Trolls

[Fireball]

The biggest troll on this board is an Admin, and Admin's can't be put on the Foe list. That is a problem that should be corrected, whether in the Board's setting's or the software's features.

[Isgrimnur]

I wouldn't say he's the biggest troll. Perhaps more prolific than the biggest...

[Rip]

I am certainly the biggest. I would prove it but I wouldn't want everyone to get caught in porn filters.

[hepcat]

It's the internet. We all are trolls to someone at one time or another.

[Carpet_pissr]

I always thought you were on the petite side, Rip? In fact, aren't you skinny as hell? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Certainly not big.

[Isgrimnur]

Nothing burns calories like a flame war.

[Carpet_pissr]

Nothing burns calories like a flame war.

[Rip]

I always thought you were on the petite side, Rip? In fact, aren't you skinny as hell? Or am I thinking of someone else?

Certainly not big.

Spoiler:

[hepcat]

All joking aside, I think it's great that your parents still hang onto your childhood toys and dolls.

[$iljanus]

Nothing burns calories like a flame war.

The Colonel: All that hate's gonna burn you up, kid.
Robert: It keeps me warm.

[EvilHomer3k]

The biggest troll on this board is an Admin, and Admin's can't be put on the Foe list. That is a problem that should be corrected, whether in the Board's setting's or the software's features.

If you add a user to your foes list, any posts they make will be hidden by default.

You don't see why you can't add an admin to a foe list?

Admins are responsible for policing the forum. If someone is being an ass and an admin posts for them to stop they won't see it. Their behavior continues and the admin's continued admonishments are ignored. We give them a vacation because they ignored the admin. While I may send someone a private message it is more common for me to tell people to adjust their behavior in thread. It's more efficient and lets everyone else know I'm watching.

[Fretmute]

Admins are responsible for policing the forum.

To the original point, then. Why is one of the admins a troll?

[edit] - Or, since that question is sort of existential, why is a troll still an admin?

[Rip]

Admins are responsible for policing the forum.

To the original point, then. Why is one of the admins a troll?

[edit] - Or, since that question is sort of existential, why is a troll still an admin?

I'm not.


My mother had me tested.

[Fretmute]

Admins are responsible for policing the forum.

To the original point, then. Why is one of the admins a troll?

[edit] - Or, since that question is sort of existential, why is a troll still an admin?

I'm not.

My mother had me tested.

You're making light of this, but you've admitted as much in the past, and any reasonable person on this forum can see it.

[Rip]

Admins are responsible for policing the forum.

To the original point, then. Why is one of the admins a troll?

[edit] - Or, since that question is sort of existential, why is a troll still an admin?

I'm not.

My mother had me tested.

You're making light of this, but you've admitted as much in the past, and any reasonable person on this forum can see it.

I admit it in jest.

One mans troll is another mans provocative thinker.

No matter the reason I don't perform moderating duties is because I hold fast to what I think and believe and don't care to be PC about it. When you see me taking the lead on invoking forum policy get back to me. I am an admin so that I can post about things, chase spammers, and respond to things like the infamous PM pictures of disgust.

My opinions are my own and in no way represent forum staff.

As far as foes list, I could care less. One of those things we should have not enabled in the first place as it was our gut instinct to do. Of no use except to create drama for those who subside on it.

[ImLawBoy]

It's worth noting here that Rip has the title of "Technical Admin". That's not because he's only an admin by technicality, but because he needs admin rights to do some of the technical stuff he does for the forum.

It's pretty obvious that Rip is one of the more provocative/trollish (depending on your perspective, I suppose) personalities on the forum. For the most part, though, he stays on the right side of the line. On the occasion that he does step over, I think we (as in the moderation staff) treat him like we do other posters. He doesn't get special leeway to make personal attacks, for example, and we'd call him on that if he started doing it. For reasons I don't fully understand, he still keeps trying to get R&P to bleed into EBG. We've been addressing those issues as they arise and moving threads where appropriate (some of them are fine in EBG).

