troll\r\n\r\n\r\nSince la.indymedia.org \/ sandiego.indymedia.org has recently\r\nreceived a surge of attention in the wake of the BIO conference, it's fitting\r\nto take note of some of the unfortunately unwelcome attention that inevitably\r\ncomes along with the largely welcome kind. I refer to the noticeable uptick\r\nin insulting and baiting invectives with which the site is here and there\r\nlittered of late. While it shouldn't overly concern us, we should use common\r\nsense in handling it. On Usenet, there is a word for the authors of this\r\nkind of material. They are called \"trolls.\" The definition of \"troll\" from\r\nthe Computer Jargon Dictionary\r\nis:\r\n
\r\n
\r\ntroll<\/b> v.,n.\r\n<\/p>
1. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban<\/i>] To utter a posting\r\non Usenet<\/b>\r\ndesigned to attract predictable responses or flame<\/b>s;\r\nor, the post itself. Derives from the phrase \"trolling for newbie<\/b>s\"\r\nwhich in turn comes from mainstream \"trolling\", a style of fishing in which\r\none trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed\r\ntroll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves\r\nlook even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to\r\nthe more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If\r\nyou don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it. See also YHBT<\/b>.\r\n2. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious\r\narguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list,\r\nor in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion.\r\nTrolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in\r\nlearning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait.\r\nLike the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming\r\ncharacteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life\r\non the net, as in, \"Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.\" Compare kook<\/b>.\r\n3. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for CS students.\r\nDuties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed.\r\nProbably so-called because it involves lurking in dark cavelike corners.\r\n<\/p>
Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower category\r\nthan flame\r\nbait<\/b>, that a troll is categorized by containing some assertion\r\nthat is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also Troll-O-Meter<\/b>.\r\n<\/p>
The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that readily produces\r\nelaborations and combining forms. For example, one not infrequently sees\r\nthe warning \"Do not feed the troll\" as part of a followup to troll postings.\r\nNow, having defined the term, it becomes much easier to detect and figure\r\nout what to do with them. As the venerable Jargon Dictionary points out\r\nabove, the sage counsel of every veteran is \"don't feed the animals.\" Ignore\r\nthem. They will tire of their antics much quicker if they don't get the\r\nresponses they want. Remember, by definition, they're not here because\r\nthey take any kind of active interest in the opinions of others, least\r\nof all anyone here. Whether they're cops, rightwing agitators, or whatever\r\nelse, it's pointless to engage them.\r\n<\/p>
What's another surefire sign of a troll? How about someone posting a\r\nmessage to the newswire that\r\n
reads, \"What on earth was all that protesting about? Much todo about\r\nnothing! I never could figure it out!\" Somehow, they managed to follow\r\nthe news close enough to pick up on the existence of this site, managed\r\nto wade past the numerous detailed arguments (albeit amidst some admixture\r\nof their own and other's incoherent diatribes), but never could figure\r\nout what anyone was protesting?\r\n<\/p>
Or how about someone posting a series of insults, repeated over and\r\nover again, while resolutely ignoring any rational arguments. That's another\r\nsurefire sign of a troll. Obviously true trolls will not take the trouble\r\nto read and respond to detailed arguments. They are not here to challenge\r\nthemselves with intellectual polemics.\r\n<\/p>
Anyhow, you get the picture: Don't feed the trolls!\r\n<\/p>
Thanks in advance,\r\n<\/p>
Guy Berliner\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/html","summary":"Sage words from the local zoo apply here too.","numcomment":2,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/2001\/06\/don\\_t_fee.html","filesize":"5.0 kibibytes","article_url":"\/news\/2001\/06\/8167.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":8174,"heading":"saved from the troll","article":"thanks, guy! You saved me from near newbie exhaustion. On to actual issues and true discussions!","author":"dancergirl","parent_id":8167,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-06-30 04:22:20","modified":"2001-06-30 04:36:45","fileurl":""},{"id":8202,"heading":"ditto","article":"yeah, that was a welcome relief, and it's nice to see this issue already dissected and processed by others! Do not feed the troll! A new maxim!!!\r\n","author":"survivio","parent_id":8167,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2001-06-30 15:09:35","modified":"2001-06-30 15:26:01","fileurl":""}]}