FEED the Trolls!

It's safe to do so here!

the self restraint in yesterday's threads made everybody so twitchy I thought you all needed a place to let it all out. This is it.

Copy and paste your latest troll's rantings here (please delete their ID) and respond, freely, safe in the knowledge the troll won't bite back.

You can even say

We don't even have any Billygoats*

edit - Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

*Extra Cookies to those who get the reference, as no-one has it so far.

GRUFF!

Nnnnaaaaaahhhh!(goat sound)

nope - close but that's not it.

The kinds of trolls that bug me the most are

1 Dead horse beaters, especially re semantics.
2. Professional contrarians
3. Insults or personal attacks
4. Squeeeeeeee!
5. Horrifically bad spellers, but also spelling/grammar nazis. It's just the internet, let's cut each other some slack.

Now we can fight back with MNM!!!

WTF is up with checking someone's library to see if they are "allowed" to post about something? Just because you don't see books in my library specifically about Christianity doesn't mean they aren't there. I have several books on World Religions. Or someone else was talking about being a mathematician but didn't have any math books. So the frack what? I love polar bears but don't have any books on polar bears. Doesn't mean I don't know about them!

I do not really participate in heated discussion (just don't like it) so I can watch the scene from a distance.

Sometimes I prefer reading the discussions here over reading a book... you never know where it will go, and you cannot take a look at the last page to see how the story ends...

Trolls just add some extra spice (even in books you have characters you can absolutely not stand). As long as they don't take too much space of course.

* gets some ice cold beer out of the fridge and some crackers and sits on the balcony over the Sci-Fi group to see the drama unfold *

>6 Morphidae:

Ooooh, that one really gets me too! I recieved a private comment once along the lines of "How dare you combine (or separate, I forget) so and so's books! You don't own any and so you don't even know who she is."

It's a good thing Tim makes the private comments appear with a pink background...a nice, calm, soothing color!

6, 8> by that criteria I wouldn't be able to comment on any religions, or politics and very few real world topics not related to computers, even though I have a Math and International Studies Minor with my CS degree and was ready for a job so didn't take the last couple courses for a History or Sociology Miner (were mutually exclusive).

The ones I really hate are the ones that use all the fallacious arguments to 'win'. When someone enters a argument and points out where people are 'wrong' and not 'logical' setting a high bar, and go and use fallacious arguments to back themselves up really irritate me. When you point these inconsistencies out they throw out red herrings and straw men and tell you what an idiot you are for not seeing this.

One guy got mad at me for "putting words in his mouth" (even though he does that in almost EVERY post to support his straw men)when I interpreted a condescending comment to another poster as calling that poster an idiot. Along with going through my post and point by point telling me where I was 'wrong'. (He was actually right in one of them.) My rebuttal took all his problems with my first post, explained where they came from (quotes from his posts) and gave reasons for myself. Of course he changed the focus of the arguments again to put himself in the right.

I generally give everyone 1-2 chances to show a misunderstanding and not malicious intent. So I won't be responding to this guy again any time soon. I only gave him a second post because his reply to my first one was so hostile. Unlike the guy in the SF post who finally settled down some and started being more reasonable. For me that is the test, are they debating or proselytizing or just being contrary.

Best advice I can give.

NEVER DEBATE WITH A FANATIC.

whether it's sports, religion, politics or the correct way to spell favorite.

Disclaimer: A Religious fanatic may be a perfectly good debater on sports or politics and vice versa.

Added: boy that was long, you can tell they get under my skin!

>NEVER DEBATE WITH A FANATIC.

I agree! That's why I posted *twitch*, I knew that poster was a fanatic. I don't know what flavor, just a fanatic.

It doesn't do ANY good to disagree with one.

Although a dozen people have told him that their laundromats have both self-serve and (for lack of a better term) non-self-serve laundry services, he still thinks people are saying that a 'laundromat' means entirely non-self-serve and are therefore all wrong.

I've never been to a laundromat that didn't have a non-self-serve option.

Also, italicizing every username makes it look like he's snapping at them. Really, we can tell that the username isn't a regular word. It doesn't need to be emphasized like that.

readafew -
They get under my skin, too. I like reading it (sometimes) for the entertainment value, but I have to stop before I get to worked up/irritated and want to post a reply :P

Sic 'em, Clamababy!

Whooo-wheeee!

11> thats why I didn't put anything into the SF thread until things seemed to settle down and he asked a reasonable question.

10> I still don't know where this thread is, I must have 'ignored' it awhile ago...

ooooh! I feel so left out! Please tell me what thread so I can feed some trolls, too. Look, I have Honey Bunches of Goats to feed him!

Honey Bunches of Goats! I love it!

Maybe it's just because I'm new at this, but I always assume people are reasonable and want to understand each other. The peacemaker gene is strong in me, so I am always trying to help people, then I get shot in the middle.

Obvious insults, beating a dead horse with no new insights, nit-picking. These bother me.

I try to give behaviour, behavior, flavor, flavour, color, colour, etc. equal time. Mostly because I don't spell well in many other areas, but also because my Firefox spell check doesn't like the English spelling and I like to flout it now and then.

