A question about trolls....

[Jenny in GA]

Some people go through phases where they censor themselves better that other times.

 

But, yes, I do believe there are some posters that walk a thin line between troll and viable member. I suspect a few of not being who they say they are (and no I won't say who) and/or are not honest about their family circumstance/logistics/homeschool situation.

 

 

Boy, you guys have really piqued my curiosity! I'd never thought of or noticed such things!

[Tammyla]

:iagree:

 

 

Some people go through phases where they censor themselves better that other times.

 

But, yes, I do believe there are some posters that walk a thin line between troll and viable member. I suspect a few of not being who they say they are (and no I won't say who) and/or are not honest about their family circumstance/logistics/homeschool situation.

[AngelaNYC]

There is a certain member here who has a similar post count to mine, and every time she starts a thread I wonder if this will be the one where someone publicly doubts her story. But it hasn't happened yet. I just hang back and watch because I am almost sure she is . . . Not fake exactly, but misrepresenting herself or exaggerating her story. Time will tell, and as long as she isn't hurting anyone or asking people for donations I won't call her out.

 

I panicked thinking you might mean me, but I don't really start threads. I feel like I could be perceived as a troll, though, since I tend to respond-and-run. :tongue_smilie: . Sorry about that. I do wish I had more to contribute. I love this board.

[magnificent_baby]

I do not mind when someone is suspecting a troll and posts about it. It really irritates me when I take time out of my life to help another person with advice (not this board specifically), yet to find out they may not be real or have real needs. Very annoying.

 

On another board from years ago, someone created a fake family with names and situations. They stole someone else's pictures of their family from the web. Everyone liked this "person" and she was a member for a long time (a year or so) before someone found out. Someone even tracked down the owner of the pictures to let her know. Everyone on the board felt extremely violated.

 

So, again, I do not mind when someone smells a troll and lets other members be aware.

[susankenny]

LOL :)

There is a member here who has a huge post count. But if you see her posts, most of them are this: :bigear:

 

I figure it's not worth my time going after them. Just ignore and move on. And don't buy from them. :-)

 

:iagree: I open a lot of threads, but one poster comes to mind that tends to gravitate to being a drama mama. I ignore her threads (although she isn't literally on my ignore list - I don't have one of those).

 

 

Susan

[Dolphin]

To Ignore someone, go to the User Control Panel at the top left of the screen. Under Settings, go to Edit Ignore List. Add a member to your list and click Okay. That's it. The poster's content is no longer visible to you (though you will see their post if someone else who you are not ignoring quotes it).

 

Thank you, I am going to explore that after this post. It is amazing what these computers can do...:D I finally figured out how to add tags, and see, someone taught me how to multi quote. Now, I just need to figure out how to subscribe to threads and I should be all caught up.:001_smile:

 

Now that this topic has been brought up I'm brave enough to ask a question I've wanted to ask for a while... if a person is going to go to the effort to troll a board, wouldn't they choose something, well, "sexier" than a board full of homeschooling moms?? :tongue_smilie: Assuming they aren't selling stuff and have no profit motive.

You would think! I am going to assume a new personality and mess with a bunch of homeschool parents....:lol::lol:

[LaxMom]

I do not mind when someone is suspecting a troll and posts about it. It really irritates me when I take time out of my life to help another person with advice (not this board specifically), yet to find out they may not be real or have real needs. Very annoying.

 

On another board from years ago, someone created a fake family with names and situations. They stole someone else's pictures of their family from the web. Everyone liked this "person" and she was a member for a long time (a year or so) before someone found out. Someone even tracked down the owner of the pictures to let her know. Everyone on the board felt extremely violated.

 

So, again, I do not mind when someone smells a troll and lets other members be aware.

 

It's happened on this board as well, but our awesome troll sniffers figured it out before it went on too long.

 

You would think! I am going to assume a new personality and mess with a bunch of homeschool parents....:lol::lol:

 

Homeschooling parents who teach logic, no less. :D

Edited April 24, 2012 by MyCrazyHouse

[LMD]

On another board from years ago, someone created a fake family with names and situations. They stole someone else's pictures of their family from the web. Everyone liked this "person" and she was a member for a long time (a year or so) before someone found out. Someone even tracked down the owner of the pictures to let her know. Everyone on the board felt extremely violated.

 

So, again, I do not mind when someone smells a troll and lets other members be aware.

