Bikerman
For those who do not know, trolling is a term used to describe certain types of posting, particularly in forums like these. The exact origin of the usage is disputed. There are those who say it derives from throwing the net and seeing who is caught (as in fishing), and those who say is comes from 'troller' (French:monster) which in turn comes from the Norse 'troll'.
Whatever the origin, the meaning, in this context, is one who posts inflamatory or plainly silly posts simply to stir a reaction and see who 'bites'. As such it is a sub-set of flaming, though it can be done simply by de-railing a thread with irrelevant side-tracks.
Some forums welcome trolls, and a bit of trolling would not be too far out of place in some of the forums here - jokes and general chat, for example. In this particular forum, however, people mostly discuss matters of philosophy & religion which are generally serious, so we wish to discourage trolling here. Far too many times an interesting thread has been derailed - deliberately or not - by an off-topic troll.
Note - I (Bikerman) am at least as guilty as most for replying to such postings (the general internet rule is 'do not feed trolls' - which means don't reply), but I have always preferred to talk the issue through rationally rather than simply ignore it - that was a mistake.
From today onwards, therefore, the moderators are going to take a less tolerant line with postings that are obviously either off-topic or simply assertion with no backing.
Please note:
Any complaints must be made to me (Bikerman), Ocalhoun, or one of the other moderators via pm, and should NOT be posted in public threads.
We will not remove any posting that deviates slightly from the OP, and we are not trying to discourage a bit of occasional humour in postings. We WILL, however, remove any post which is consider to be simply designed (wittingly or unwittingly) to derail a thread. In such cases the poster will be informed of the decision and the reason behind it.
Bikerman
Moderation team
Whatever the origin, the meaning, in this context, is one who posts inflamatory or plainly silly posts simply to stir a reaction and see who 'bites'. As such it is a sub-set of flaming, though it can be done simply by de-railing a thread with irrelevant side-tracks.
Some forums welcome trolls, and a bit of trolling would not be too far out of place in some of the forums here - jokes and general chat, for example. In this particular forum, however, people mostly discuss matters of philosophy & religion which are generally serious, so we wish to discourage trolling here. Far too many times an interesting thread has been derailed - deliberately or not - by an off-topic troll.
Note - I (Bikerman) am at least as guilty as most for replying to such postings (the general internet rule is 'do not feed trolls' - which means don't reply), but I have always preferred to talk the issue through rationally rather than simply ignore it - that was a mistake.
From today onwards, therefore, the moderators are going to take a less tolerant line with postings that are obviously either off-topic or simply assertion with no backing.
Please note:
Any complaints must be made to me (Bikerman), Ocalhoun, or one of the other moderators via pm, and should NOT be posted in public threads.
We will not remove any posting that deviates slightly from the OP, and we are not trying to discourage a bit of occasional humour in postings. We WILL, however, remove any post which is consider to be simply designed (wittingly or unwittingly) to derail a thread. In such cases the poster will be informed of the decision and the reason behind it.
Bikerman
Moderation team
