Trolls and such

[The_Algebraist]

Looks like a troll has been hounding these boards the past couple of days. Here and in the chat room. I got sucked into his shit momentarily but no more. Frankly, I'm really shocked that some of you just sat around chatting him up in the chat room after all of the shit he posted, like he was some long-lost-friend. I even commented on it and got a bunch of juvenile shit back from y'all. Standing up for the troll, eh?

Being friendly is one thing, but come on. Again, I was frankly pretty surprised that some folks on here would hang, even online, with a piece of shit like that, even after you knew what a major asshole you were chumming it up with, especially an asshole that sits around and insults one of this forum's major draws.

 

[stickstones]

This forum is getting big fast. If anyone suspects a troll, which we will get more of, please let a moderator know..moderators are myself, Clear_Dome, vtac, max and marcuss.

Thanks in advance to all the helpful members here!

 

[Acolyte of Zinglon]

youve done your share of trolling in the chat room too, you donthave much room to talk

 

[lwien]

youve done your share of trolling in the chat room too, you donthave much room to talk

But NO ONE has done what that jerk did. His SOLE purpose here was to create discord. I've never seen ANYONE here do that before.

 

[The_Algebraist]

youve done your share of trolling in the chat room too, you donthave much room to talk

Dude, sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. Trolling and innocent goofin' around are two different things. My bad.

 

[Progress]

Good thread IMO (thanks for giving it some direction stickstones).

Stickstones - This forum is getting big fast. If anyone suspects a troll, which we will get more of, please let a moderator know..moderators are myself, Clear_Dome, vtac, max and marcuss. Thanks in advance to all the helpful members here!

*You can click report for any post and clearly explain what you feel is inappropriate about the post/poster.
IMO, not only those who are intend on being trolls will troll from time to time. I have even said things jokingly that may be seen as trolling, but feel that it is important to make it clear when you are kidding and not to joke with others who do not appreciate such humor. Hopefully, conversations like this one, the posted forum rules, notes from mods, and the examples of posts throughout the forum will help to clarify what appropriate forum behavior/ettiquit/norms are here on FC. IMO, it tokes a village....

Also, Algae, I did not take your comment to AoZ as a serious one ("Dude, sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way. Trolling and innocent goofin' around are two different things. My apologizes if certain subjects are a bit uncomfortable or taboo for you. My bad. Hug it out?")--especially after you added the picture. Rather I took it as a subversive attempt to further agitate AoZ (an action I would personally consider trolling). Please correct me if I am wrong and reply if I may be onto something...

edit response: I was in the chat for part of it...maybe drop the pic and the "hug it out?" from your post????

edit 2: I think that AoZ will likely respond better to that (I hope I am right). Thank you for listening and making a decision.

 

[The_Algebraist]

No, I'm serious. I definitely don't want to initiate any bad vibes, far from it and I really like reading AofZ's posts and certainly don't want him peeved at me. My apology is totally sincere. Just edited post above.

 

[max]

No, I'm serious. I definitely don't want to initiate any bad vibes, far from it and I really like reading AofZ's posts and certainly don't want him peeved at me. My apology is totally sincere. Just edited post above.

Retractions and apologies you've made make it clear that you're usually just kidding around, and when you jump on someone(s), it's usually justified, but you're a good example of the fact that subtle humor or playful sarcasm doesn't play well on forums. It's just too hard to accurately convey your meaning to everyone. Even when regulars figure out your style, there are plenty of new arrivals who won't 'get it'. I've made the same mistake myself more than once. You want to put your 'real personality' out there, but after a while you realize you have to back off a little because a keyboard just isn't enough for all the subtleties involved. Sometimes adding the appropriate smilie is enough, sometimes not. IMO it's better to play it safe than have to say 'sorry'.

As for jumping on a jerk, it's allowed, but I'd do it politely. Otherwise, you run the risk of trying to make two wrongs into a right.

 

[The_Algebraist]

It's just too hard to accurately convey your meaning to everyone. Even when regulars figure out your style, there are plenty of new arrivals who won't 'get it'. I've made the same mistake myself more than once.

Roger that. Yeah, still finding that balance here, the forum scene is new to me. It is taking some time to recalibrate and find the perfect blend and I totally agree, gotta bite that virtual tongue sometimes and just not write anything when in doubt. Sorry dudes.

 

[max]

Yeah, still finding that balance here, the forum scene is new to me.

And every forum is a little different too. Some seem to be unmoderated (some sections anyway). Then, out of the blue, a mod drops in to enforce rules that many members didn't even know existed. :/ Some seem to be controlled by mods who wallow in the power they have, and choke the life out of the forum with their biased attitudes. Most are pretty decent, but even the good ones have their own personalities and quirks, and you have to learn how to merge into the traffic safely.

We're trying to build a good one here, and we need members like you (and every other member that's contributed to this thread to this point), regulars if you will, to maintain the right vibe, style, direction-whatever you want to call it. There are always a ton of 'hit and run' members, who join seeking info, and leave forever once they get their answers. And some pop in once a week, once a month, make a post or two, and move on. The regulars are the ones who keep the forum tidy and running smooth. Without conscientious regulars the mods have to get out of the bus and push it up the hill every other day. After a while, without regulars, the bus is pretty much empty but still heavy as shit, and eventually the mods just say fuck it and let the damn bus roll back down the hill. That's what happened to the vaporinfo.com forum, which was the best vapor forum around for a couple of years. It's still there, but just a ghost town now.