 

Yeah, another board I was on had a similar situation (wonder if it's the same one?!) a couple of years ago. The poster had been there for years, very well known, elicited a lot of sympathy from her 'situation' (other genuine members had been through it for real) and was caught out using stolen photo's. Total fabrication which a lot of people were very very angry about. There is still a 'poster who will not be named' aura over there. A lesson about not getting too emotionally involved with internet personalities IMO.

 

I basically don't care about trolls, if something doesn't feel right with a poster I just keep my distance, and I just don't do internet debates anymore. Otherwise, I'm not going to be upset that someone made me look like a nice, caring person!

[kitten18]

oh my! Wow.

 

I am on another list about cooking related stuff and a long time member lost it first over glass vs. plastic blenders and then a cookbook and had to be removed after threatening other members. What on earth?

:lol::lol::lol:

[Jean in Newcastle]

A lesson about not getting too emotionally involved with internet personalities IMO.

 

I basically don't care about trolls, if something doesn't feel right with a poster I just keep my distance, and I just don't do internet debates anymore. Otherwise, I'm not going to be upset that someone made me look like a nice, caring person!

 

Maybe this is why it doesn't bother me so much? I do offer my genuine prayers and best wishes and the best advice that I know how (for what it's worth) but I honestly do not lie awake at night thinking about posters on this board. I know that they are, for the most part, strangers to me. I know that I am only getting one side of their story and even then not a complete one because obviously people limit what they say (how many times have we gotten more pertinent information as the thread has progressed?!). I know that my internet advice and even friendship is limited by the medium, if not my own limitations.

 

For even those posters I know (and I know quite a few), I know in a limited capacity. I obviously have a deeper connection to people I know personally or by phone, but I know them in a certain context - that of homeschooling our children.

 

If someone is found out to be a troll, I will not begrudge them my prayers because obviously God knew who I really was praying for and since I pray for His will for them, He can apply it as needed.;) If I gave them my sympathy, I don't begrudge that because it was an expression of my compassion and is not dependent on them being worthy. If I gave them my time, then hopefully someone else might benefit from what is written and if not, oh well. Even legitimate people don't benefit from everything I write! If I gave them my money, then shame on me for being taken.

[StaceyinLA]

I miss everything!

[MeganW]

Now that this topic has been brought up I'm brave enough to ask a question I've wanted to ask for a while... if a person is going to go to the effort to troll a board, wouldn't they choose something, well, "sexier" than a board full of homeschooling moms?? :tongue_smilie: Assuming they aren't selling stuff and have no profit motive.

 

 

It's a MAJOR problem on another forum I frequent for parents of triplets & higher order multiples. We have noticed it pops up even more during the tiems when school is not in session. They join, make up these wild stories, and ask for advice. "I'm 50 years old and was raped and got pregnant with sextuplets. I'm single and have never had kids before." The stories are often horrendous.

 

Most of the time, they just enjoy the attention, but every now and then, someone's hard luck story results in the newbies who don't know any better mailing them tons of baby clothing & equipment to help out, which inevitably just gets sold on Ebay.

 

I truly don't get why they do it, but a LOT of people apparently feel otherwise.

[OrganicAnn]

I thought I knew enough about trolls not to read through the whole thread, but I learned how to report a post and how to ignore someone. I doubt I'll ever do it. I tend to just literally ignore posts that seem too trolly.

 

What gets me is resurrected posts. I think that I get upset, because I'm planning this wonderful, insightful reply when I see that it is an old post.

 

I also don't like when people make sweeping statements about members- anyone who doesn't have an avatar or doesn't list the curriculum they use in their signature is a troll.

[Sneezyone]

oh my! Wow.

 

I am on another list about cooking related stuff and a long time member lost it first over glass vs. plastic blenders and then a cookbook and had to be removed after threatening other members. What on earth?

:smilielol5:

[Tap]

I know this one isn't me, because I do not have anything for sale. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

As a concise, sometimes blunt poster with non-conforming ideas and an absolutely outrageous personal story.............

 

I've observed that people's capacity for argument and discussion and "tone" varies widely. What some consider clearly rude may not be the same for others. I'm very, very careful about what I report for "rude" - of course, I have a high tolerance for it.

 

I am also inclined to believe personal narratives, especially of long timers. I've been here over a decade, nearly a decade and a half. I could verify the elements of my story with in real life, homeschooling people across the stages, many of whom I have met personally. But my story is outrageous.