I appreciate that some folks may prefer to use the board software to ignore Rip, but that's not in the cards right now. If you find him that unbearable, you'll have to use the old fashioned method of not reading any posts next to his name/avatar.

[LordMortis]

It's worth noting here that Rip has the title of "Technical Admin". That's not because he's only an admin by technicality, but because he needs admin rights to do some of the technical stuff he does for the forum.

It's pretty obvious that Rip is one of the more provocative/trollish (depending on your perspective, I suppose) personalities on the forum. For the most part, though, he stays on the right side of the line. On the occasion that he does step over, I think we (as in the moderation staff) treat him like we do other posters. He doesn't get special leeway to make personal attacks, for example, and we'd call him on that if he started doing it. For reasons I don't fully understand, he still keeps trying to get R&P to bleed into EBG. We've been addressing those issues as they arise and moving threads where appropriate (some of them are fine in EBG).

I appreciate that some folks may prefer to use the board software to ignore Rip, but that's not in the cards right now. If you find him that unbearable, you'll have to use the old fashioned method of not reading any posts next to his name/avatar.

It's an easy marker when you have avatars hidden. Just breeze past anyone's name in red. That's what I do.

[Zarathud]

Rip can usually take as much as he dishes out. I can respect that as we're often jumping up and down in each other's faces and sniping at each other in R&P.

[Fireball]

Rip can usually take as much as he dishes out. I can respect that as we're often jumping up and down in each other's faces and sniping at each other in R&P.

Arguing is one thing. A lot of people on here argue. A lot of us like arguing. Trolling is something else. Rip takes pleasure in posting things that upset and hurt people. Squire, jblank, and others were banned for causing less commotion and pain than Rip has. And there's no way to even block his posts. Any thread he chooses to shit in, he gets to derail.

[RunningMn9]

I'm no fan of Rip and his penchant for ill-informed contrarianism- but comparing him to Squire and jblank feels unreasonable to me. Rip is wrong. A lot. About many things. But I don't find him specifically insulting towards people. Maybe I screen that out though?

[Kraken]

For the most part, though, he stays on the right side of the line.

Often WAAAAY on the right side, but we all take that into account. Sometimes we're even so kind as to try to deprogram him.

Rip is wrong. A lot. About many things. But I don't find him specifically insulting towards people. Maybe I screen that out though?

No, I concur: He's usually wrong in a nothing-personal, even-tempered way.

[Fireball]

Easy to say when you're not a member of one of the groups he heaps derision and bile upon hoping to bait you into a fight.

[Rip]

Easy to say when you're not a member of one of the groups he heaps derision and bile upon hoping to bait you into a fight.

Thank goodness you don't heap bile and derision upon any groups.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Easy to say when you're not a member of one of the groups he heaps derision and bile upon hoping to bait you into a fight.

For someone who has a reputation for posting polemically yourself, this comes across as rather thin-skinned. So I would suggest you develop a thicker skin, and learn to resist such 'bait'.

[Zarathud]

I absolutely understand, Fireball. It is easy to say, hard to do.

I've been there, too. I have to step away from the abortion and drug legalization threads because people's opinions are personal to me after suffering losses in both areas.

At least Rip is fighting the well-known bias of the facts and a shift in American culture.

[RunningMn9]

Easy to say when you're not a member of one of the groups he heaps derision and bile upon hoping to bait you into a fight.

It's easy to say because I've seen enough posts from group A and group B to understand the difference between ignorance and malice. If you can't tell the difference between Rip defending/advocating nonsense and...say...em2nought dropping hateful slurs, I don't know what to say.

Unless I'm skipping a lot of Rip posts where he's doing that.

[Fireball]

em2nought isn't trolling. He's being a racist jerk, which is completely different.

Rip constantly trolls. He goads people into arguments intentionally, because he takes pleasure in causing other people pain. Is that or is that not allowed on these boards?

[ImLawBoy]

em2nought isn't trolling. He's being a racist jerk, which is completely different.

Rip constantly trolls. He goads people into arguments intentionally, because he takes pleasure in causing other people pain. Is that or is that not allowed on these boards?

