To build on 'Stop feeding the trolls' - a useful explanation of 'troll'


I guess I can console myself that the following confession just shows
that I have a life outside of this junk (as - except for the obvious
exceptions - I trust most of you do).

In the hopes of helping out others as oblivious as I was, I have to
admit that I did not know the real definition of 'troll' hobbyists in
the context of usenet, and I'm stepping up to the inevitable ridicule
to pass along what I just learned in case it helps someone else who
was similarly in the dark. If it helps out one other person, the ***
I get is worth it.

Check out this link: http://www.urban75.com/Mag/troll.html
Look at some of the other pages too. You will see spot-on
descriptions of the traits used by the trolls of this group.

You can also go to wikipedia and search for troll and get some history
along with additional links.

This changed my whole view on what is going on here (not the SWx
discussions, but the crap).

Frankly, I just thought 'Troll' was a general pejorative term for the
behavior we've all witnessed for years (...a term inspired by the ugly
creature that live under a bridge and attacks folks occasionally).
This is because I don't have an extensive usenet life - I come here to
learn and share information, and that's about it - it's a tool, a
resource, not a lifestyle.

So when I saw folks who were attached with the term 'troll' I just
assumed it a general term for overly emotional folks with poor
professional or social skills, along with the general run-of-the-mill
a**holes (plus at least one vindictive a**hole with an bizarre axe to
grind)
For the most part (there are two exceptions that stood out in the way
they used language) I did not realize that being a deliberate a**hole
might be a hobby of theirs to score ego points (and points with
similarly minded lurkers).
In the game they play, those points are scored by who they draw into
their manufactured frays.

It never occurred to me that the root of the term' troll' was from
fishing, not evil monsters under the bridge. It turns out that the
practitioners of this sad, sad hobby throw out 'lines' to snag people
for their fun so they can tear those folks down - either directly, or
by indirectly getting them into conversations to make them look
dumb.

A friend of mine has a great saying - "the problem with getting into
an argument with an idiot is that an outside observer can't tell who
the idiot is". This is what they count on. They exist to bring
others down. That's it. Stupid hobby, but it's what they pride
themselves in.

That right there is a special kind of a**hole that I could not fathom
until now.

Well, they won with me a few times, when they would post bizarre
criticisms to stuff I had to add to the conversation, and I tried to
respond to make things right or to add some clarification and they (in
the course of their hobby) blew out of proportion - kudos on
successfully preying on the ignorant who are just trying to help out
other folks, the ignorant that don't know that behind the scenes they
are inadvertently involved in a different game. That's right - Score
one for you, minus one for me. It's a pathetic hobby... but it's your
stupid hobby and there is no realistic way to stop you. And you made
me lose in a game I didn't even know I was playing. Hooray for your
triumph. High fives all around.

To the others - for those of you who are like me and don't make
usergroups a big cornerstone of your life, I hope this info can help
you out.

It helped me out. And that's why I share it.
Ed Eaton

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