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WillyT

(72,631 posts)
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:22 PM Feb 2015

When You Believe You've Encountered A Troll At DU...

Do you respond... and THEN alert ???

Or do you just alert ???


8 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
Respond then alert.
0 (0%)
Just alert.
3 (38%)
Obligatory Other.
5 (63%)
Show usernames
Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll
43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
When You Believe You've Encountered A Troll At DU... (Original Post) WillyT Feb 2015 OP
I only alert on what I think are real trolls marym625 Feb 2015 #1
LOL !!! WillyT Feb 2015 #5
Oh I forgot to say marym625 Feb 2015 #9
Usually, neither. Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2015 #2
Thanks for not alerting on my threads Ichingcarpenter Feb 2015 #25
I'm just used to them being part of the general population. onehandle Feb 2015 #3
+1, Discussionist, another revenue stream using a variation of DU3 sw methodology. n/t RKP5637 Feb 2015 #38
Play with them like a cat with Dead Mouse Walking. nt Zorra Feb 2015 #4
LOVE IT !!! WillyT Feb 2015 #6
Great! Since their posts are predictable and lame it is easy to use them as a foil. n/t pampango Feb 2015 #26
It depends, if they are just a little hairy.... daleanime Feb 2015 #7
The ones on the posts the day of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz marym625 Feb 2015 #11
Thankfully I missed that.... daleanime Feb 2015 #23
was pretty horrible marym625 Feb 2015 #24
Either let be or ignore. bigwillq Feb 2015 #8
Increasingly, I walk away. There are too many of them. This is not fun any more. Hekate Feb 2015 #10
Do you mean anyone who doesnt pledge fealty to Hillary? Ramses Feb 2015 #15
Agreed... SidDithers Feb 2015 #16
Ain't that the gods' own truth Hekate Feb 2015 #17
rings a bell Warren DeMontague Feb 2015 #22
Should be fun next year. joshcryer Feb 2015 #30
Have you been to Hekate Feb 2015 #43
Yep. joshcryer Feb 2015 #29
Depends on what kind of trolling it is - but I haven't sent a jury petronius Feb 2015 #12
I might have chosen obligatory other fadedrose Feb 2015 #13
I alert on the really awful stuff that gets posted here Warpy Feb 2015 #14
Ha ha trolls... Kalidurga Feb 2015 #18
I have hundreds of people on ignore olddots Feb 2015 #19
I clean out my Ignores once every year or two. I figure they've been tombstoned by valerief Feb 2015 #34
I don't waste my time. dilby Feb 2015 #20
feed them negative stories about republicans bigtree Feb 2015 #21
Ignore them and keep going....there'll be a net nanny along soon enough. ileus Feb 2015 #27
I don't think putting people on Ignore means I'm thin-skinned. I just like to get rid of all valerief Feb 2015 #33
If I think they've posted something that a jury would consider locking... NaturalHigh Feb 2015 #28
Varies, but I Ignore them at the end. nt valerief Feb 2015 #31
Sit back and watch the fun. hobbit709 Feb 2015 #32
Other... Jamastiene Feb 2015 #35
I ignore them the old-fashioned way. MineralMan Feb 2015 #36
Pass. LWolf Feb 2015 #37
Any response just encourages them. bemildred Feb 2015 #39
Vote in their poll, then respond. NuclearDem Feb 2015 #40
Funny Bobbie Jo Feb 2015 #41
Sometimes I respond, sometimes I don't. HappyMe Feb 2015 #42

marym625

(17,997 posts)
1. I only alert on what I think are real trolls
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:27 PM
Feb 2015

And I evidently miss that sometimes. I have been replying to someone that suddenly becomes name removed.

Interesting question. Have you been trolled?

 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
2. Usually, neither.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:27 PM
Feb 2015

In the 14 years I've been here I've alerted on one post. One that was obviously racist/xenophobic.

Usually, rather than respond, I just shrug.

onehandle

(51,122 posts)
3. I'm just used to them being part of the general population.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:27 PM
Feb 2015

Swaying juries. Serving as moderators.

The owners don't care as long as they click on ads.

Thus, Discussionist.

daleanime

(17,796 posts)
7. It depends, if they are just a little hairy....
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:30 PM
Feb 2015

I look the other way.

If it's a full blown knuckle walking, wife dragging, club carrying troll, then I alert.

