MFP Trolls-- please explain

lilcassers

Good Morning to Everyone!

I am fairly new to MFP... so please believe that this is an honest question.

What is considered a "troll" and how can you tell when a post is from a "troll." Also, what is the point of "trolls."

I am very genuine when I give advice on here and I just want to help. I want to be able to know when I am not talking to someone to is legit.

Have a great day

tenajh

I think in general, it is someone looking for responses without being serious. Troublemakers, looking for opposition and keeps posting, someone who is generally new, or old and coming back. Some have been expelled and come back in a new profile and have desires to "get even". Any way you look at it, they are usually not worth replying to, but can give others an outlet to vent as well. Hopefully more people will just start to report the thread and not respond to it, the admin team will get rid of if.

jdad1

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

BeachGingerOnTheRocks

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Guy loses almost all his weight, gets within 2 pounds of goal, eats teeny 36 calorie pack of M&Ms, and wants to give up forever.

_noob_

I'm cool with eradication of some trolls, but much is just harmless banter reported by sensitive individuals.

If you venture to the chit chat boards expect a free-for-all (and MFP is MUCH tamer than almost any other site you'll visit there).

The worst trolls are the ones that give bad information on the serious topics in a way that will be taken for truth or misconstrued. Those are the dangerous ones to this site IMO.

magnum26

From Wiki:

Person who sows discord on the Internet by trying to start arguments and upset people. They may do this by posting deliberately inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion

Mia_RagazzaTosta

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Guy loses almost all his weight, gets within 2 pounds of goal, eats teeny 36 calorie pack of M&Ms, and wants to give up forever.

Word

BrainyBurro

Good Morning to Everyone!

I am fairly new to MFP... so please believe that this is an honest question.

What is considered a "troll" and how can you tell when a post is from a "troll." Also, what is the point of "trolls."

I am very genuine when I give advice on here and I just want to help. I want to be able to know when I am not talking to someone to is legit.

Have a great day

a troll is somebody who deliberately posts a thread (or response on a thread) to cause people to get angry, upset, or argue... solely for the amusement of the troll and the chaos that ensues.

people joking and kidding around with their posts are generally not trolls.

SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Guy loses almost all his weight, gets within 2 pounds of goal, eats teeny 36 calorie pack of M&Ms, and wants to give up forever.

Yep, classic example of a troll.

ScatteredThoughts

From Wiki:

Person who sows discord on the Internet by trying to start arguments and upset people. They may do this by posting deliberately inflammatory,extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion

This. The best trolling ever used to occur on Usenet. Nowadays too many people take honest disagreement, or even ignorance, as trolling. It is all about the intent.

jenifr818

Good Morning to Everyone!

I am fairly new to MFP... so please believe that this is an honest question.

What is considered a "troll" and how can you tell when a post is from a "troll." Also, what is the point of "trolls."

I am very genuine when I give advice on here and I just want to help. I want to be able to know when I am not talking to someone to is legit.

Have a great day

A pretty good way to tell if someone is trolling is to determine just how ... I guess you could say outrageous their statements sound. Are they making statements that nobody in their right mind would make, like "let's all get together and bomb the Pringles factory for making such unhealthy food"? Obvious troll. I ate 12 calories over my goal and I'm gonna quit and go eat every pizza I can find? Chances are, trolling. Also, look at their # of posts. Chances are, anyone who has over 1000 posts and is talking stupid is going to be doing it for the sake of entertainment.

Joehenny

Good Morning to Everyone!

I am fairly new to MFP... so please believe that this is an honest question.

What is considered a "troll" and how can you tell when a post is from a "troll." Also, what is the point of "trolls."

I am very genuine when I give advice on here and I just want to help. I want to be able to know when I am not talking to someone to is legit.

Have a great day

You must be new to the internet in general.

lilcassers

Thanks everyone. It is sad that people wold want to start drama with people who are serious about getting healthy

InForBacon

MercenaryNoetic26

Try to read as many comments as possible before answering. Eventually, you'll pick up on whether or not it's a troll. You'll start seeing a pattern with that poster. Or unless the poster has 1 or 3 posts and ridiculous statements.

