Clarification: Troll (person) versus Troll (post - aka: Trolling)
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| Also listed in: Cruel and Illogical Twits: | Insulting Same-Party Candidates is Idiotic | League of Dark Shadows |
A Troll (person) is someone whose intent is to disrupt a blog/forum/mailing list/etc with posts designed to create outrage, anger, irritation, frustration, and so on and so forth.
A Troll (post) is a post exhibiting the above traits, yet may be posted by people whose intent is not primarily disruption.
The difference is subtle but important. You could have an Obama supporter whose goal is to have discussions about the campaigns, even one who is a True Believer, incapable of seeing the other side, or wholly ignorant, they may be happy to engage in conversations. They might engage in trolling in order to anger the Hillary supporters, but they are not True Trolls.
A True Troll doesn't engage in anything positive, or attempt to convince others of a different perspective or belief. Betty Lou, for example, with whom I completely disagree on about 99% of her posts, is not a Troll. (disclaimer: This does not mean that I categorically state that she has never posted a comment or blog that would qualify as trolling.)
I believe we have exceptionally few Trolls here, eBoone being perhaps the most famous for the old-timers. There have been a few others. But there HAVE been a lot of posts that were trolls. Generally, a troll makes no argument, makes an unsupported categorical statement, or makes a negative argument that has already been thoroughly discredited. (Of course, they say never to ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity, but it's hard to believe, for example, that people honestly, in their heart-of-hearts, believe Obama to be a Muslim, or that Hillary had Vince Foster killed.) Unlike trolls, trolling is quite common here.
I never thought I'd miss JP Fenyo, but good God, at least he generated discussion about issues, even if it inevitably degenerated into his accusations of everyone being anti-Semitic.
Of course, he ended up being an Obama supporter, so I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I would cringe if here were to start making claims as to what offices Obama was going to appoint him (he claimed Biden promised him a cabinet position as "First National Philosophic Advisor"), on the other hand, I would derive much schadenfreude watching the less scrupulous Hillary supporters go apoplectic and try to duke it out with him.
A Troll (post) is a post exhibiting the above traits, yet may be posted by people whose intent is not primarily disruption.
The difference is subtle but important. You could have an Obama supporter whose goal is to have discussions about the campaigns, even one who is a True Believer, incapable of seeing the other side, or wholly ignorant, they may be happy to engage in conversations. They might engage in trolling in order to anger the Hillary supporters, but they are not True Trolls.
A True Troll doesn't engage in anything positive, or attempt to convince others of a different perspective or belief. Betty Lou, for example, with whom I completely disagree on about 99% of her posts, is not a Troll. (disclaimer: This does not mean that I categorically state that she has never posted a comment or blog that would qualify as trolling.)
I believe we have exceptionally few Trolls here, eBoone being perhaps the most famous for the old-timers. There have been a few others. But there HAVE been a lot of posts that were trolls. Generally, a troll makes no argument, makes an unsupported categorical statement, or makes a negative argument that has already been thoroughly discredited. (Of course, they say never to ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity, but it's hard to believe, for example, that people honestly, in their heart-of-hearts, believe Obama to be a Muslim, or that Hillary had Vince Foster killed.) Unlike trolls, trolling is quite common here.
I never thought I'd miss JP Fenyo, but good God, at least he generated discussion about issues, even if it inevitably degenerated into his accusations of everyone being anti-Semitic.
Of course, he ended up being an Obama supporter, so I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I would cringe if here were to start making claims as to what offices Obama was going to appoint him (he claimed Biden promised him a cabinet position as "First National Philosophic Advisor"), on the other hand, I would derive much schadenfreude watching the less scrupulous Hillary supporters go apoplectic and try to duke it out with him.
FENYO, CAN YOU HEAR US? COME BACK!!!!!!
ROFLMAO
He really said that?
No way.
Oy, vey. I'm starting to miss the little Chief Philosopher in waiting....
Link
Would you purchase a mug, t-shirt, post-cards set, poster, calendar, or any other official Free Advice Man item at Cafepress.com if you knew for fact that some day The Free Advice Man Story will be a major motion picture (possibly making these items valuable, appreciative limited collectibles)?
and
Would you send The Free Advice Man a test question to see if he really is as good at advising people as some famous and influential people have said he is?
Of course, majority rules. If you guys wanna start a campaign to bring back the little philosophicator, I'll back you - and eat copious amounts of Ibuprofen.
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TINO's: trolls in name only, are misguided Bloggers exercising their particular hateful quirks on bad days. If Betty Lou is a TINO, then she is having a lot of bad days and needs prayers and sympathy.
peace,
marsha
peace,
marsha