How do you troll well?

I think that a certain amount of immaturity is required. And if it’s also accompanied by an astounding lack of creativity that would pretty much do the trick. Stupidity would also help.

I think that anyone (such as you) who doesn’t fall into those categories naturally would have a great deal of difficulty acting that stupidly.

I guess it’s the same pleasure some people get from poking an ant hill with a stick, or throwing rocks at sheep. They get an upset reaction en masse, which seem to amuse them.

My definition might be a little broad, but I consider a troll to be someone who already knows the “answer” and is merely asking the question to create an opportunity where he can share his opinion about it.

Like, “Which is better? Mac or PC?” ... and then, in the discussion, the querent responds directly to anyone with a contradictory opinion to his own explaining why they’re wrong.

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Now, as far as doing it “well”, I guess it depends on your definition. For purpose of this discussion, let’s say it’s a question that generates a fair amount of discourse without being moderated off of the Fluther site. In that case, it seems political trolling works pretty well.

”Can Republicans prove their logic?” is one case in point. I imagine the same would work just as well if you put in “Democrats”, “Libertarians”, or “Green Party”.

You’re assuming there’s rhyme and reason to their madness. I think they’re just sociopaths.

Oh, for the rest of the quest. I would guess that they would be the type to enjoy stirring up hornets nests.

Why? I would guess they have way too much time on their hands and bored. It’s also to get attention which is why the most effective remedy is to ignore them. Unfortunately, in order for it to be successful all the other participants must be united in this. If they succeed in getting a rise out of just one person that is their payoff.

There is always someone out there that wants to spit in the sandwich.

The problem is knowing before you take a bite.

There’s a whole subsection of internet users (trolls or griefers) whose main joy is to cause other people grief and frustration. I’m not wired like that, so it’s an effort to me to think of even where to begin in the whole process.

When you look at motivation, I would most liken it to that kid that thrives on negative attention. They are probably socially retarded and unable to use more constructive means to be included socially. Riling people up is an effective way to get other people’s attention.

Sometimes I see people trolling that have been with us long enough to gain over 2,000 points. They aren’t all just there for a short ride.

I don’t get them, although sometimes I understand the fun in rambling someone’s cage, however that is more like teasing in a playful way.

The thing I dislike most is when they are just out to hurt people. Maybe they see their harassment as teasing. I always hope thy are not just plainly stupid and evil.

It’s a matter of having enough doucherbaggery in your arsenal to piss virtually everyone off, but not so much so that they ban you.

@daloon- Are you trolling against trolls?

The mentality of trolls is relatively easy to explain: They are the backwash of society. They need to be examined as much as a pile of spit you walk by on the street.

@robmandu

But doesn’t a person asking for an opinion have just as much right to their own opinion as anyone else responding to the thread? They could just be curious, but it doesn’t mean they don’t or can’t have their own opinion.

That doesn’t mean they should tell everyone why they’re wrong, but there’s a difference between doing that and simply sharing their opinion.

@AstroChuck That’s just the kind of answer I’d expect from you!

How’d I do? Huh? How’d I do?

@DominicX, the troll aspect is not about the opinion as much as it is about the querent acting under the guise of someone who is seeking an answer.

The troll, upon receiving an answer with which he disagrees – and knew would be forthcoming – then explains to the respondent how they’re wrong. The more aggressive they are in their response, the more distasteful the trollish behavior is.

But even if querent spoke with sugar-sprinkled flowery niceties, it’s still trolling.

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[opinion]
On Fluther, I think this goes a step further. Fluther is primarily about providing real, usable, actionable answers. Not opinions.

Now, of course, there’s many a discussion on here where opinions are voiced. But I think the goal of those opinions should ultimately be to help suss out the situation so that something like a real answer can be reached.

The fact that Fluther often allows discussions is done, I think, out of compromise to make the site more welcoming for the larger audience. The moderation comes into play to help ensure those discussions go somewhere productive.
[/opinion]

Why on earth would you want to lower yourself to that position. It’s not on the Good Internetting stamp of approval list.

I have on several occasions answered a question and then a few minutes later someone will hop onto the thread and accuse the questioner of trolling??? I never thought of myself as naive but in these caes it seemed as if I were.

Trolls might be an interesting study but also are those who become incensed by the concept. They take the bait and they get mad at the one offering the bait. Perhaps they should just learn not to take the bait in the first place???

Don’t know, just puzzling it out in my head.

@rooeytoo This has happened to me, also. In my opinion, any question that allows a valid answer is not trolling. For people who like ‘joke” answers, there’s no way to tell the difference, since many troll questions lend themselves to that type.

If the “bottom line” of a site is to create ‘useful, informational’ type answers, this is trolling. If the premise of the site is to provide a social exchange of ‘quips’ it would not be trolling.

wrote a long essay on how trolls troll effectively, but then realized that he didn’t want to help anyone learn to troll: deleted

@YARNLADY It’s not a question of sinking to the level of a troll. It’s an issue of having the skill in case you should ever need it. I sincerely hope that will never be necessary, but I really would like to know how to think like a troll. I think there are probably some circumstances in life where that would be useful.

How to be a successful troll My personal suggestin: Do whatever bothers/upsets you the most. Also – join with other trollish people, such as General Mayhem or other similar such as HardOCP . Both of these references are very old, possibly out of date groups, but there are many “gangs” that are out there, ready to create havoc.

You know, in between now and when you first posted I was doing some further thought on this and figured out a place where this skill might come in handy if one has the stomach for it and some extra time on their hands.

I think some of these racist white power sites with forum boards could be interesting places to practice trolling skills.

I don’t have the tolerance for hanging around idiots like that but I imagine that a skillful troll could possibly wreakbsome havoc as they aren’t the brightest bunch.

Personally I would have to have a ton of spare time on my hands and be excruciatingly bored to tears to contemplate this. But others may find it amusing. And I can’t think of a worthier targe.

So whaddya think D, are you ready to practice your newfound skills over in enemy territory yet?

Be sure to keep us updated if you do :D

@Buttonstc – Brilliant, I love it.

I saw a question which seemed particularly anal to me- someone panicking about a first date and worrying about coldsores (already) , I thought , if I write an answer reflecting what I really think, It would look like trolling! or not, maybe. Maybe they are just people that don’t care what other people think, and there are lots of those around aren’t there