Welcome to MFP.

eta: I'll take your advice any day

Snow3y

trolls.... those things you find in caves and forests right?

srslybritt

:laugh:

This is fantastic. You can usually tell when someone is a troll by their over-the-top, nearly hysterical over reactions/statements.

i.e. In this case, "I ate 36cals worth of M&Ms, so I QUIT 5EVER!!!"

Note: Sometimes they succeed in sounding more like a toddler than... well, toddlers.

:flowerforyou:

TheRealJigsaw

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Guy loses almost all his weight, gets within 2 pounds of goal, eats teeny 36 calorie pack of M&Ms, and wants to give up forever.

LOL!

BrainyBurro

A troll is someone that is messing around in one way or another. I do that from time to time but i just got accused for trolling when i was not. It is a double edge sword.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Guy loses almost all his weight, gets within 2 pounds of goal, eats teeny 36 calorie pack of M&Ms, and wants to give up forever.

Yep, classic example of a troll.

actually, not a troll thread at all. an unfunny thread? yes. but it wasn't trolling.

1duffwf

So I have a question - why does the troll get so much enjoyment from messing with people. I mean is their life that boring that they must cause drama with a bunch of strangers on a weight loss website? I barely have time to start drama in real life...let alone on the internet.

singlefemalelawyer

EnviousDan

Or that thread I saw you post in lilcassers. That girl who claims she's just going to breath, absorb sunlight, and drink water to survive? The scary part is sometimes I'm not sure that people like that are kidding. They'll take any quick fad diet over science.

juliemouse83

Trolls - I has them:

singlefemalelawyer

da_bears10089

_SABOTEUR_

There are several layers to the MFP trollology:

a. Parody posts: Someone sees a ridiculous post full of stupid that could potentially harm someone's goals or is generally offensive. They post a parody post so they cannot be accused of directly attacking the OP.

b. Spam/advertising: Anything promoting fad diets/cleanses/shakes/workout routines that end with 'PM me for more info'.

c. Hurtful posts: Posts where the OP is just trying to cause an argument for whatever reason. These are often very subtle and can start out as 'advice' or 'help me' posts, but quickly descend into the OP insulting/reporting everyone who tries to help.

d. Broscience: Any post with ridiculous claims not based on scientific fact. They are then challenged by intelligent people. The OP becomes angry/defensive and says things like, 'I wasn't asking your opinion', 'this works for me' or 'we're all different' despite the fact they often end their original post with 'Thoughts?' or 'Discuss'.

e. Flooding: The OP posts the same or similar topics over and over and gets the same answers, but seems to be incapable of accepting them as truth. They then ragequit and start another thread in the hope of getting the answer they want to hear.

Does that cover everything?


p.s. OP = original poster
ragequit = gettting angry and abandoning the thread or asking the mods to delete it.

Gurlyknockout

trolls.... those things you find in caves and forests right?

No they live under bridges and sing songs before making you solve a riddle to pass on the bridge. ( Dora)

jenifr818

That's just evil

BrainyBurro

am i the only one annoyed by the fact that so many people don't understand the difference between humorous posts/threads (even ones that aren't funny) and actual troll posts/threads?

if people just refer to anything they don't like as "trolling", then the word ceases to have any meaning.

for example,

"help, my cat sabotaged me by eating my last piece of bacon!" <-- not trolling
"help, my girlfriend is getting manly by lifting weights!" <-- trolling

iTemperence

So I have a question - why does the troll get so much enjoyment from messing with people. I mean is their life that boring that they must cause drama with a bunch of strangers on a weight loss website? I barely have time to start drama in real life...let alone on the internet.

Why? The world may never know. It's unfortunate that the internet has ushered in an entirely new world of trolldom - once upon a time such individuals were isolated and unable to unleash their malcontent and cynicism upon the public at large. Now? It's a free for all no matter where you go, and this is a perfect place because they know that there are going to be people who are struggling with a problem that carries a big social stigma.

Honestly, some people are just jerks. If you start to see folks making ridiculous comments on your posts or status updates and you aren't sure, send them a PM. You'll easily weed out the meanies from the legitimate users.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

SQUIRREL!!!