 

[lwien]

Yeah, I kinda went off on this jerk when he attacked Tom. But ya know what? Although my actions helped in the continuation of the drama, I have no remorse for any of my posts regarding what happened.

 

[Progress]

lwien - Yeah, I kinda went off on this jerk when he attacked Tom. But ya know what? Although my actions helped in the continuation of the drama, I have no remorse for any of my posts regarding what happened.

Thank you for your honesty. It is always good to know who will try to squash (or transform) the trolls and who will feed them with no remorse.

note: I don't recall exactly what your original posts were, but if this sounds harsh it is because I feel that it is a bit disrespectful to claim you feel no remorse for making comments that have been deleted for being off-topic, disrespectful, and/or inappropriate. (a good reason IMO). I, myself, am sorry I could not find a way to squash it without responding (and for anyone who got caught in the crossfire--ie my thank you/fuck you comment).

 

[lwien]

Sorry you feel that way, Progress, but knowing Tom and Pammy like I do, they didn't deserve what was being dished out, and I came to their defense, and yes, if the same thing happened again, I would again, do what I did. If that irks you in some way, than so be it.

On last thing. In my opinion, my comments were neither "disrespectful, or inappropriate", as you say. I feel that they were VERY appropriate and purposely disrespectful to who I was targeting.

That being said, if any of the mods asked me to cool my jets, I would have, in a heartbeat.

Should my posts have been deleted? Sure. They served their purpose at the time, and if they remained after the purge of the troll posts, they would have been totally out of context.

 

[illadelph]

yea i saw some of that. it was the guy pretty much bashing every vape in existence. i swear some people have too much time and not enough bud.

 

[lwien]

yea i saw some of that. it was the guy pretty much bashing every vape in existence. i swear some people have too much time and not enough bud.

Ya know, bashing vapes is one thing. I wouldn't have got on his case if that was all that he was doing. But what he was doing was bashing the integrity of someone whom I, and many others here, hold in very high regard, and for that, I just couldn't quietly sit still.

 

[Progress]

Lwien, I agree that something had to be done, but sometimes get the sense that some are trying to pollute threads and stir shit up intentionally (Davidius, not U), and are, therefore, looking for the response so many gave.

I never said your comments were disrespectful and inappropriate, rather, I said "I don't recall exactly what your original posts were, but if this sounds harsh it is because I feel that it is a bit disrespectful to claim you feel no remorse for making comments that have been deleted for being off-topic, disrespectful, and/or inappropriate. (a good reason IMO)." --off-topic was an option too, right?...

Claiming no remorse for participating in polluting the PD thread (even though it was to defend Tom) is what I feel is disrespectful. Your recent comment ("if the same thing happened again, I would again, do what I did. If that irks you in some way, than so be it.") falls in the same category IMO.

I take it as 'if you don't like what I have to say...go fuck yourself' rather than 'I am sorry you don't agree with what I said/did, but I felt and still feel it was my best option at the time'. Please correct me if I am wrong...

IMO the comments, etc are not the focus of my concern. It is more a problem regarding how we handle individuals who come to FC and try to disrupt things. Imagine if the first person to respond did it in a new thread and everyone responded to his comments there, ignoring such attacks in the PD thread and leaving them to be retracted by him OR deleted after he banned himself by posting irrelevant personal attacks. The thread still looks a bit jumbled from the whole situation.

 

[lwien]

I did say that I was sorry you felt this way, Progress. Check out the first few words in post #13.

What I can't do though, is be responsible for your reactions to what I say. Only you can do that, which is why I said, "If this irks you, than so be it."

Hope that clarifies this. If it doesn't, I really don't know what else to say, but again, I won't apologize for my previous actions, because I really do feel that it was justified.

Over.........and out on this, only because there really isn't anything more I can say.

 

[Progress]

Well, I guess that you are not going to reply to this (over and out, etc), but 'I am sorry you felt that way' has a totally different feel than 'I am sorry if what I said has upset you (that was not my intention)'. I agree that you can not be responsible for how I react to what you say, but you are responsible for what YOU say. IMO, you are recklessly derailing this thread, much like you were in the PD thread (despite likely having good intentions in both cases). As a matter of fact, if you want to respond to me personally (despite your "over and out"), rather than in the context of "trolls and such," please start a new thread or find me in chat (enough of this ).

I feel badly that we seem to be having difficulty seeing eye-to-eye, and that this disagreement is somewhat derailing this thread (as you can see I have attempted to keep the thread on track when responding to you).

That is because I do feel that it is important to keep this thread on track and continue the dialogue about "trolls and such" to figure how we can best handle those who disregard forum norms and try to stir up off-topic bickering (ANY THOUGHTS, ANYONE?.... ).

 

[Hennessy1414]

only trolls I see these days are new members...they always post in the wrong section...its almost like a blatant FUCK YOU.

Four sub forums for gods sake!! how hard does it get

 

[max]

only trolls I see these days are new members...they always post in the wrong section...its almost like a blatant FUCK YOU.

Four sub forums for gods sake!! how hard does it get

Posting in the wrong section isn't trolling, it's newbie ignorance and laziness (not bothering to look at the forum to get an idea of the layout and where the post should go).

An Internet troll, or simply troll in Internet slang, is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat room, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or to generally disrupt normal on-topic discussion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll