How to have fun with trolls

[SVOboy]

The issue with trolls is basically as entertaining as it can be to blab at them, they basically bring down the overall content quality of the site, while at the same time reinforcing our own holier-than-thou complex, which does exist, and is not good.

I'm going to be talking to darin in a few hours about EM related issues, so I'll bring this up and we'll try to formulate a coherent policy. Normally I would just close the thread and drop the ban hammer, but darin's always quicker to do that than me and actually replied to the guy, so I figure we'll have a chat first.

Besides, this is a topic based forum, run by darin and I with the help of our kind moderators. Our specific goal is ecomodding, and free speech isn't part of the package sometimes (ie, disruption is bad, and there's really no logical reason to allow it in this forum, so don't be surprised if we do just ban).

[Cd]

Posts like that simply waste space on this site.
It's frustrating seeing everyone get so fired up over what is probably just a 15 year old kid with too much time to kill.

[Jim-Bob]

Originally Posted by The Rooster

I think I could sum it up simply with two rules;

1) The ONLY time you should respond to a troll is when its for the amusement of yourself or the other members of the forum.

2) Arguing with a troll only amuses the troll.

The easiest way to accomplish the former is to take it up a notch. If he says he has a 10k lbs truck, counter him by saying you have an International semi that runs on a WWII V-12 aircraft motor from a tank that runs on Jack Daniels.

Trying to make an intelligent argument with a troll is actually the stupidest thing you can do...because that's EXACTLY what he wants...so he can continue to troll you.

I'm starting to realize now that I've spent way too much of my life on the internet...it's the only explanation to how I know the in's and out's of trolling...unless...

Believe me, I know that all too well. I have been posting online since Geocities was the way to gain a personal presence on the internet and have even been a moderator on an automotive message board, so I should know better. However, my own pomposity sometimes gets the better of me. I used to be better at reigning it in but with age comes arrogance, knowledge and logic and I can't always put them away when presented with a question that challenges my ability to use them.

[Piwoslaw]

How about just ignoring the troll or playing with him (we can have some fun from time to time, can't we?), then deleting thread say 2-3 months after the last post, so it doesn't take up space and doesn't attract the attention of people digging through the archives?

[MetroMPG]

In the Bulltrue case, the only reason I didn't immediately ban him and delete the thread was because several other members had already started to have fun with it before I got there.

Normally we'd prefer to pre-empt any sort of fun whatsoever.

Ben and I are on the same page: minimize the off-topic, obviously disruptive threads via the ban hammer & thread deletion. (As he said: this is EcoModder, not the town square.)

[The Rooster]

Originally Posted by NachtRitter

... unless you've practiced the art of trolling yourself...?

No comment.

Does that count as a comment? If so I'd like it striken from the record.

[JasonG]

This may be our first troll, at least in a long time.
Can we play dad? Huh, huh, can we, can we ???
Why do we always have to be adults ?

This dovetails the "what to do about unproven theories" quandry.

I vote give them a few days, then ban and delete.

Side note, thanking trolls should be a month suspension offence.

[brucey]

That's perfect! We can throw trolls and hydrogen generators in the still-non-existent quarantine section.

Edit: Can we call it the shooting gallery?

[Lazarus]

I'm with SVOboy. While there might be several folks here that are good with playing with the troll there are a bunch that are not and it never dies. It drags down the content.

It's also almost impossible not to go to the thread. Kind of like a train wreck you got to look. I'm for a quick and heavy hammer.

[Johnny Mullet]

I don't even mess around with them on my board. Instant suspension and thread gets trashed. Game over.