What is a TROLL?
 

Can anyone explain to me what a troll is exactly? Are they real people that represent themselves as someone else? What is their goal, just to piss people off? What do you think motivates them? I am just a little confused.

(Can't resist) A Troll lives under a bridge. LOL

Yes, yes, and yes. Usually they are just trying to stir up trouble, or are very bored, or in some cases seriously disturbed.

Sorry, after thinking about it, this should be in general discussions. Someone can move it if they know how. Was just reading a post by a suspected troll and just posted this. Hope it doesn't cause a problem.

It is someone that just posts something to stir everybody up

TROLL

Tiny
Raging
Overstimulated
Little
Liars

Haha!:p

:thumbup: :thumbup:

In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4] The noun troll may refer to the provocative message itself, as in: "That was an excellent troll you posted".

"Do not feed the trolls" and its abbreviation "DNFTT"

From Wikipedia.:)

:sidesplt: and right on the money:D

As crazy as it might seem there are people who seem to have nothing better to do with their time and enjoy trying to cause conflict and problems. Sometimes they work alone but my understanding is there are actually groups who will go around as a pack creating issues. There are also some people I have heard refered to as "care trolls" who will pretend to be caring and interested or supportive but are actually just trying to garner people's trust and gather information.

I was invovled with supporting a family who was fighting for the right's of their son against their doctor who wanted to prematurely end their son's life. The family had agreed for a facebook page to be created by someone else. The original facebook page was open for anyone to post support and get updates on how things were going etc. Eventually the family created their own private page so they had control over who could participate and what was posted because there were people who would post incredibly disgusting things. It was very sad and created more pain for a family already dealing with a lot. I have heard about this sort of thing also happening with memorial sites of families who have lost loved ones in an accident or as victims of violent crime. People who prey on others and intentionally try to hurt others struggling with difficult issues are pretty sick and twisted in my opinion. The behavior can happen on any board though. It's just more all the more twisted when it happens to people who are mourning etc.

Sometimes the people invovled don't come right out in a completely obvious way and just do things or say little things to create conflict. Generally the best approach is not to give them the attention they are seeking and eventually they move on. On some sites you will see comments like "don't feed the trolls". They mean don't give these people the reaction or conflict they are looking for so they will move on. If you don't "feed" the bad behavior then it isn't any fun for them to continue.

While the term "troll" does make one think of a troll under a bridge I suspect the term actually refers to trolling like in fishing. They throw a bunch of stuff out there fishing for a reaction.

I think it's a mistake to assume someone is a troll after reading one or two posts. There are lots of people who have no idea how to train a dog, and especially a dog like a yorkie. If the post is offensive, report it using the little triangular exclamation point, but to call someone a troll either angers a sincere poster, or excites the troll. There’s an old saying, “Don’t feed the trolls”, and calling them a troll is feeding them. Besides, admin says we aren’t to use the troll word when referring to other members. Trolls want attention and also to create conflict, don't do either if you want to get rid of them. A sincere poster, just wants an answer to his dilemma.

Yes, I agree, and we shouldn't take the bait. :p

Yeah, haha I took no offense to it because I realize I was probably posting something people on here would take offense to and think I was ridiculous but I was just wanting to give a background on the situation !
I thought she would simply realize everytime I pee in the house, I get yelled at maybe ill stop. turns out its not that easy:eek:

When my wife yells at me for peeing in the house, I drink more water

OMG at this VERY SECOND we are watching Dora's Christmas and The Grumpy Old Troll is singing :note: I'm a grumpy old troll :note:

:sidesplt: Are u in my living room???

Steve, we are glad you pee in the house (in the bathroom, I hope) otherwise you'd get arrested.
ps that's kind of like getting banned!

Maybe I was wrong to use the word "troll" :confused:, but to me when someone comes to a Yorkie site and says disparaging things about a Yorkie, my radar goes up. I was purposely respectful in my opinion and did not attack, or even outright address the OP. If I offended anyone, then sorry.

I don't see that the word "troll" cannot be used in the rules and guidelines. Maybe I am missing it. Not saying you're not right, just saying I don't think it's a hard and fast rule. I do remember people posting pics and graphics and I think that was addressed at the time.

Keep in mind, a true troll LOVES to create controversy among long standing members. Hope that doesn't happen here.

I guess it goes back to people being allowed to post their opinions. My opinion was that it was not a true poster. I know I'm not the first to have that opinion about someone.

Im glad you took it well. We have had a few posts similar to yours where the person was a troll so everyones guard is up

I dont blame you for having that opinion of the posts we have had quite a few posts of a similar nature lately so I see where it came from.

Spotting and dealing with Trolls is an art not a science. The YT Mods/Admin do a GREAT job :thumbup:. The registration/validation process here is a big help too. I Admin a large, controversial, no registration forum so I know allllll about Trolls. The best way to deal with the them is to report them to the Mods. Mods have history and IPs that give them a different perspective than users.

These are my favorite links about Trolls:
General Info: Internet Trolls
Troll types: Flame Warriors Home
General Forum etiquette - PGish: How To Behave On An Internet Forum (Internet: Useful Tips)

Interesting links and thanks for sharing. :)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

For some it is also a GAME. They have "clubs" where they keep score of how many replies they can get and how much trouble they can cause. The really sad part is that most of them are ADULTS :eek:

Now that is sad, but I believe it. Some people will do anything for attention.

A troll is only on a forum to antagonize and to inflame people. They only join a forum for sport to see members take the bait and then they sit back and watch, occasionally throwing out another zinger to insight more drama....The key is to know when it's a real troll and when it's not. But when you do.... don't feed the troll...

From some threads and the fighting that goes on I can see why YT is such a great target. It would be like hitting the lotto w/powerball. :happyboun

Thanks for this information, I had no idea! That's exactly the reason why we should just answer without getting too emotional, if we can help it.

Too funny!

I believe we should IGNORE the trolls all together. If they are ignored their posts will just go away. My suggestion would be to not argue and send them a direct PM with a response. That way if they are "real" they will respond back and we will not lose any more long time members over some of these "new" members.

Remember the Hawk on a Leash thread? Come on :rolleyes: Sure you shot a protected how it a bullet from a shot gun:rolleyes: then beat it's head in and tried to drag it back to your house only for it to take flight while attached to your dog leash. People actually believed this insane story. :eek: That troll scored dig time with that TALL TAIL:cool:

I agree. Answering them also fuels the fire. If they can keep a forum going just answering their posts they get as much pleasure. It is all about control. They do love it when members fight, but that is not their only source of pleasure.