MrsLee -

That is a wonderful attitude to have. I hope you never let our cynicism and so on color it, because it's refreshing and helpful to have people around who expect the best from others.

Thanks bluesalamanders, I confess I do enjoy the cynicism too. :) Sometimes I even get snarky, as you could see from one of my latest posts in the thread being talked about in the Christianity group. :/

>18 MrsLee: You pwned him! :D

#19 :) He probably won't see it that way though. However, I don't intend to post on that particular subject with him again. Aint life grand?

Well, you took the higher road, MrsLee. I am still peeking in there, but I won't give the little turd the satisfaction of feeding his negativity.

Trolls, yuck!!! You know... *wicked smile*... when one goes "trolling" in L.A.... er, nevermind. ha.
ooooh. I have a grand idea! *claps hands delightedly*

Let's picture them being turned to stone like in "The Hobbit"!
:)

Great idea, PandorasRequiem!

*waits for the sun to rise*

*cackle*

Ok, I have a big question now :} After reading one of the "not mentioned above" posts I seem to have reached a dead end as to what to call something, stick with me, this is a place I could see my Green Dragon pals enjoying. This establishment served liquor YEAAA, which I would call a bar. But in this "bar" there were machines that one could use to wash and dry their clothes. So, one could clean their clothes and get completely sloshed if one wanted; though it was a common occurance that you would then forget to remove your clothes from a machine and the "attendant" would yell at you :} (not that I ever got yelled at for it). So, until this day I referred to it as the "drunk-o-mat" any more suggestions? :} I thought I would ask here before asking the resident walking dictionary/newt. And now I offer all of you a libation to ease the twitching. :}

.

sounds to me like someone had a goldmine idea! Slosh and wash! I like it!

do you know, whilst i have never frequented such an establishment (to my deep regret..) it was mentioned by someone in my local as somewhere they had been and a moneyspinner for after the smoking ban. I presumed it was apocryphal...
how about Pubdrette?

BLOODY TROLLS!!

Yeah, I do feel better now. Although, Honestly I have mixed feeling about them. Threads take strange routes, but I hate when a promising thread gets ransacked on loony poster, esp. when they obsess on some obscure point so much they are blind to the meaning behind any comments. But then part of me is really entertained watching as criticism dissolves and just becomes provocation and response. Even as the thread becomes totally hopeless, and any response just adds more fuel to the fire, my finger tips are still burning to post a rebuttal comment. Must restrain.

#27 - I also hate it when a really good thread is kidnapped, and yet I am so guilty for responding! I have no restraint. Sigh.

Well, here's what usually happens; in an attempt to clear up what appears to be an honest lack of understanding, we often try to clarify whatever point the troll appears to be missing. Then the troll twists something we've said, and we try to clarify again, getting sucked in and often the result is that one or more of us gets angry and things get said that we normally wouldn't say. Thus the troll wins, because s/he gets his/her jollies from this sort of thing. The best thing to do is state that you won't have anymore to do with them, and stick to it, because every time you respond at all it just feeds the beast. It is so very hard to do, though.

*sings* Feed the trolls, tuppence a bag...

Yeah, I have nothing to contribute besides "zomg i hates trolls too!!!11!one"

Bai :)

You know, I was just starting to like trolls after my last Terry Pratchett book, Men at Arms: discworld. Somehow they are better when they are inarticulate. Maybe we need to raise the temperature somehow. Oh, no. That would be called Global Warming. Guess I'll just try to take clamairy's advise instead. :)

*In Pratchett books, trolls are only stupid in the heat of the day, they get smart as it cools down.* I'm just acknowledging that there may be some individuals who don't like/know about Pratchett. :)

#30 I thought of that too!

#30 & #32 - So did I.

*chuckles*

I still say newt 'em if they can't take a joke!

Linkage

And in my 40+ years of observing people, I know an ass when I see one.

This jerk also comes in spouting his jerkiness, people get jerky back, things calm down and it gets interesting, he calms down and when it gets mentioned how nice the convo is getting, he gets jerky again plus points the fingers at people who rightly called him on his jerkdom, whining about his innocence in the whole thing.

I think he needs another newt. Maybe an amoeba this time.

Is there a seasonality or moon phase aspect to troll activity? Maybe troll activity peaks during the local happy hour or insomnia hours?

To this newbie, they sure seemed "busy'' this past week--maybe I was just oblivious to it until now?

" Every group in which I post is combative. ;-)"

GRRR the reason why every group you post in ends up combative is because it's YOU, you annoying TROLL. Learn some respect for other opinions, an ability to understand conflicting points of view , the world has shades of grey. A time delay between reading and posting would also help. All of LT would be better off.

/end rant.

reading_fox, I realize this may be impossible, and I know I couldn't do it last week either, but you may have to start ignoring that particular person's posts, if it is at all humanly possible. It's not doing us any good to let him get to us the way we do. He is obviously one of those who gluts himself conflict and confrontation. We should NOT be feeding this particular troll at all.

I have had some experience with such behavior on another site where someone like this earned himself a two week ban (that the admin *cough* forgot to turn off for several months) and this troll never returned. Since we cannot do that here, the best thing to do is completely ignore this person's posts, and advise all others to do the same. It could work.

