, Play in the sky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
