Sochin
30th September 2001, 21:34
Trolling is the use of a bait to attract attention which will allow the troll to engage in a feeding frenzy of emotionally fulfilling activity, his enjoyment at your emotional dis-ease.
E-budo has trolls.
Like trolls of old who lived under bridges and other dank bottle necks of ordinary human endeavor, they like to spring out and "stir' things up with seemingly innocent questions or requests, (the bait). Only after you try to satisy them do they show themselves as having a hidden bias and ulterior motive which was the real reason for posting.
Due to the insight of our fearless e-budo admin in enforcing the rules, the trolls on e-budo are for the most part polite with their sarcasm and ad hominem attacks. To follow my own rule, I translate: "Ad hominem" (if I've spelled it correctly), refers to an attack on the person who makes the statement rather than confining your attack to the substance of the statement itself. If I say, "Karate is the only art that is practical" and you reply, "You're oviously a dope" rather than "I have proven my art to be very practical in the street," it is a personal attack (ad hominem) and of course, not allowed under e-budo rules, even if you happen to be correct about my dopiness!
Of course, there is that grey area where-in an attack upon a "style" is less personal and therefore supposedly less nasty than a personal attack. (What is wrong with, "If you can't say it about the man, don't say it about his style?")
So what can be done if you suspect you have been or are about to be ambushed by a troll? Just remember, the trolls of old needed to eat people to stay alive and the forum troll of today needs a steady diet of emotionally charged arguement or they wither and die.
So as soon as they uncloak their real and hidden motive for their post, do not reply, ignore them and let the topic wither. This is much the same as ordinary topics coming to a natural close except that it is by your conscious decision not to answer because you sniff the nasty smell of a troll lurking behind the pillar of the bridge. You don't need proof, and you don't need to reply (the food they desperately need) to every provocation, (the bait). You should not chastise them, or acknowledge them or engage them in arguement - just ignore them.
Perhaps one of our clever smiley animaters could create a troll or "troll alert" smiley if we feel that our refusal to engage in fruitless arguement needs explanation.
Anyway, that is my advice. I can only keep the forum polite to a point. It is up to you folks to quit feeding the trolls and hope they go back to martialarts.rec where the sarcasm, swearing and personal/styles attacks are plentiful.
Rikki Tikki Tavi, Troll Killer
E-budo has trolls.
Like trolls of old who lived under bridges and other dank bottle necks of ordinary human endeavor, they like to spring out and "stir' things up with seemingly innocent questions or requests, (the bait). Only after you try to satisy them do they show themselves as having a hidden bias and ulterior motive which was the real reason for posting.
Due to the insight of our fearless e-budo admin in enforcing the rules, the trolls on e-budo are for the most part polite with their sarcasm and ad hominem attacks. To follow my own rule, I translate: "Ad hominem" (if I've spelled it correctly), refers to an attack on the person who makes the statement rather than confining your attack to the substance of the statement itself. If I say, "Karate is the only art that is practical" and you reply, "You're oviously a dope" rather than "I have proven my art to be very practical in the street," it is a personal attack (ad hominem) and of course, not allowed under e-budo rules, even if you happen to be correct about my dopiness!
Of course, there is that grey area where-in an attack upon a "style" is less personal and therefore supposedly less nasty than a personal attack. (What is wrong with, "If you can't say it about the man, don't say it about his style?")
So what can be done if you suspect you have been or are about to be ambushed by a troll? Just remember, the trolls of old needed to eat people to stay alive and the forum troll of today needs a steady diet of emotionally charged arguement or they wither and die.
So as soon as they uncloak their real and hidden motive for their post, do not reply, ignore them and let the topic wither. This is much the same as ordinary topics coming to a natural close except that it is by your conscious decision not to answer because you sniff the nasty smell of a troll lurking behind the pillar of the bridge. You don't need proof, and you don't need to reply (the food they desperately need) to every provocation, (the bait). You should not chastise them, or acknowledge them or engage them in arguement - just ignore them.
Perhaps one of our clever smiley animaters could create a troll or "troll alert" smiley if we feel that our refusal to engage in fruitless arguement needs explanation.
Anyway, that is my advice. I can only keep the forum polite to a point. It is up to you folks to quit feeding the trolls and hope they go back to martialarts.rec where the sarcasm, swearing and personal/styles attacks are plentiful.
Rikki Tikki Tavi, Troll Killer