#35 - Thanks for the link, Morphy. Went and read some of it... Checked the initiator's profile, entered his max 200 books as a free account, and boasts of thousands in his collection, but it's unnecessary to list them all. Leads me to question his interests here (LT).

Need a little definition help. So is that person a troll, because of a boorish character, or is it that he is trolling for (fishing for) an argument?

>So is that person a troll, because of a boorish character, or is it that he is trolling for (fishing for) an argument?

The second. There are a few long time LTers that I consider boorish, but not trolls because they aren't combative or purposefully insulting.

#39 - The word actually derived from the fishing term, not from the fantasy-based beastie.

Here's a def:

"Someone who posts derogatory messages about sensitive subjects on newsgroups and chat rooms to bait users into responding."

and another:

"An individual who regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion."

I agree with clam's definition, and with her "don't feed them" sentiments.

40/41/42 LOL! I suspected as much. Morphy's answer nicely contrasts the 2 different uses. I remember long ago (compuserve days) being in a forum with a number of editors and writers for a couple of software/programming magazines. They jokingly accused folks of trolling for articles and topics (and writers). Guess the "Green Dragon context" was enough to put my mind towards the boorish kind of trolls, and I want to know how to use the term correctly. *grins*

>37 reading_fox:

reading_fox, I want a link to that thread. :D

And here I had this image in my head of an ugly, greenish, troll trying to avoid sunlight. But Clam's definition works too - guess it's a little more incompassing of the behaviour.

I truly loathe confrontation personally, I wilt and run. But I must confess it's interesting to read troll posts and everybody's reaction to them. There are so many amazingly erudite people here on LT and their responses are great to read. I come away thinking "I wish I could have said something like that..."

edited to add:

I mean...what people are saying in response to the trolls, not what the trolls are saying!

One thing I've noticed in common amongst all three trolled threads is that the trolls all tend to seize on the most irrelevant point in someone's post and nitpick it to death, in longer and longer posts, often getting into discourses on logic (or math). Psychologically speaking, I wonder how these people would be classified. Methinks they might have a hard time getting along with people in general as they seem to expect a level of precision that would be inhuman. Based on some first hand experience, it could be construed as Asberger-ish, or at least somewhere on the Autism spectrum.

Not only do they expect a high level of precision, most of the time you will find the same problems in their own posts, and try pointing those errors out to them and see how they react.

Either Asperger's or OCD. I would hazard a guess that there would be a fairly high percentage of both on a website devoted to categorizing one's collection of something.

>48 littlegeek: HEY HEY HEY!

I have NO idea what you are talking about and am highly offended by that remark.

What's that you say? I have 500 titles in my Netflix queue and 2500 books in my Amazon wishlist!?!?

That's totally irrelevant. Ir-re-le-vant!

Hey Morphy, you're reminding me....I really need to add to my Netflix queue.

>45 katylit: katylit: I know exactly what you mean. I think we're soul sisters. I would rather eat ground glass (as I mentioned once in another context) than get involved in a confrontation. But I do SO admire the brave souls who respond with logic, restraint, and intelligence.

I must be missing a gene somewhere.....

:-)

To me, it's a simple proposition...if they require more energy out of me than they're worth, it's a waste of my time, so I try not to feed into it. The operative word being "try", since I've been known to belabor a point here and there because I get frustrated when someone refuses to acknowledge a point or respect others' views.

I like clamairy's advise in #29, try to clear things up twice, then ignore if they intentionally misunderstand. It saves wear and tear on your emotions.

Morphy - I feel SO much better about my Netflix queue now! I just brought it up over 100. But hey, that's called optimism about the future, right?

What do you call it when a troll from one thread joins one of the other trolled threads? Convention?

# 55

Contagion. They deliberately seek out conflict in order to attack others.

The Green Dragon tends to be an upbeat, friendly, and civilized group; that's why I like to end a LibraryThing session in one of these threads.

What on earth happend here while I had my holiday?!?!

No way I'm going to read all the trollish threads (I left /some of/ them to their respective fates even before I went to Spain), but it seems like you'll had an interesting time ;-)

No need to answer this Q > in part I know what happened, I only wanted to express my feelings!
And I agree with littlegeek in msg 48, btw ;-)

As long as you don't think I qualify as a troll, Busifer, for my views on Lions of Al-Rassan!

I found on the internet an essay called The Art of Controversy by Arthur Schopenhauer. I highly recommend it to anyone who's ever been annoyed by an argumentative person!

http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/controversy/complete....

The most irritating poster I've ever argued with was polite and coherent, but kept changing the subject, and, when I tried to keep a debate on-topic, changing his opinion. I once realised that the opinion he was now advocating was the exact opposite of one he'd expressed earlier in the same thread. When I pointed this out to him, he ignored it and changed the subject again . . . that's when I gave up on that particular argument.

There's nothing to be gained from arguing with people who are rude, weaselly, immune to reason, or weird. It sometimes takes more will than I have to ignore them though. My rule of thumb, if an argument isn't going anywhere, is make no more than three posts. After that I think one should just say roll one's eyes, say "whatever!" to one's self, silently claim a moral victory, and go and do something more enjoyable.

