What is 'trolling' exactly?
Discussion
The definition of trolling is deliberately upsetting others, but what if others deliberately take faux offence to claim being "upset" purely to shut down alternative opinion and debate?
Where do you guys think the line should be drawn?
Draw the line too far in favour of the 'faux offence takers' and you simply cancel anyone whom you don't agree with. A forum can then quickly become nothing more than an echo chamber made up of voices that all have a one-sided mindset.
Draw the line too far in favour of allowing free speech to upset others and discussions become focussed on name calling.
But surely there is a balance where comments are 'light hearted', where they don't contain offensive text and can be deemed 'good hearted banter' where some who still may choose to take 'faux offense' can be told "nah, this is not trolling, you need to grow a thicker skin" ?
Or are we now living in a world where people are very fragile and any 'banter' along with anything that challenges 'political correctness' must be cancelled?
Please discuss.
Where do you guys think the line should be drawn?
Draw the line too far in favour of the 'faux offence takers' and you simply cancel anyone whom you don't agree with. A forum can then quickly become nothing more than an echo chamber made up of voices that all have a one-sided mindset.
Draw the line too far in favour of allowing free speech to upset others and discussions become focussed on name calling.
But surely there is a balance where comments are 'light hearted', where they don't contain offensive text and can be deemed 'good hearted banter' where some who still may choose to take 'faux offense' can be told "nah, this is not trolling, you need to grow a thicker skin" ?
Or are we now living in a world where people are very fragile and any 'banter' along with anything that challenges 'political correctness' must be cancelled?
Please discuss.
Is that not a bit like asking when is it porn and when is it art? You'll get different answers but people will be sure they know the difference.
But I think it's sometimes obvious when somebody states something with the specific purpose of getting a negative reaction rather than stating it in the interest of discourse and being open to listening to another's opinion. I suppose that's where my definition and who I chose to reply to lies. But I'm human and will reply to things I know I shouldn't if they get me annoyed enough.
The nature of any internet forum is a bit of group think. A common like of cars doesn't mean we all have the same views on everything else but even by the fact that we can all afford a car makes it a self selecting group to some degree and not representative of everyone.
I think the line should be drawn when people start getting offensive towards individuals but not when they're offensive to their opinions but that leaves room for interpretation and isn't a simple line to know what side you're on. I don't run a web forum but I also realise PH has to be careful of many more things than that.
I think you won't get an "exactly" in the responses and that you know that, but asking the question isn't trolling
But I think it's sometimes obvious when somebody states something with the specific purpose of getting a negative reaction rather than stating it in the interest of discourse and being open to listening to another's opinion. I suppose that's where my definition and who I chose to reply to lies. But I'm human and will reply to things I know I shouldn't if they get me annoyed enough.
The nature of any internet forum is a bit of group think. A common like of cars doesn't mean we all have the same views on everything else but even by the fact that we can all afford a car makes it a self selecting group to some degree and not representative of everyone.
I think the line should be drawn when people start getting offensive towards individuals but not when they're offensive to their opinions but that leaves room for interpretation and isn't a simple line to know what side you're on. I don't run a web forum but I also realise PH has to be careful of many more things than that.
I think you won't get an "exactly" in the responses and that you know that, but asking the question isn't trolling
I think trolling comes from fishing. It's a baiting other people thing. But it has a wider meaning in forums.
It could cover any bad faith contribution to the thread really, but particularly where done to disrupt or prevent the conversation that others are trying to have. Trying to make other people laugh would not count as trolling, but posting a quip just to make yourself feel superior would.
Other people's intentions are unknowable, of course. They can claim anything.
It could cover any bad faith contribution to the thread really, but particularly where done to disrupt or prevent the conversation that others are trying to have. Trying to make other people laugh would not count as trolling, but posting a quip just to make yourself feel superior would.
Other people's intentions are unknowable, of course. They can claim anything.
This guy https://youtu.be/NxxQRS4G2I0?si=x_mR3YbybT0tacE3
Jump 30 seconds in. I understand it’s a living, but I wonder how many people he has sent loopy
Jump 30 seconds in. I understand it’s a living, but I wonder how many people he has sent loopy
GilletteFan said:
Trolling = going against the little boys who are sensitive to having their feeling hurt. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is a prime example of men with their heads in the sand and probably in need of some hormone regulation.
Equally go onto the F1 forum and say something negative about Hamilton. You'll hear the thundering footsteps of hundreds of middle-aged blokes clambering over each other to defend him.
The Rolex thread is all about "wrist time"
Sycamore said:
GilletteFan said:
Trolling = going against the little boys who are sensitive to having their feeling hurt. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is a prime example of men with their heads in the sand and probably in need of some hormone regulation.
Equally go onto the F1 forum and say something negative about Hamilton. You'll hear the thundering footsteps of hundreds of middle-aged blokes clambering over each other to defend him.
