HI IM SNARF, and this is my guide to trolling. The reason why I am making this is because I feel like people simply do not understand trolling or the differences between trolling, flaming, and generally stupid posts. The biggest difference between the three is not the context, but the subtext. In other words, it's not what you say, it's what your intentions are based on what you say. First, let's define trolling: trolling Trolling is the act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet, generally on message boards. (Source: Urbandictionary...actually had the best definition I could find) In other words, an internet troll is an instigator, or somebody who is intentionally attempting to get a rise out of people. Trolling is reaction-seeking behavior intended to garner negative attention in some way, shape or form. There are a lot of different forms of trolling, and we will discuss all the major forms of trolling. But first, let's talk about what trolling is not: Flaming Flaming is similar to trolling. An example of flaming would be "**** You ***hole! You're nothing but a stupid POS idiot and I hope you get AIDS after being raped by a goat" The intention of flaming is slightly different than trolling, although they can go hand in hand. The difference is that trolling is reaction-seeking, while flaming is a reaction, usually to reaction-seeking behavior. It usually is pretty easy to differentiate flaming from trolling by how upset the person flaming is. Being Stupid A popular way to troll people is by simply intentionally acting like an idiot (more on that later). It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate between an idiot and a legitimate troll. I'm not going to provide an example of being stupid; it's just obvious. I'll explain more on how to differentiate between the two in a bit. Being a Douche This one comes very close to trolling, as well. However, it is not trolling because said douche does not care about how you react, nor were they ever seeking a reaction; they just are arrogant and don't care if they offend you. The best applicable example for these forums would be the private match elitists who talk trash in the games because you're not good enough. They are not trolling you; they have no intentions of getting you angry. They just don't care if they offend you and don't understand how to maturely hold their tongue. Be careful, though, because if you do react to douchebaggery really poorly, it will eventually turn into them trolling you, even if that wasn't the original intention. So what are some examples of trolling, you may ask? While there are infinite number ways you can troll people, I am going to cover some of the most common types of trollololololisms, particularly ones that seem to pop up in this community often. Troll type 1: The loather This particular flavor of troll attempts to upset everybody by insulting them or constantly shooting down every idea or suggestion that they have. This is not to be confused with a flamer. Yes, there are trolls that join forums and just flame and insult everybody; however, these are not good trolls because they get banned insanely quickly. As a general rule, remember that the best trolls are the ones where it is difficult to realize that they are trolling. The good ones will never be too direct, but they'll be just douchey enough to upset you after a while. A good example would be somebody on a community forum that is negative 100% of the time in his posts, always trying to shoot down every single post, idea, suggestion, or thought that everybody has. He will usually argue his points and actually attempt to make valid points. How to deal with Troll Type 1 There are two ways to deal with Troll Type 1. The first and best way is to simply ignore them. Trolls are reaction-seekers; if they cannot get the reaction they are seeking, they will move on to somebody else. The other way is to simply outwit them, or to counter troll (say something humorous that makes them look like an idiot). This is more of a pro move because if you seem slightly upset in your post or you get strung along for a big argument, the troll has won. Troll Type 2: The Intellectual Idiot Troll type two is possibly the most dangerous kind of troll because the good ones are extremely subtle. This is my preferred type of troll, if I am going to troll. Their goal is to generate as much responses with one obviously stupid idea as possible. They say something that has a little bit of evidence to back it up, but know it is still absurd and will upset the audience. Example: "People who tip their waiters are idiots" The above topic would then be followed by a somewhat lengthy argument that would lead you to believe that the OP actually believes in what he is saying. The more absurd the argument, the harder to pull off. However, I have seen expert Type 2 Trolls get thousands of replies on the most ridiculous subjects ever. How to stop Troll Type 2 The first thing is to recognize his troll attempts. This may not always be easy, especially if they are good. Usually, the OP will not give it away. You've got to read his responses to the people already being trolled. Ask yourself the following questions: Does the OP really seem like he believes in what he is talking about? Does the OP seem to be arguing in circles, but not seeming to care that he is? Are the arguments absurd or extreme? If you answered no to the first question and/or yes to one of the others, there is a good chance you have an intellectual idiot troll in your hands. The best way to deal with this kind of troll is to give them one short, non-serious post and then ignore. Example: Troll Topic: The support is way overpowered as a slayer in MNC Body: The shotgun kills you in two shots as assassin. They also have a gun that you literally don't even have to aim, a turret that kills everything extremely quick, and they can even heal their team. On top of that, they have an instant kill nuke that can kill you inside your spawn! Bad Response: You're an idiot. The support is clearly not overpowered. (Insert examples of how to counter all that stuff here) Good Response: Your mom is overpowered when she sLAYED me last night! Troll Type 3: The Big Faker This one can be more difficult to explain, and can also be tough to distinguish. The way this type of troll works is they will make a topic hyping something/building something up. Their goal is to garner a ton of responses to their topic without actually ever delivering what they promised. This is most common on big community boards like IGN's The Vesti. An example would be a topic along the lines of "I'm pulling off the most epic prank tomorrow" The body would consist of this big elaborate scheme, while still asking for suggestions. The OP will then talk with everybody, push them to continue responding, only to (20 pages later) tell them that none of it was true, there was no prank actually going on, and that they all were just wasting their time. The trick to these, once again, is catching on as early as possible. The more vague they are about their plans, the more likely it is going to be a long, strung out troll attempt. The good news is that even if you do get trolled in this way, it usually is still a fun process. How to deal with Troll Type 3: Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. Once you start to get an inkling that they are trolling you, just ignore them. Conclusion Internet trolls are reaction-seeking posters whose end goal is to get you mad and waste a lot of your time. While I've listed 3 primary examples, trolling can be as obvious and posting gay porn all over a forum to just posting in alternating caps 24/7 becasue they know that they'll get people to bitch at them for it occasionally. But no matter what flavor of nerd may be trolling your forum, remember that THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH A TROLL IS TO SIMPLY IGNORE THEM AND NOT GIVE THEM THE ATTENTION/REACTIONS THEY ARE SEEKING. Don't try to get the last word in with them. That's what they want. Don't try to logically convince them that they're wrong. They'll be laughing at you. Don't try to insult them; that's exceeding their expectations. Just pretend like they don't exist, and they shall go away in due time.
I love to singa About the moona and the June-a and the springa, I love to singa, About a sky of blue-a, or a tea for two-a, Anything-a with a swing-a to an "I love you-a," I love to, I love to sing!