Another site I'm a member of has "ignore this poster" buttons on poster's profiles, that blank out everything they write. I resisted using it for a long time, but finally went ahead and used it on the three posters I found most annoying, and the site did look a lot better (they are all three prolific posters). I think the "Block this member" button here just stops them from posting comments on your profile, no?

littlegeek #48
Either Asperger's or OCD. I would hazard a guess that there would be a fairly high percentage of both on a website devoted to categorizing one's collection of something.

Perhaps, but I've found LibraryThing to have far fewer annoying people, and far more nice people, than on other internet forums. I wonder whether this is due to the sort of people who join LibraryThing, or to the way LibraryThing is organised and run. I love the way that posters here can form their own groups, rather than having a forum structure imposed upon them, I love the "red flag" system, and I love the fact that Tim treats us as responsible adults rather than giving us lots of rules and lectures.

#59 Some of my favorite people have Aspergers or OCD.

#58 - Certainly not! What a ridiculous idea! Anyone has a right to his or her views and feelings about books (and other artforms).

When I was way younger I used to say that good music or good books talks to the backbone, to the bonemarrow, to the same instincts as sex, and that's more about feeling than logic... so how could we reasonably use logic to discuss them?!

I'm not as harsh anymore, but in a way I still think it is applicable, to some extent :-)

*Edited for wild typo!*

>There's nothing to be gained from arguing with people who are rude, weaselly, immune to reason, or weird. It sometimes takes more will than I have to ignore them though. My rule of thumb, if an argument isn't going anywhere, is make no more than three posts. After that I think one should just say roll one's eyes, say "whatever!" to one's self, silently claim a moral victory, and go and do something more enjoyable.

AMEN!!!

littlegeek #60

#59 Some of my favorite people have Aspergers or OCD.

Sorry, I didn't realise that my post could be interpreted as meaning that people with Aspergers or OCD are annoying or not nice. I was responding to your post in the context of the posts previous to it. I've never met anyone with Aspergers, as far as I know, but two of my favourite people have OCD.

Busifer, you rock. I love the poetry of your post.

Akiyama, don't worry, I figured you didn't mean it like it was reading to me. I've gotta watch out for my Aspy & OCD friends, that's all. And I agree, lt has the best people on the internet!

Yeah, like me. Seriously, I have Aspy's. High functioning though. I was slightly offended until it was clarified about Akiyama's post.

Jeez Louise, now they are getting violent - the last bastion of the immature. Not only are writers who write books for money the scum of the earth, anyone who insults the poster to his face will get punched. This is okay, however, since he is of a "violent ethnic group."

Just wow.

Um... where?

You can use the link in #35

Holy sheep dip. Well, part of me understands completely WHY he's gotten so angry. That troll in there is out of control. And you've got half a dozen people feeding him. LOL

Actually, that particular troll isn't who he wanted to punch. I was one of the ones who said he was "blog pimping." Guess he wants to take me out back.

Gosh, they are still at it!

I left that discussion some 230 messages ago/haven't even read it since, and I am astonished anyone still care...

Skipping through I found the "I am genetically prone to respond by slugging" comment the most fun of them all. But then I could not bring myself to read over 200 posts so I could have missed some serious violence/abuse...

Most people have some issue/s that they are set about and these people are not, in my view, trolls but people who have stopped listen. I've met lots of people like that, and when younger I even kept arguing with them (especially when alcohol was involved). Now I just feel... "duh, who cares?"

But as I've said - I could have missed something really really bad as I don't have the time/will to read through it all...

OH! Bwaa haa haa... sorry.

There's so much in those posts, I ended up skimming. I just can't make myself read those 12+ paragraph posts.

Um... don't these people have lives?

OK, after reading posts 69-70 I have to go abck check for that troll...!

Oh. My. God. That thread has now taken on the form of the great historical religious debates in medieval Europe. Each side issuing tracts and edicts, challenging the other, basically insulting, while attempting to not appear insulting, any who disagree. It's the Diet of Worms, I'm just unsure who plays the part of Martin Luther. There are too many candidates.

It is rather like a train wreck. And I'm a rubber-necker.

... or there are NO candidates... ;-)

(BTW I looked up on it more closely and I admit I found a troll. But right now I think they are trolling each other?)

#76, Yes, they are. Of course, one of them started it all, but now there are several of them behaving badly, I think...

Sheesh.

I come to remember a new years party some 15+ yrs ago when a friend of mine felt an urge to say "please, stop it, you are smarter than this" after I'd become too inebriated and single minded for my own good (I blush every time I think of it; how embarassing can one become without dying a spectacular and not too private death?).

I feel an urge to pat some of those over there on the shoulder and say the same.
It's time to stop, kind of, or they'll burn out for ever...

There also seem to be a few that are trying to rise above and ignore the idjits.

I can't keep up anymore. I kind of feel bad that not only are they fighting a battle of no compromise, but they have to keep reading each others insanely long discursive posts so they can "correct" and defend themselves. But, I get the sense they are all enjoying getting pissed off at pissing each other off. It's like an orgasm of anger...

My mom calls it - pardon the language - "dicks on the table."

