Field Guide to Trolls

Field Guide to Forum 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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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.


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 Troll Warning Sign #1: 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 Troll Warning Sign #2: 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 Troll Warning Sign #3: 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 Troll Warning Sign #4: 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 Troll Warning Sign #5: 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 Troll Warning Sign #6: 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.


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
Self-Defense Instructor X is a fraud, or who feels he has been ripped
off or
otherwise dealt with unfairly by Instructor X, will visit forums
devoted to
self-defense and martial arts in order to spread his or her negative
opinion
of Instructor 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.


Sophist Trolls


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 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.


TROLL SPOTTING


Trolls often have many basic characteristics in common:


1. Low post count. Trolls often 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. High post count. Other Trolls flood a forum with so many posts of
their
own, especially when they are able to turn the subject onto one that
they
like, that long-time regular members begin to leave or complain to the
Moderator.


3. Suspicious IP addresses. Puppet accounts will have IP addresses
identical
to that of the TiQ.


4. Suspicious email 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 up to five usernames for a
single
account.


5. Suspicious Reptition. Trolls often repeat key phrases or entire
diatribes
of their pet propaganda, attempting to turn the subject onto one that
they
can
control.


6. 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.


--originally posted by Nasty Habit of TexasMinutemen.org, 5/28/2001

"Frank Provasek" wrote in message
ups.com...
Field Guide to Forum Trolls


A Troll is a bulletin-board participant who posts for one or both of
two
reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention.



Your posting this obviously puts you in both groups.

jim menning

On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:44:15 GMT, "jim menning"
wrote:


"Frank Provasek" wrote in message
oups.com...
Field Guide to Forum Trolls


A Troll is a bulletin-board participant who posts for one or both of
two
reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention.



Your posting this obviously puts you in both groups.

jim menning

Indeed the Provasek Troll is well known. Ask in the scouting groups

Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2004 10:02:36 -0500 (CDT)
To: "Frank Provasek"
Subject: Abuse complaint: Privileges Suspended
From: "SBC Service Abuse"

Hello,

Thank you for contacting SBC Internet Security
Department. I apologize
for sending the incorrect link to our AUP. The
correct link is
http://help.sbcglobal.net/article.php?item=441&.

SBC has sent you warnings in January, March, August
and October 8th of
this year. This past week, we continue to receive
complaints in
regards to your spam and off topic postings.

Regardless of charters, you are still obligated to
adhere to our
TOS/AUP. And we reserve the right to monitor activity
especially when so
many complaints are received.

You can have your privileges reinstated if you
reaffirm your agreement
with the TOS and AUP by replying as much to this
email. Once the
account is reinstated, it will be placed in a hold
status.
This means that none of your posts will be propagated
until they
are approved by one of the staff, so expect delays.

Another TOS violation will result in the cancellation
of your account,
and the possible imposition of the fines provided for
by the TOS.

Thank you,
Dawn
SBCIS

Frank Provasek wrote:
Field Guide to Forum Trolls


A Troll is a bulletin-board participant who posts for one or both of
two
reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention.

Way to go Frank!! Thanks for continuing to paint a target onto RCC's
butt and daring someone to shoot at it. I agree with Jim. The above
describes you perfectly. Except that you left out the fact that you
are a k00k.

Thanks, Frank. You are the best. Happy 2006.
-Wayne

Frank Provasek wrote:
Field Guide to Forum 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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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 #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.


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 Troll Warning Sign #1: 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 Troll Warning Sign #2: 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 Troll Warning Sign #3: 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 Troll Warning Sign #4: 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 Troll Warning Sign #5: 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 Troll Warning Sign #6: 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.


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
Self-Defense Instructor X is a fraud, or who feels he has been ripped
off or
otherwise dealt with unfairly by Instructor X, will visit forums
devoted to
self-defense and martial arts in order to spread his or her negative
opinion
of Instructor 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.


Sophist Trolls


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 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.


TROLL SPOTTING


Trolls often have many basic characteristics in common:


1. Low post count. Trolls often 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. High post count. Other Trolls flood a forum with so many posts of
their
own, especially when they are able to turn the subject onto one that
they
like, that long-time regular members begin to leave or complain to the
Moderator.


3. Suspicious IP addresses. Puppet accounts will have IP addresses
identical
to that of the TiQ.


4. Suspicious email 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 up to five usernames for a
single
account.


5. Suspicious Reptition. Trolls often repeat key phrases or entire
diatribes
of their pet propaganda, attempting to turn the subject onto one that
they
can
control.


6. 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.


--originally posted by Nasty Habit of TexasMinutemen.org, 5/28/2001

neutral wrote:
On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 14:44:15 GMT, "jim menning"
wrote:


"Frank Provasek" wrote in message
oups.com...
Field Guide to Forum Trolls


A Troll is a bulletin-board participant who posts for one or both of
two
reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention.



Your posting this obviously puts you in both groups.

jim menning

Indeed the Provasek Troll is well known. Ask in the scouting groups

Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2004 10:02:36 -0500 (CDT)
To: "Frank Provasek"
Subject: Abuse complaint: Privileges Suspended
From: "SBC Service Abuse"

Hello,
You can have your privileges reinstated if you
reaffirm your agreement
with the TOS and AUP by replying as much to this
email. Once the
account is reinstated, it will be placed in a hold
status.
This means that none of your posts will be propagated
until they
are approved by one of the staff, so expect delays.

Another TOS violation will result in the cancellation
of your account,
and the possible imposition of the fines provided for
by the TOS.

Thank you,
Dawn
SBCIS

You netcopped Frank? That's still bull****.

And check this out: SCB Yahoo! can't provide their paying customers a
decent level of customer support. Try asking them any question beyond
"I forgot my password" and see how absoutely useless they are.

Yet apparently whiny little netcops can get an immediate response from
a person who actually speaks English. Their priorities are absolutely
skewed.

If I got a letter like that, I'd tell "Dawn" to go **** herself in no
uncertain terms.

One can only hope they move Usenet support to India.

A

On 29 Dec 2005 06:10:25 -0800, "Frank Provasek"
wrote:

A Troll is a bulletin-board participant who posts for one or both of
two
reasons: 1) to disrupt; 2) to gain attention.

You'll get flamed for this. But even funnier is how people respond to
trolls. They respond in exactly the way trolls want them too. I've
only skimmed, and very quickly, some of subject lines, but the influx
of these 14-year-old trolls here has caused hundreds and hundreds of
posts just about them, most from them but also a lot of posts from
regulars here about them. This is what they want. They're winning
because people let them win.

--

Email: (delete "remove this")

Consumer: http://rg.ancients.info/guide
Connoisseur: http://rg.ancients.info/glom
Counterfeit: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos

"Reid Goldsborough" wrote in message
...

most from them but also a lot of posts from
regulars here about them. This is what they want. They're winning
because people let them win.


And your post is different how?

jim menning

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 05:47:40 GMT, "jim menning"
wrote:

And your post is different how?

Because as I've said before it's not message posted out of upset or
anger. This is what trolls live for, true trolls, disruption based on
pathological narcissism. Look at me, look at the destruction I can
wring.

--

Email: (delete "remove this")

Consumer: http://rg.ancients.info/guide
Connoisseur: http://rg.ancients.info/glom
Counterfeit: http://rg.ancients.info/bogos

jim menning wrote:

"Reid Goldsborough" wrote in message
...

most from them but also a lot of posts from
regulars here about them. This is what they want. They're winning
because people let them win.


And your post is different how?

jim menning

Do not feed the trolls.

JAM