There is no rule against trolling on these boards, and there never has been. Largely because not everyone agrees on what a troll is.

[The Meal]

Maybe a different way to say that is that there's no rule that one must post with sincerity. Folks are allowed to play Devil's Advocate (even if I personally can't stand that style of poster).

If that style doesn't mesh, you need to figure out a way to cope with it. Unfortunately for a member of the OO technical staff, using the foe button is not an option. Anonymous_Bosch would seem to have prescribed the best course of action.

[hepcat]

I'm no fan of Rip and his penchant for ill-informed contrarianism- but comparing him to Squire and jblank feels unreasonable to me. Rip is wrong. A lot. About many things. But I don't find him specifically insulting towards people. Maybe I screen that out though?

To be fair, I'm probably more insulting to Rip than he is to me on any given day.

[Toe]

I would like to add that not being able to "foe" Rip is my biggest issue with these forums and the primary reason I my participation here has waned. I am sure this pleases him. Why not make a second account for his admin work, one that he is instructed to use for admin purposes only?

[GreenGoo]

I would like to add that not being able to "foe" Rip is my biggest issue with these forums and the primary reason I my participation here has waned. I am sure this pleases him. Why not make a second account for his admin work, one that he is instructed to use for admin purposes only?

I'm quite sure it doesn't please him.

[Rip]

I have no idea why anyone would think I get some kind of joy out of someone not posting.

Am I Dr. Horrible?

[Pyperkub]

I have no idea why anyone would think I get some kind of joy out of someone not posting.

Am I Dr. Horrible?

The Foe of Toe?

Toe's Foes?

[Anonymous Bosch]

I have no idea why anyone would think I get some kind of joy out of someone not posting.

Am I Dr. Horrible?

No. Victimhood is simply the new moral code in American life:

The sociologists, Bradley Campbell and Jason Manning, cited the Oberlin incident as one of many examples of a new, increasingly common approach to handling conflict.

It isn’t honor culture.

“Honorable people are sensitive to insult, and so they would understand that microaggressions, even if unintentional, are severe offenses that demand a serious response,” they write. “But honor cultures value unilateral aggression and disparage appeals for help. Public complaints that advertise or even exaggerate one’s own victimization and need for sympathy would be anathema to a person of honor.”

But neither is it dignity culture:

“Members of a dignity culture, on the other hand, would see no shame in appealing to third parties, but they would not approve of such appeals for minor and merely verbal offenses. Instead they would likely counsel either confronting the offender directly to discuss the issue, or better yet, ignoring the remarks altogether.”

The culture on display on many college and university campuses, by way of contrast, is “characterized by concern with status and sensitivity to slight combined with a heavy reliance on third parties. People are intolerant of insults, even if unintentional, and react by bringing them to the attention of authorities or to the public at large. Domination is the main form of deviance, and victimization a way of attracting sympathy, so rather than emphasize either their strength or inner worth, the aggrieved emphasize their oppression and social marginalization.”

It is, they say, “a victimhood culture.”

Victimhood cultures emerge in settings, like today’s college campuses, “that increasingly lack the intimacy and cultural homogeneity that once characterized towns and suburbs, but in which organized authority and public opinion remain as powerful sanctions,” they argue. “Under such conditions complaint to third parties has supplanted both toleration and negotiation. People increasingly demand help from others, and advertise their oppression as evidence that they deserve respect and assistance. Thus we might call this moral culture a culture of victimhood ... the moral status of the victim, at its nadir in honor cultures, has risen to new heights.”

[Freyland]

I have no idea why anyone would think I get some kind of joy out of someone not posting.

Am I Dr. Horrible?

The Foe of Toe?

Toe's Foes?

So Rip's a Podiatrist?

[RunningMn9]

I have no idea why anyone would think I get some kind of joy out of someone not posting.

I wouldn't phrase it that way. You get joy out of what you do. What you do makes some number of people not want to post. Whether or not THAT brings you joy, the practical effect is the same. You are you, and it causes people to just not want to bother being here anymore.