I saw this on an unrelated thread. How apropos.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell:

"When will people realise that not hurting people is ten thousand times more important than being right."

#80

'orgasm of anger' may be the best phrase I've heard in weeks.

Dear Trolls,

Let me recommend a group : Tucker Max
The group had only one member last time I looked but I am sure you will all be welcome.

Oh man... I just clicked the link... there are more Trolls in that cave than in the Mended Drum in Ankh-Morpork... So that's where they all go after they drink too much and get kicked out...

Seriously though, more than one or two paragraphs in an argument is bad news. I hope I'm not a Troll in saying this. I see myself more of a Changeling.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I finally couldn't resist going over to see what all this was about.....well that's two hours of my life I'll never get back!! Can't believe that they're wasting sooooooooooooooo much time going round and round in circles!! Good heavens, when will they just grow up??!

It reminds me of my childhood, riding on long car trips with my two best friends. They would shove and pinch each other unmercifully, and it would inevitably escalate into hair pulling and biting.

# 85 TeenAuthor: If you see yourself as a Changeling, you might enjoy the book I'm currently reading and enjoying very much, The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue. It's the story of a Changeling and the boy he replaced, told from their respective points-of-view in alternating chapters.

TheTwoDs, that book is awesome! I recommend it wholeheartedly.

yowza - just wandering around in talk and stumbled on feed the trolls, it makes me feel kindda bad for the people who really just want to talk about books. I now know which users to avoid.

Well, as long as they stay out of my groups...
;o)

The truth is ALL of those involved are getting something out of that kind of conflict, or they wouldn't still be at it. And I'll admit I get a couple of things out of reading it, too.

1) I feel superior. ;o)
2) I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY thankful those trolls stay out of my groups.

I stopped reading that thread when I saw the posts starting to rack up again, because I figured somebody said something to start another flame war. I got really tired of people insulting each other then claiming that everybody else just had thin skin. No...you're an ass. It's really that simple. An egotistical, uncompromising ass.

Ah well. I got some books added to my wishlist out of that thread, so I've gotten something out of it, at least.

Oh, and using genetics is nothing new in that thread. Someone else made an excuse for being rude because of their country of origin. As if being Australian gives extra license for being rude.

Or you know, it was just a JOKE. Sheesh, can't you take a JOKE!?!

Funny, my dad used to say that to my mom and I after saying something particularly abusive. Fancy that.

I do agree that it is a joke.

>92 kawika:

I'm Australian and I apologise for the terrible ambassadors you saw in that Troll flame war.

In Australia we would never get away with that, why should it be different on the internet?

Makes me wonder how many flags that has generated. And yes he appears to have noticed this thread.

# 96 That seems correct. But don't fear, I found the perfect solution for this little problem: I call it the "Troll-Trap".

(Originally it was constructed as a Bigfoot Trap, but with some minor modifications it should serve our purpose)

#97 - Very nice. If that doesn't work, we'll borrow the grid from the movie Ghostbusters. They are electronic trolls, after all. ;o)

Just don't cross the streams!

#99 - You mean like this?

*poof*

i figured i would pop my head out from under the bridge (or in the woods before the sun comes up) to say hello!

i appreciate some of your 'concerns' about trolls, arguments, diatribes, and non-compromising methods.

but please be careful about being hypocrites (or not, that is your own choice). you are criticizing people for 'wasting time' or spending too much time on certain topics, etc. but you are doing the same thing.. i mean, a whole topic/thread about internet trolls? and done so in obscurity/shadows so you can avoid direct confrontation. is that what some folks call 'passive agressive'? or just cowardly? i sort of get that clique feeling from high school, except this time it's the dateless nerds or nerdettes huddling together? (i am proudly a nerd so please consider references to 'nerd' as self-deprecating in a friendly way. if that truly offends you i can take it out).

the wonderful thing about the 'Free' World, and the free will of humans, is that if you don't like something you can simply do any of the following: change the channel, walk away, close the book, ignore, shrug shoulders and not let it bother you, don't buy it; or if it is something worthwhile to you, you can respond/defend/engage in dialectical debate that still respects the other person.

generally speaking i agree it is better to be 'nice' to each other, even if we disagree, as long as we are respecting each other's rights of expression/beliefs. it is also ok to be involved in a debate/argument whether something small/insignificant (favourite tv shows) or 'deeper' like religion/philosophy/art/etc. Some people enjoy the form of debate and that is alright also, as long as certain levels of respect are maintained. with some people there is no way you will ever change their mind if they are overly dogmatic, so the best you can hope for is perhaps meet in the middle.

I am relatively new to internet forums, and am also mature enough to not be overly-proud and be able to change/adapt, and realize the errors of my ways. some times certain topics get me very interested/heated, and when i first began posting i was unnecessarily malicious or using forms of verbal/philosphical 'attack'. but i realized that was not the best (or proper/kind/sympathetic) approach to have discussions or communicate (whether disagreeing or agreeing) with other humans, since we all live in the 'real' world (at least i hope so), and we suffer/enjoy as humans. thus i was willing to change for, hopefully, the better. and in life we should always continue to grow and change? some of us need more escapism in some shape or form due to unhappiness with our real lives/existence, and we should have compassion for that.

but to sit in the shadows to attack, ridicule, deride other people and stereotype/categorize them, seems also mean-spirited and not very brave? (or to sneak around flagging posts in a discussion in which you are not involved or participating?) is that not doing the same sort of thing you dislike, but slightly worse since you group together in 'secret' to do that?