 

Sometimes, *life* is outrageous. Diseases that change spouses. Mortgage "help" systems that are so bizarre that there will be reparation programs and lawsuits.

 

Trolls, IMO and IME, typically have newish user names and predictable topics. We *have* been fooled - for a while - by some legend posters. But not often.

One of my students did a presentation for Communications on trolls. It was well done, and :lol:. Made me wonder if he had been here. I then realized that internet trolls do the same thing, different content, all over the net on forums.

 

LOL, there are times when even I can't believe my own life story! If I would have came to this board as a newbie last year, I would have probably been accused myself during ds's trial or when I talk about DD5s issues. Even dd5's foster case worker says my family's story is one of the strangest she has heard and is 'soap opera worthy'. LOL That is saying a lot from a foster case worker.

 

I know a person irl, who is like an internet troll. They may be telling a story about a true event, but twist and manipulate the original story so much that it becomes a work of fiction by the end. This person purposefully omits parts of the story, and over emphasizes other parts to make a common place event seem like a horrid event took place. When people, like myself, start to ask questions about the story, people like him (and trolls), just make the story more outrageous or start a fight to avoid the question.

 

This is the type of person who I am talking about.....they walk a fine line, between legit poster and a trouble maker. They may not be a young teenage boy, pretending to be a mother of 15 but these posters do cause trouble just the same.

 

I do not try to 'out' these posters. I typically search old thread to verify what I think and just avoid them. I figure that every time someone posts in one of their threads....it brings it to the top and feeds them. I try to not do that.

[Guest submarines]

I see that it is an old post.

 

I also don't like when people make sweeping statements about members- anyone who doesn't have an avatar or doesn't list the curriculum they use in their signature is a troll.

 

Am I the only one who is not able to upload an avatar? I've tried several times.

 

I must be doing something terribly wrong, because I recently wasn't able to upload an avatar on another forum which uses the same platform.

[Jean in Newcastle]

 

I also don't like when people make sweeping statements about members- anyone who doesn't have an avatar or doesn't list the curriculum they use in their signature is a troll.

 

I have an avatar (thanks to ds14!) but I purposefully do not put my curriculum in my signature. If I have a specific question about curriculum I put it in my post.

[Guest submarines]

I have an avatar (thanks to ds14!) but I purposefully do not put my curriculum in my signature. If I have a specific question about curriculum I put it in my post.

 

Gotcha! I will have an avatar in 4 years then, I think. Though if DD is not into computers, I might need to wait for up to 6. :tongue_smilie:

[jentancalann]

I was just thinking...I could be a troll because it seems I always say Yes! to Would You Eat This? Would a troll have the patience to systemactically take people out over several years by encouraging food posioning?

 

Or maybe I've seen too many high school performances of Arsenic and Old Lace...

 

Ha.larious.:lol:

[sewingmama]

What does JAWM mean? I've seen it several times here lately, but I've never heard it before.

 

Just Agree With Me. Not looking for advice, just a cyberhug and a "there, there".

 

I thought it meant "Just A Whining Moment" :lol::lol:

 

I'm no help with trolls -I get sucked in and believe everything people say - when someone is outed as a troll I'm always thinking "Man I'm an idiot for believing that"

[stripe]

You know what's funny, after the HUGE fight about the blenders, he claimed he'd received lots of emails agreeing with him and begging him to stay. Apparently the story arc is pretty predictable.

[DawnM]

I cannot use the ignore feature. I tried it, then every time that person posted it would say, "SoandSo posted here but is on your ignore list, click here to see what SoandSo said." I am no good at ignoring, I just have to know what in the world this person said. Yes, I usually get irritated anyway, but I just have to know!

 

I will not respond to said people though, I just don't wish to converse with them any longer.

 

Dawn

[I talk to the trees]

I cannot use the ignore feature. I tried it, then every time that person posted it would say, "SoandSo posted here but is on your ignore list, click here to see what SoandSo said." I am no good at ignoring, I just have to know what in the world this person said. Yes, I usually get irritated anyway, but I just have to know!

 

 

 

Dawn

:lol: I do the EXACT same thing! That little "read post" button is just too tempting!

[swellmomma]

And now is the time that I say what I say on every one of these troll threads. I dislike troll hunters almost as much as I do genuine trolls. If there is too much drama for you, then ignore it. Actual trolls do seem to get found out soon enough.

