The Proverbs 26 Troll, or,

[bellatrys]

Towards a Grand Unified Semi-Coherent Theory of Comment Management

~being Yet Another in the siding line of posts begun a while back and delayed due to my accident~A few weeks ago I brought the banhammer down only for the second time ever (deliberately annoying people until they go away doesn't count) as my stated and default policy is to let

Comments

[shininghalf]

Tangentially, I actually have seen "classic" trolls on occasion, I think. Cat owner/enthusiast boards come to mind, where people will show up and say "*I* think declawing is good for my cat!" and/or pretend to have a cat so they can say it died or stuff like that.

I was not familiar with the "concern troll" term; very interesting. (Dang, the liberal side of the spectrum in the US seems to be crawling with those buggers...)

Yeah, I'm sure they're out there, given the odds

[bellatrys]

Cat owner/enthusiast boards come to mind, where people will show up and say "*I* think declawing is good for my cat!" and/or pretend to have a cat so they can say it died or stuff like that.

I've just more run into them in real life, mostly teens and early-twenties hipsters pretending to be sincere so they can do the hyaena-pack laughing and pointing thing like in Buffy. The facelessness and ability to be articulate without having people jeer at you for "reading the dictionary" or "thinking you're so smart" so much of online tends to bring out more *sincere sincerity* in my experience (including my immediate experience!) but that can have its detrimental side, since *all* of us have our own Inner Crazy Screaming Guys, just waiting to be woken up, on *some* topic or other - and some people have *no* practice whatsoever in straightjacketing their ICSG!

oh, and I *think* the reason why they're so common

[bellatrys]

bugging the liberal blogosphere, is that Faux Courtesy, or the Myth of Civility, is *so* strong on the right - and that's a big HUGE part of Concern Trollery. The best concern trolls "really" (for given value of "real") think that they're just acting out of altruism, have managed to convince themselves that even though they're telling you to do *exactly* what coincides with what's most convenient for *them*, they're doing it totally out of disinterested concern for *your* good, not theirs

Re: oh, and I *think* the reason why they're so common

[shininghalf]

(I love how your userpic matches this one of mine. ^__^ )

...And then if the "civility" mindset collides with the liberal "politcal correctness" and *that* kind of anxiety to be nice (OMG, the scary bogeyman of wanting to treat others with respect!), I can imagine...

Digressing on the "True Heirs to Western Civilization™", the whole "Western vs. Islamic Culture" thing is darkly hilarious in a way. Y'all realise you just said "Fish vs. Carp," right? It is scary, though, when I squint and it starts to look like "Christian" can go as "Western" just without saying...

Glad you said this, Bellatrys :)

[timeliebe]

I've argued a similar point for years on Tammy's and I's former discussion web, Sheroes Central - though less articulately than you did, and with more red-faced eyebulging. ( ::shrug:: I have no patience for willfully stupid dogmatic people of any stripe - it's a flaw in my otherwise sterling character. :D )

Whether they agree or disagree with you, in the end it's your house, your rules - and if they really take issue with your viewpoint, anyone online can create their own blog. It's not about "Freedom of Speech" or any other such excuse trolls use - as RMM, MTS, Anon, A Mouse, James Meeley and others of their ilk would discover if I came on THEIR blogs and mocked them mercilessly on an endless basis. (I would, too - only unlike any of them, I have a life.... )

Thank you for saying this,

Best,
Tim Liebe
Dreaded Spouse-Creature of Tamora Pierce - It's Christmas Time in Hell! >:)

tim, you don't know me.

[madthinker12357]

Could you please stop talking about me as if you knew me and what I'll do?

Re: tim, you don't know me.

[fridgepunk]

Actually I think pretty much anyone could tell you were probably going to show up here and say something like that eventually. Maybe not today, maybe not tommorrow, but someday. So by your own standard where "knows what you'll do" justifies talking about you as such he's well within his rights imo. I doubt that he or anyone else really knows you though, on account of there being better things people can do with their time, but as what I do know of you, from various message boards and journals you've trolled, indicates that I you probably don't really intend that "and" to be part of an absolute statement that only if people both know you AND know what you'll do are they allowed to speak of you, on account of you being a really sloppy and imprecise writer, though other's mmv (but I doubt by much personally. That is of course, if you actually accept your central contention that he was talking about you as though he knew you, rather than extrapolating from your known behavior as a big disengenuous troll on various message boards and

Re: tim, you don't know me.

[timeliebe]

Well, I'm talking specifically about this topic. One can guess that if you insult me, I'll respond to that. But that's pretty much being human and not specific to me. But I've never given anyone grief for asking me to stop posting on a subject or to leave their blog entirely. For instance, Melissa Krause said I wasn't welcome on her blog, so I stopped posting there without complain. I didn't toss out any free speach complaint or anything like that. As far as I'm concerned, if someone doesn't want to talk to me (or anyone else), so be it. Melissa and I talked about it later, had several very pleasant emails, and we've been fine ever since. She invited me back to her blog, and there's been no drama. I'm not the guy that Tim is trying to paint me as.

[fengi]

"By which last I refer to the alas-too-common phenomenon of moderators who let their BFFs get away with all kinds of shit, while riding micromanaging-kindergarten-teacher herd on everyone else."

A phenom which has now infected TWoP - at least one staffer has been allowed to break the cardinal rules of the boards, even though he wasn't acting in an official capacity, but as as a regular participant in the discusssion. When people complained, the moderator responded with a longwinded excuse which boiled down to the idea staff members can break the rules in any context. Which has contributed to TWoP's tight control methods going from something which generally encouraged discussion to something which frequently frustrates it.

This is evidence of the sad fact

[bellatrys]

A phenom which has now infected TWoP - at least one staffer has been allowed to break the cardinal rules of the boards, even though he wasn't acting in an official capacity, but as as a regular participant in the discusssion.

that even the smallest subculture or society is in danger to have nepotism and/or cronyism - I'm not sure what's the absolute minimum number you need to have an "inner circle" and the Excluded outside, but it might be possible to get it going with just 3, and 4 is certainly enough. I'm not participant there at TWOP, and I only read there sporadically, so I didn't know about this (I was actually making a snide joke at the expense of a rather notorious feminist-blogosphere case) but I am not surprised, though saddened to hear about it.

Injustice in government isn't something that requires a big, outside-entity govt to do it to us - it's the Human Condition, alack & alas.

Crazy screaming guys

[lyorn]

Heh. Our local crazy screaming guy got banned from the cementary and told never to return. He'll have to get buried at a crossroads somewhere. Or maybe they'll relent when he's dead, assuming he'll shut up then.

BTW, pinatas: Have you seen the fun and games over at Charles Stross' blog?

CHRIST ON A CHAPATI!

[fridgepunk]

I'll run for SFWA president next year, Charlie. - Vox Day

He seems to be joking but, do excuse me while I get my Goatse face out of the cupboard... GYAAH!