I will respect your 'private' space here and not criticize or attack you (assuming you are willing to do the same). but i hope you are also good hearted enough, and not too proud, to admit your own failings and like any good person change for the better (eg: "grow up" as someone here said)?
-Many of the comments above, paraphrases, etc. are actually incorrect or misquoting those you are critizing. that seems a bit irresponsible does it not? i am not harping on spelling/grammar at all, but some more major points to which some of you refer.

I also apologize if my comment went over more than 2 paragraphs. i am a very fast typer, and don't see anything wrong with writing something longer than 3 lines to express one's thoughts.

Morphidae: I am sorry that your father was rude to your mother, then brushed it off by calling it a joke. we have all been hurt/affected by things in the past, but since the past does not exist, we might be happier by living in our present moments and doing good? or we learn from our past/history, and move on?

(p.s. please don't flag my comment as abusive, as i think i have been honest and fair. and admitted my own errors and only hope others can do the same. I already spoke to the people in charge at LT about those that go around flagging for abuse without just cause, and they said that would not be tolerated.)

Hmm, the point of this thread was to discuss trollish behavior, and many of us were involved in various threads involving trolls and/or troll-like behavior across LT in several different groups and threads. So, just because many of us weren't involved in your particular thread, condor, doesn't make us cowards. Other people wandered in to read what the rest of us were talking about, and commented on the behavior.

No one was ever sited by user name in here. Threads were pointed out where troll-like posting may or may not have been proliferating. It was left up to the individual reader to discern such behavior for themselves.

I happen to have my Troll-Dar™ set for medium sensitivity. ;o)

#103 - The best yet!

How about this one, littlegeek?

WHERE
NEWT
USED
TO BE!

I thought the idea was to use cute newts. You know, turn them into something we'd actually like.

I can doll him up for yah...

;o)

He really looks the picture of a troll there, doesn't he. OK, clam, Ridikulus that boggart!

Personally, I kind of found the accusations of "sneaking off in private" made by a few people rather amusing. :D

sorry to interrupt your 'cute' discussion of the cute drawing of a newt/lizard (btw i think it is actually quite nice and you should be proud of your 5 year old son/daughter!).

Question: would the antithesis/opposite of an internet "Troll" be an internet "Faerie"? (in the figurative sense?)

discuss....

btw, i have nothing against faeries (whether literary/real/imagined) and as a child even had a cat named Ariel, before the little mermaid ever existed.

also, i should say after reading the posts/discussion in this thread i feel i have learned a lot about people,their characters, what they think about, etc.

Thank you.

I hope we can all learn from each other, admit our own mistakes/shortfalls, and continue to grow as human beings.

though so far i am only seeing self-righteousness, and lack to see anything wrong in personal behaviour. just snide remarks, off-hand comments about something being 'amusing', etc.
you know, Troll-like comments, right?

:)

Oh, wait littlegeek, I misunderstood your request.

Here you go:

It's supposed to be humour, not hawtness. Although Bogey is pretty hot.....we could just post movie stars for a while. Here's a nice one:

But, but, but...

You said "Ridikulus that boggart!" I tried to find a ridiculous piccie of Bogey, but I couldn't. ;o)

Edit: Johnny is very hot, BTW.

clam, you're not into Harry Potter, are you?

Johnny is a national treasure, that's for sure!

Edit: Bogey never looked ridiculous!

Actually, I am. I was making an attempt at humor. Pretty lame, wasn't it? ;o)

By the way, it's almost time to start a 'What are you doing July 21st?' thread, isn't it?

Test only.

image deleted. this was just a test to learn how to post images in my comments.
i did a search on google images for "hobbit princess" and this was the one i found:
http://students.clarku.edu/~jhoward/crystal3.jpg

i was not trying to offend anyone so i have deleted the image from here.

clam, your attempts at humour are better than some. I'm afraid I remain a bit obtuse at times.

July 21st? What else could anyone possibly be doing? My husband thinks the whole planet is going to be shut down.

Right... no food. Silly me.

Well, I'm afraid I have to wait in line, littlegeek. My daughter gets the book first, but she usually stays up all night reading it, and we're getting it at midight, so I should have it in my hands by afternoon.

:o)

There's a thread on Hogwarts express about what people are gonna do on the 21st. I'm waiting for the postman to bring my copy, and then crawling back to bed til I'm done!

i am a very quick learner (computers/software are essentially basic tools made by humans). i went to google and posted "html how to post pictures" and there you go? that is where i found out the image has to be online and i had to enter

is that not amazing or what?

but thanks for the tips on the pets thread.