The Rolex thread is all about "wrist time"
Sycamore said:
GilletteFan said:
Trolling = going against the little boys who are sensitive to having their feeling hurt. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is a prime example of men with their heads in the sand and probably in need of some hormone regulation.
Equally go onto the F1 forum and say something negative about Hamilton. You'll hear the thundering footsteps of hundreds of middle-aged blokes clambering over each other to defend him.
The Rolex thread is all about "wrist time"
The question is, should 'trolling' be set at such a low level? And if so who is it supposed to be protecting? Do we really have members on the forum who are so sensitive that they need the bar set at such a low level?
I would hope the answer was no to that, but I am constantly being proved wrong.
Of course the bar should be set at some level, and I think its fair to say that when comments go personal and the discussion is derailed due to ongoing personal jibes, I think everyone would agree that trolls should be banned at that point. But for usage of benign non-offending words which in most people's books wouldn't harm a mouse, should posters be banned for that if another poster chooses to be 'faux offended' for the purpose of closing down comments from others who they don't agree with?
I think this topic is an important discussion, because we all need to understand the rules on these forums, thus making it a fair playing field for everyone.
CheesecakeRunner said:
The way you phrased that is an example of a trolling post. But I’m sure you knew that.
If you’d said, “Going against the prevailing opinion. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is prime example of people who, in the opinion of some others, are deceiving themselves. You’d hope they would become aware of this.”, then it wouldn’t have been.
Normally I would agree, but the thread was about whether the Rolex bubble has finally burst? Obviously no one who thought otherwise was permitted to If you’d said, “Going against the prevailing opinion. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is prime example of people who, in the opinion of some others, are deceiving themselves. You’d hope they would become aware of this.”, then it wouldn’t have been.
Trolling has now become a glib phrase that covers just upsetting people which is silly as people are now basically far too reactive and easily upset.
Trolling is an art form where the troll manages to bait the reactive and easily upset people and cause just enough upset to not get found out or banned.
A good troll is a joy to watch.
The people it upsets are usually worth poking fun at a bit and tbh need to lighten up a bit.
The whole phenomenon exists because some people are only ok if others behave how they want them to, obviously that’s not realistic so if you find yourself upset by trolls or even the target of them then it’s you who needs to make changes and not have such a victim mentality. I expect the same people going on about trolls are frequently triggered in supermarkets or when driving or when reading the papers etc
On the other hand bullying people is completely wrong but it’s not the same as trolling.
Trolling is an art form where the troll manages to bait the reactive and easily upset people and cause just enough upset to not get found out or banned.
A good troll is a joy to watch.
The people it upsets are usually worth poking fun at a bit and tbh need to lighten up a bit.
The whole phenomenon exists because some people are only ok if others behave how they want them to, obviously that’s not realistic so if you find yourself upset by trolls or even the target of them then it’s you who needs to make changes and not have such a victim mentality. I expect the same people going on about trolls are frequently triggered in supermarkets or when driving or when reading the papers etc
On the other hand bullying people is completely wrong but it’s not the same as trolling.
u-boat said:
On the other hand bullying people is completely wrong but it’s not the same as trolling.
Exactly this.If you get upset about words on the internet you're an overstrung moron. It's very easy to ignore any content one doesn't 'like'.
Targeted, aggressive, prejudiced, bullying on the otherhand.
sparkythecat said:
Zarco said:
grumbledoak said:
I think trolling comes from fishing. It's a baiting other people thing. But it has a wider meaning in forums.
No that's trawling. Trawling is towing a net behind a boat
Trolling is towing a lure or bait behind a boat
EmailAddress said:
u-boat said:
On the other hand bullying people is completely wrong but it’s not the same as trolling.
Exactly this.If you get upset about words on the internet you're an overstrung moron. It's very easy to ignore any content one doesn't 'like'.
Targeted, aggressive, prejudiced, bullying on the otherhand.
Who on earth made them the arbiters of how the world should be.
They don’t seem to realise that it’s them that are offended though, it’s entirely down to them how they respond and react rather than being victim and your hapiness is dependent on how others behave or random events.
This is why trolling is so interesting and funny sometimes, it exposes how little control many people have over their situation or their outcomes.
If you’re upset by trolls (or other things often) don’t think you need to stop them, think instead that you need to work on yourself.
EmailAddress said:
Sycamore said:
GilletteFan said:
Trolling = going against the little boys who are sensitive to having their feeling hurt. The Rolex thread in the watch forum is a prime example of men with their heads in the sand and probably in need of some hormone regulation.
Equally go onto the F1 forum and say something negative about Hamilton. You'll hear the thundering footsteps of hundreds of middle-aged blokes clambering over each other to defend him.
The Rolex thread is all about "wrist time"
In the words of, well, you....
EmailAddress said:
If you get upset about words on the internet you're an overstrung moron. It's very easy to ignore any content one doesn't 'like'.
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