Ross
Well-known member
>>>> TROLLS <<<<
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 to promote a business opportunity.For example, Agenda Trolls will follow their opponents to other forums in order to continue the spat or promote their wares.
The Sophist Troll.
Sophist Trolls, fancy themselves "Enlightened Philosophers" or Learned Experts of the highest order. Often well educated, they are capable of speaking intelligently on a number of topics. 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. They 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. Their 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, they are among the most hypocritical and aggravating of trollkind.
The Bitter Troll.
Bitter Trolls are a curious cross-species. They can be trolls of any breed in their larval stages, but become Bitters after their previous activities are seen for what they were. What sets these trolls apart from other classifications is their behavior after they have been spotted and labeled as trolls. Angry, frustrated, and resentful about being "outed," the Bitter Troll will wage a campaign of indignant complaints intended to focus attention away from the troll and on whomever is responsible for identifying the creature. Often, a troll mutates into a Bitter just prior to becoming a Vulgar.
The Bustr.
Bustrs are obsessive Bitters by whom you could practically set your watch. A Bustr never forgets, never forgives, and holds a grudge until the day it dies. Also a variant of Agenda trolls, Bustrs typically move from forum to forum complaining about the objects of their ire, often cutting and pasting age-old diatribes that have little meaning to most of their audiences. Most Bustrs are relatively incoherent, though a few of the more lucid ones are potentially dangerous stalkers.
The Pretender Troll.
The mutant offspring of Bitter Trolls, Pretenders become outraged when outed and attempt to channel their distress by mimicking their tormentors. Pretenders always "accuse the accusers," as they say, frequently (and falsely) charging that they are being wrongly labeled for merely dissenting in the course of a debate. Pretenders sometimes try to invent their own species labels and descriptions in desperate attempts to deflect and redirect the attention of other forumites. They may also ape the language and demeanor of their accusers (though they typically fail).
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 give-away #1: Suddenly appears after being outed by forumites with a new identity.
Classic give-away #2: Appears sympathetic and vulnerable to reel forumites in.
Classic give-away #3: Employs the usage of hot topics such as God and politics to get the forumites more involved
This Classic will reel the forumites in with a new identity to "show" the Troll Bashers that he can fool them. They are transparent and quickly outed again. But not until the seeds of discord are sewn with a topic as sensitive as RELIGION, GOD, COUNTRY, or POLITICS.
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 usually do not last long enough on a forum to rack up a large number of posts.
2. Suspicious IP addresses. Puppet accounts will have IP addresses identical to that of the TiQ.
3. Suspicious E-mail Addresses. Accounts that are similar in nature to those of the TiQ can indicate a puppet account. Yahoo And Hotmail accounts, for example, are particularly suspect
4. 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. 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.
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 to promote a business opportunity.For example, Agenda Trolls will follow their opponents to other forums in order to continue the spat or promote their wares.
The Sophist Troll.
Sophist Trolls, fancy themselves "Enlightened Philosophers" or Learned Experts of the highest order. Often well educated, they are capable of speaking intelligently on a number of topics. 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. They 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. Their 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, they are among the most hypocritical and aggravating of trollkind.
The Bitter Troll.
Bitter Trolls are a curious cross-species. They can be trolls of any breed in their larval stages, but become Bitters after their previous activities are seen for what they were. What sets these trolls apart from other classifications is their behavior after they have been spotted and labeled as trolls. Angry, frustrated, and resentful about being "outed," the Bitter Troll will wage a campaign of indignant complaints intended to focus attention away from the troll and on whomever is responsible for identifying the creature. Often, a troll mutates into a Bitter just prior to becoming a Vulgar.
The Bustr.
Bustrs are obsessive Bitters by whom you could practically set your watch. A Bustr never forgets, never forgives, and holds a grudge until the day it dies. Also a variant of Agenda trolls, Bustrs typically move from forum to forum complaining about the objects of their ire, often cutting and pasting age-old diatribes that have little meaning to most of their audiences. Most Bustrs are relatively incoherent, though a few of the more lucid ones are potentially dangerous stalkers.
The Pretender Troll.
The mutant offspring of Bitter Trolls, Pretenders become outraged when outed and attempt to channel their distress by mimicking their tormentors. Pretenders always "accuse the accusers," as they say, frequently (and falsely) charging that they are being wrongly labeled for merely dissenting in the course of a debate. Pretenders sometimes try to invent their own species labels and descriptions in desperate attempts to deflect and redirect the attention of other forumites. They may also ape the language and demeanor of their accusers (though they typically fail).
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 give-away #1: Suddenly appears after being outed by forumites with a new identity.
Classic give-away #2: Appears sympathetic and vulnerable to reel forumites in.
Classic give-away #3: Employs the usage of hot topics such as God and politics to get the forumites more involved
This Classic will reel the forumites in with a new identity to "show" the Troll Bashers that he can fool them. They are transparent and quickly outed again. But not until the seeds of discord are sewn with a topic as sensitive as RELIGION, GOD, COUNTRY, or POLITICS.
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 usually do not last long enough on a forum to rack up a large number of posts.
2. Suspicious IP addresses. Puppet accounts will have IP addresses identical to that of the TiQ.
3. Suspicious E-mail Addresses. Accounts that are similar in nature to those of the TiQ can indicate a puppet account. Yahoo And Hotmail accounts, for example, are particularly suspect
4. 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. 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.