 

HEY! I make a good troll hunter. Don't hate me please. For me pointing them out it is not about too much drama, it is about calling out the inconsistences and lies. I would say I have a fairly decent "success" rate in calling out an actual troll rather than falsely accusing a true member.

[shanvan]

I have an avatar (thanks to ds14!) but I purposefully do not put my curriculum in my signature. If I have a specific question about curriculum I put it in my post.

 

Same here, though I did take care of the troll question with a quote from a thread some time ago! I also figure if anyone looks at my posts they're going to realize I'm not a troll (I think).

[scrappyhappymama]

I know a person irl, who is like an internet troll. They may be telling a story about a true event, but twist and manipulate the original story so much that it becomes a work of fiction by the end. This person purposefully omits parts of the story, and over emphasizes other parts to make a common place event seem like a horrid event took place. When people, like myself, start to ask questions about the story, people like him (and trolls), just make the story more outrageous or start a fight to avoid the question.

 

This is the type of person who I am talking about.....they walk a fine line, between legit poster and a trouble maker. They may not be a young teenage boy, pretending to be a mother of 15 but these posters do cause trouble just the same.

 

I do not try to 'out' these posters. I typically search old thread to verify what I think and just avoid them. I figure that every time someone posts in one of their threads....it brings it to the top and feeds them. I try to not do that.

 

I also know a few people in real life like this. Ev.e.ry.thing. is a big dramatic event in their life. These also tend to be the people who post updates on Facebook like this: "{family member} was hit by a car, heading to ER" and then don't update or answer their cell phone for hours. In the meantime, everyone is freaking out and posting messages of prayer and concern and family members are trying to find out which hospital and what happened, and then finally, hours later, you find out it was just a fender bender and they went to the ER as a precaution. :glare: Once, you might excuse this as someone who wasn't thinking clearly, but over and over and over and over, you start to detect a pattern of drama, ykwim?

 

I think there are probably some posters on this (and every) forum that aren't really trolls, but fall into this "life of drama" category. Just as in real life, I tend to read their posts with a bemused smile and a sense of detachment. Sometimes I can't help myself and question an inconsistency in the story, but it's nearly always an exercise in futility, because there will be some further dramatic explanation to explain away the supposed inconsistency.

 

Generally, I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt, that they are not actually a troll, but someone crying out for help, even if in a dramatic and slightly annoying way. It does bother me when someone's post for help turns into accusations of trolling. I just think how hurt I would feel if I poured out my heart to a bunch of strangers and they started to doubt me and gang up on me. I'd like to think I'd never get to such a place, but who knows what a truly traumatic event could do?

 

I cannot use the ignore feature. I tried it, then every time that person posted it would say, "SoandSo posted here but is on your ignore list, click here to see what SoandSo said." I am no good at ignoring, I just have to know what in the world this person said. Yes, I usually get irritated anyway, but I just have to know!

 

I will not respond to said people though, I just don't wish to converse with them any longer.

 

Dawn

 

:iagree: I tried ignore as well, but curiosity always got the better of me.

[KirstenH]

"Troll Hunter" sounds like a bad CW TV show ... one I want to watch. :D

[annandatje]

The obvious trolls on the internet and in real life typically are harmless to all but the most naive and quickly blow their own cover with their outrageous stories or pre-emptive money requests.

 

Those who walk the fine line between emotionally unbalanced attention seeking and bona fide posting are far more intricate and fascinating. They are, in essence, emotional con artists and wreak havoc in person so the internet is like a giant playground to them. Actually the fewer lies they tell, the more dangerous they are because their deceit is more difficult to unravel.

 

The skilled ones are masters at manipulation and will emotionally drain their willing, sometimes gullible, audience with their curious ever-changing blend of fact and fiction. They are interested primarily in stealing attention and sympathy, not money.

 

Of course, they are always handy with an often legitimate-sounding explanation when called out on their inconsistencies because frankly most of us sometimes forget minor details.

 

The drama queens (and kings) can intuitively sense when they need to tone it down so that their mark does not write them off as a sensationalist. Whoever it was that mentioned how these people use hyperbole to describe a minor annoyance as a horrid happening was spot on.

 

In my community, a person spun a story that paved the way for them to become a highly visible spokesperson/poster child for a certain cause, a coveted position for an empathy thief. Enough of the story was legitimate so that people did not bother to confirm details initially.