I am not a liar and was an honest question. i just happened to figure it out myself before anyone answered.

added text:
oh Clamairy: thanks i see you deleted the comment already about calling me a liar regarding the posting images questions? i think, though, you should at least say sorry you were wrong? it's very easy to just delete the comment (edit it out) so no one can see you jumped the gun by calling someone a liar? i usually prefer to leave the original words, and if i edit/change draw attention to it. unless then that is sort of 'dishonest' behaviour to make oneself look good?

thank you

I have a meeting scheduled for some time on the 22nd and I've already told them if I haven't finished it they should just go ahead without me. I'll probably be done by then, tho.

Here's some more eye candy:

Back at you.
;o)

clam, forgive me for being completely out of the loop, but who IS that? (He's hot!)

How about this one:

George Pic

It's Gerard Butler, littlegeek.

Ah, nice George Clooney, lg. It showed up as a tiny red X at first.

It did that to me, too, at home, so I just referenced it.

Who's Gerard Butler? ok, ok, I'll google him, jeeze....

Sort of a Russell Crowe vibe, but not as hot, imho.

Question: which is the hotter accent: Australian or Scottish?

Butler was the hawtness in The Phantom of the Opera.

That would explain it. I go into horrible convulsions if forced to experience Andrew Lloyd Webber.

No answer to #129? I'm thinking Aussie.

Answer: Scottish



edited for bigness

fleela - I agree, Scottish, yep...

I'm old. Where are the pics of Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, John Travolta? And dead guys like Cary Grant and Clark Gable. Sigh. George Clooney would have been good, but my computer says I don't have permission to look at him... :(

Scottish accents for sure!

CEASE AND DESIST ORDER

This cease-and-desist order has been issued by Judge M. Entel of the District Court for the District of Columbia (D.D.C.) on behalf the Government Employees Insurance Company, legally known in the United States of America by the acronym GEICO, in conjunction with Berkshire Hathaway.

It has come to the attention of this court that a person that goes by the common internet handle of littlegeek has been frequently indulging in the illegal activity known as "ad-pimping" for a major competitor of the joint litigants in this C&D action.

This activity must cease and desist forthwith. If the named person served in this C&D order continues to indulge in these illegal activities beyond this issue date June 26, 2007 of reasonable apprehension, a civil lawsuit will be duly filed by the above named litigants seeking appropriate monetary recompense.

Signed and issued this day: June 26, 2007

Judge M. Entel

District Court for District of Columbia
E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse
Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

"Hey, I've got good news, mate. I've just saved a bunch of words on all me posts by switching to a GECKO pic instead!"

Mmmmmm .... anyone else like cheesecake?

I just thought you'd all like to know that between the trolls, faeries, geckos, newts, eye candy (especially Johnny Depp, Bogey, and Ewan McGregor), and cheesecake, I am now going to be late to work.

Damn you all to hell! And post more pictures. Remember 'David The Gnome'? Post a picture of him.

So sorry, ellevee.
:o)
Was it worth it, though?

Here you go!

I have David the Gnome in my backyard rock garden. He protects me from evil Canada geese when they come to mate at the lake I live on.

This morning though I have for you a troll. Cordo the GAP troll to be exact.



Okay, so he's not Ewan, but he stops you from shopping at that awful clothing store.

OUCH!
I promise fleela, I'll never shop there again!

Ok, Ewan is pretty yummy....but so is Russell....oh crap! Johnny's hotter than either, but american accents do nothing for me.

#142 - You want them to talk too?

#143 Only if they're whispering sweet nothings....hmmm...johnny can speak French...

Viggo speaks 4 or 5 languages. ;o)

viggo...yum...

Oh yeah.

Crap.
My pix are showing up as a barking cat!
LOLOL

Can you see them now?

Please don't kick me out of the Female Club, but the Woof kitty was cuter! :P

Well, you got me going on a 20 minute hunt for swooner pics ;-)
Go figure...

Anyway, no such bedchamber eyes on any of the nice looking men outside the movie trade, it seem.



He doesen't get any worse by being one of the best footballer ever, eh!
His name is Paolo Madini, btw. And he's ALMOST my age.

wow. i am amazed by the people in here! did not the harry potter series teach any compassion!
so the posting of my own picture, with no rude comments included, was flagged as abusive? wow, i guess 'real' non famous people pictures are not allowed?

same for the picture of that lady on google called "hobbit princess". was there something offensive in there?

this is very strange and sad indeed.

To Flag a message for abuse LT tells you the following:
What is abuse? (1) personal attacks, (2) commercial solicitation, (3) spam. See terms of use.

obviously the posting of my own picture from my profile did not breach any of the above. nor did the posting of 'hobbit princess' picture found for the public on google?

*edited for typos/errors; though i doubt anyone here would probably notice.

here is my picture again. it is a picture of me (a real person). I am no Johnny Depp, but like i said my wife is a huge fan of johnny depp and would enjoy some of the other pictures of males posted here...
(by the way i am fluent in Spanish and French, since linguistic ability is of interest of littlegeek and perhaps others...hmm cunninglinguist?)

* i have removed this picture. after finding out there was an actual LT member named 'hobbitprincess', i should not have posted it. even though my intention was not to offend an actual person, that is no excuse for not taking care. *

here is the original picture. it is not attacking anyone, soliciting anything, or considered spam by any means....

103 - I must say that the salamander is well done, indeed.
112, 121, 122, 128 - Oh my...is it hot in here? *sigh*

I do enjoy a spot of eye candy. Makes all the stress go away.

I also enjoy the light-hearted-ness of this whole group. It has served to brighten my day and make my hubby ask me what's going on when I laugh out loud. You would think he'd be used to it by now.

As to the original topic of discussion in this thread: I picture a group of mountain trolls, perhaps like in The BFG, bopping each other on the head, in turn, saying "MY fangs are bigger than yours!" "well, MY fangs are sharper than yours!" "yeah? well, MY mum is uglier than yours!"

Busifer, that footballer is very hot. We have some fine sporting eye candy here in the USA, too. To wit:

>1 reading_fox: I had to crack up at your edit. :D

If we're talking about baseball....

#157 - Yes, I didn't notice until you said it, Morph! Very funny indeed!

Ohhhh, sports figures.
Yum!

Oh, and very very funny, reading_fox!!!

>1 reading_fox: Hmm... is it refering to the Billy Goat Tavern and the Cub's Curse of the Billy Goat?

Hey Derek Jeter is not showing up on my work computer....anyone else getting the dreaded red x?

Six gold gloves and he never makes the all-star team. East coast bias....grumble, grumble...

>#162

*plugging my ears with my fingers*
I can't hear you, la la la la, there is no curse, there is no curse, la la la.

#1: hmm "the troll won't bite back"... i suppose it's easier to find some safe haven from those 'abusive' types that qualify as trolls?

did i "bite" with some of my direct questions? i think i might have smiled, but most certainly i did not bite.

btw, if someone disagrees with your opinion, reading matter, or even choice of male eye-candy (i'm curious what your hubbies or otherwise think of that? or they are very secure i'm sure and it's alright, if they similarly spent their time eye-fornicating with pictures of hot babes, SI swimsuit tarts, etc.?) does that make them a Troll?

#41: this post seems to accurately define what may constitute a troll or 'trollish' behaviour?

but i am assuming it is ok to disagree (especially when disagreeing respectfully and not insulting someone?)??

were we all abused as kids by big bad mean bullies (or as adults) that now any type of 'confrontation' is seen as negative? even intellectual confrontation or debate? i'm just curious about some folks' mindsets.

maybe we should all be open/honest. i'd love to see pictures of everyone and put faces to names. since we are all secure adults that wold be fun (i already posted mine)? or are we all just interested in fantasizing about movie/model stars we will never meet, let alone have personal relationships?

I'm not sure if i can expect honest answers or not.

while in the past i have been glad/willing to admit my own faults/errors and learn from them, is it too much to expect the same type of honesty and introspection from some of the members here?

please see original post #101.

i don't believe anyone really responded honestly to that, except one member to defend/refute the implication of 'cowardly' behaviour....

Mr. Spice is hot. I finally got my Eric Chavez pic to load....

>168 clamairy: Oh my.

My, my, my, my, my.

*fans herself*

"fanning" myself also.. I wonder what "fanning" is a euphemism for?

not sure how to resize so will just take it out...

*the overly large image was accidentally and i did not know how to resize it so i deleted. i apologize for that error*

#171

I am a big fan of letting people express what they want to on any forum, but your post of the woman goes beyond the pale.

The dang thing is TOO WIDE and now we all have to horizontally scroll. Please fix it.

Sheesh, it's annoying to get wide posts.

ok

Now #172 goes beyond the PG+silly innuendo standards we try to have here, based on the cultural standards of many in this forum.

I am - openly, not hiding this - flagging it as abusive as it should not be here.

I am also - formally - requesting that all members of this group consider this thread closed, and if you have respect for my role here, to simply stop posting in it altogether.

Thank you.

You got it, JPB.

*places the thread on ignore*

how do you correct for the side scrolling? that is how the picture showed up on google??

any technical experts (eg: computer nerds) in here?

it is a non-pornographic image found on google with the safe settings in place?
why are you allowed to put sexy/erotic male images?

oh wait, i understand now... it's only sexist if men do it... i got it...

"Iam - openly, not hiding this - flagging it as abusive as it should not be here.

I am also - formally - requesting that all members of this group consider this thread closed, and if you have respect for my role here, to simply stop posting in it altogether."

hmmm your "role" here? i guess you are the queen bee/ant/matriarch? i bow to your self-imposed power..

here is a more suitable picture not to offend your tender sensibilities. though since everyone else is most likely towing the party line the thread is closed?

here is one for the ladies.

I'm going to jump in here and make a few points.

First, I'm requesting that users consider this thread closed, and cool off a bit.

Second, I'm not going to wade into the details of the issue here. I do not think this is an entirely clear-cut situation. And I'm not a regular watcher of this group and its social dynamics. Tone is very hard online, even for participants in a conversation. Nor do I think this is a particularly terrible one. (LT has certainly seen worse.) But this sort of thing has a tendency to escalate, and to turn people off. Good people start poorly, or worse. You are in this group for some reason related to the topic and the people in it. I don't think the present conversation is a good advertisement for either.

So, I call upon everyone to pull back a bit, to review the Terms of Service and their actions in its light, and in the light of general good behavior and the specific tone that other members of this group have been following.
If you have concerns about posts in the future, go ahead and email me or Abby.