Yes, I don't alert often.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
11. The ones on the posts the day of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:39 PM
Feb 2015

Were horrible. Alerted a lot that day.

marym625

(17,997 posts)
24. was pretty horrible
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 07:28 AM
Feb 2015

Thankfully, mirt was on top of it. After the first one, the rest were removed within seconds. There were about 12 replies just on my post. Absolutely horrible thing on a thread that was truly wonderful. I don't mean my OP, but the stories shared on it are personal, emotional and beautiful.

Thank goodness for MIRT.

Hekate

(93,676 posts)
10. Increasingly, I walk away. There are too many of them. This is not fun any more.
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:38 PM
Feb 2015

My major hope is that after the primary elections they will all get shit-canned.

SidDithers

(44,228 posts)
16. Agreed...
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 11:24 PM
Feb 2015

DU's revolving door. Too many zombies of previously banned assholes sneak back in with new accounts.

Sid

joshcryer

(62,332 posts)
30. Should be fun next year.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:16 AM
Feb 2015

2016 should revive so many of them. Tempted to start another site (not tempted, setting one up, lawls).

Hekate

(93,676 posts)
43. Have you been to
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 02:00 PM
Feb 2015
http://www.democratsforprogress.com/

It was my refuge for a couple of years. I should go by there again. What it lacks in DU's 24/7 action, it makes up for in quality of participants. Minus the piss and vinegar.

But do let us know about what you're up to -- there's always PM if you don't want to say it too loudly in GD.

joshcryer

(62,332 posts)
29. Yep.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:15 AM
Feb 2015

I've had too many alerts denied. With posts or nicks I know for a fact are trolls. I only alert on obvious spammers these days.

fadedrose

(10,044 posts)
13. I might have chosen obligatory other
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:42 PM
Feb 2015

if I knew what it meant.

I don't do anything with trolls and don't even know if I've ever had contact with any I'm not interesting or smart enough for them to waste their time.

Warpy

(112,853 posts)
14. I alert on the really awful stuff that gets posted here
Fri Feb 20, 2015, 10:46 PM
Feb 2015

by dateless no hopers mostly on weekends. Borderline trolling is something I just back away from.

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
18. Ha ha trolls...
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 12:38 AM
Feb 2015

they are fun to play with at times. Other times they are just vile in that case I hit alert. I have no time for racist, sexist, culturalist, and other BS.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
34. I clean out my Ignores once every year or two. I figure they've been tombstoned by
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:24 AM
Feb 2015

then and post under other names anyway.

dilby

(2,273 posts)
20. I don't waste my time.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 02:45 AM
Feb 2015

I have seen some people post and thought troll, then they post something else and I think they are a liberal progressive. At the end of the day you probably will only agree with other people here 90% of the time and the other 10% will be you disagreeing slightly or thinking the person is a troll.

bigtree

(88,971 posts)
21. feed them negative stories about republicans
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 03:03 AM
Feb 2015

...just keep cramming them down their throats until they shrink (slink) away.

ileus

(15,396 posts)
27. Ignore them and keep going....there'll be a net nanny along soon enough.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:13 AM
Feb 2015

Trolls are just that....

And by ignore I don't mean add to an ignore list...I have zero folks on ignore, I'm thicker skinned than that.

valerief

(53,235 posts)
33. I don't think putting people on Ignore means I'm thin-skinned. I just like to get rid of all
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:23 AM
Feb 2015

the clutter they generate from the responses. Trolls create garbage posts, so I take out the trash.

NaturalHigh

(12,778 posts)
28. If I think they've posted something that a jury would consider locking...
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 08:13 AM
Feb 2015

then I alert without comment. If I think it's questionable but would survive a jury, I usually just ignore. Juries are always luck of the draw, and besides, I frankly believe in the right to speak freely, even if the post is mostly nonsense. Trolls who go over the line usually get their asses handed to them by other posters anyway, and I figure that someone else has already alerted.

Jamastiene

(38,187 posts)
35. Other...
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 09:18 AM
Feb 2015

Believe it or not, I very rarely, if ever, alert anything on DU3, even if it is something nasty and is directed directly at me.

Since DU3, I have seen homophobic, sexist, transphobic, anti-Semitic, and racist posts go unhidden far too often to test my luck. What I mean by that is that I think at any minute, admins of this site could decide to punish people who alert and the alerted post is not hidden.

After all, the number 7 got one of my friends tombstoned on DU2. I know how the wind blows with Skinner when it comes to minorities. You just about have to stage a years-long protest to get him to talk about it. Even then, he left *some* mods who hated most of the rest of us in the GLBT community in charge of our forum over on DU2. That fucking sucked. He tried, but it didn't really work out. They allowed some horrible things to be said to us and deleted our replies to the people saying those things. It was a nightmare and utter failure.

We have much better control now in the LGBT Group here on DU3. So, in a very big way, that much Skinner did right and I am glad he did. Inside the group, we can do something about it now when people are being horrible to us, but only in the group. We cannot do anything about it outside the group.

Even in the group, I try to just read and watch out for assholes who drop by to remind us they are assholes. The beautiful thing is I have since learned not to use ignore until we decide to block someone from the group. THEN I can ignore them. I just decided to do it that way because manually re-ignoring all of the people I had ignored on DU2 would have taken ages and I could not have watched out for their appearance to taunt us on DU3 too. This way, I can watch and see how people behave and then once they are blocked, I don't have to see their hateful crap any more.

A lot of crap is allowed to stay on DU3. And because homophobic, transphobic, sexist, racist, and anti-Semitic posts go unhidden on the rest of DU3, I consider myself a sort of outsider when I am outside of the LGBT Group on DU3. I know I am in hostile territory and expect horrible crap to be said in just about every thread.

I still don't trust my chances enough to alert someone I suspect is a troll. Between me and someone I suspect as a troll, it is a tossup which one of us might get PPRed by admins. I honestly don't know that I would be the one to not get PPRed instead of the person I suspected was a troll.

imo, there are lots of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-Semitic (usually if they are one of those things, they are pretty much all of them, if you pay attention) trolls on DU3, but we do have more leeway to go ahead and just respond to them and "takes" our chances. It has its good and bad points, doing it that way, but I just don't trust my luck enough to alert very often. The few times I did alert at the beginning of DU3, I got an immediate email back saying it had been decided already and the post stayed. So, I just usually respond, tell them I think their views are atrocious and that I think they are full of shit, then move on.

There's no love on DU. It's all hate. It was never exactly Kumbaya all the time before, but there used to be some people on DU who actually gave a crap about each other. That's gone now. It is like the cast of a major show you watched for years slowly swapped each character with their opposites through the years until you hardly recognize anyone any more. If you see someone from the old days, it thrills you because you haven't seen them post in so long.

But as far as alerts on DU go, I very rarely do it nowadays. I know to expect hate to stand on DU now. In every thread about rape, there will be people saying the woman deserved it or claim she is lying (there is a LOT of that). In every thread about anti-gay hate crimes, there will be several jerks who will find a way to blame it on the gay person. In threads about racism, there will be the same posters who ALWAYS show up in those threads to tell people of color on DU what racism is and is not. In threads about sexism, there will always be the MRA types in there to talk about how good women have it compared to the most brutal places where women aren't even allowed to drive. Yeah, like we should be thankful they "let" us drive here in America. Bunch of bullshit is what they push in those threads. I won't even set foot in IP because I don't want to see the anti-Semitic shit that passes any more than I have to.

Forget having a conversation about transphobia on DU. Some of the same public restroom paranoids show up in every one of those threads even to this day on DU to talk about how horrible transgender people are and how they think transgender people are just in there to look at their obnoxious asses, as if. I have never seen anyone expect such privacy in public restrooms until some of the people on DU who hate transgender people started showing up to make bullshit comments and argue for hours about how their privacy is violated. Then there were the oodles of shower comments on DU during the DADT debates that never got deleted. We were told to STFU for years on DU when it came to GLBT issues, but I see we were right to NOT STFU like so many on DU wanted us to. It's the only way we were able to get any rights.

So, all in all. I have to answer other. I just don't alert any more on DU. It's a waste of time, really. Unless you can send word about a newb troll to MIRT, forget bothering to alert. Now, if you can find a way to let MIRT know before they lose the power to do anything about it (before the troll gets their foot in the door and gets too many posts and is untouchable), I have to say, MIRT will do what they can to stem the tide of assholes who try to troll DU.

MineralMan

(147,101 posts)
36. I ignore them the old-fashioned way.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 11:04 AM
Feb 2015

I don't click on their threads most of the time. Alerting does no good, really.

LWolf

(46,179 posts)
37. Pass.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 11:05 AM
Feb 2015

I don't think my understanding of the term "troll" is a match with the conventional definition.

Bobbie Jo

(14,341 posts)
41. Funny
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 11:34 AM
Feb 2015

Some seem to welcome the more obvious trolls with open arms.

It's a sight to behold.

Alerts are useless at this point.

HappyMe

(20,277 posts)
42. Sometimes I respond, sometimes I don't.
Sat Feb 21, 2015, 11:38 AM
Feb 2015

I usually don't alert. A post has to be pretty terrible for me to alert.

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