When is it not ok to troll?
- Thread starter Torrasque
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Always. Trolling should be outlawed. I've trolled before, and it can be fun/ny, but I believe it must stop. If you don't outlaw it completely, where does the line get drawn? Who decides when trolling is ok or not? There is no simple solution to the problem, nor is there a workable complex solution due to the vastness of the system. The only feasible solution is to get rid of it completely, shun all those who engage in it, and move on with our lives. After all, viruses are a kind of trolling. Do you want to be known for supporting the entirely useless and obnoxious virus-making community? I thought not. I say let it die.
According to the Escapist forum rules it's never okay to troll here. They can ban you for breaking the rules so I think that's kind of important.
Pretty much never.
There's some real life douchebags who deserve to be taken down a peg or two, but really, thinking that the only time not to troll is during a death is rather simple minded.
There's some real life douchebags who deserve to be taken down a peg or two, but really, thinking that the only time not to troll is during a death is rather simple minded.
Took the words right from my mouth.Daystar Clarion said:
A troll is just a person who gets off on spreading misery. Before the internet came around we called these people 'losers' and laughed at them, not with them. Now apparently everybody lives in opposite world and not only is it accepted but we've even turned it into a redundant, joyless sport.
I agree with this. They do it behind a screen cause they're too scared to do it in real life. Though some people do it in RL. I.E. My cousin =_=. I'd set his ass staright but my parents would kill me. But he'll get whats comin to him someday...Daystar Clarion said:
Err right, getting too personal xD
Their are VERY subtle trolls here half the time. Some not so subtle. So I take it that rule doesn't apply like, 75% of the time.Twilight_guy said:
Why choose such an obvious (and easy) target? Even if I approved of trolling, that's just lazy. Westboro has already been done to death by everything from comedians to political pundits. It's not even funny anymore. Their detractors are now more annoying than the church themselves.dogstile said:
If you consider yourself a troll and ever stop to think "Wait a minute...is what i'm doing socially and contextually appropriate?" Then you are the failest failtroll that ever rode the failtrain to failsville.
If anything, the worse a tragedy is the more opportune the time is for trolling. Somebody just broke up with their girlfriend? Lulz to be had are pretty minimal, not much there to be witty with. Somebody just pretended to be a cop, after blowing up government buildings, and shot 60+ teenagers? SO many lulz to be had, lots of things to satirically exploit, huge potential.
I'll tell you right now, one of the funniest pictures i've seen on the net was the original Farcry cover edited with Brevik's head on the protagonist (if you don't remember what the cover looks like its startlingly relevant, so go look)
Trolling is funny because a Human being flails around the funniest when they are in an emotionally charged rage; eg that kid who had his WoW account taken off him (which, btw, is how people come across when successfully trolled)
People who go "Herf derf I would kick their ass if people did this in real life" are the true morons of our age; I can't think of a more intellectually lacking group of people than those who only have enough brain to swing a clenched fist around in response to words. What screams more dumb than "The things these people are saying are rude and socially inappropriate, I SHALL BEAT THEM HEARTILY, as violence is most certainly not the rudest and most socially inappropriate action you can take on a person"?
If anything, the worse a tragedy is the more opportune the time is for trolling. Somebody just broke up with their girlfriend? Lulz to be had are pretty minimal, not much there to be witty with. Somebody just pretended to be a cop, after blowing up government buildings, and shot 60+ teenagers? SO many lulz to be had, lots of things to satirically exploit, huge potential.
I'll tell you right now, one of the funniest pictures i've seen on the net was the original Farcry cover edited with Brevik's head on the protagonist (if you don't remember what the cover looks like its startlingly relevant, so go look)
Trolling is funny because a Human being flails around the funniest when they are in an emotionally charged rage; eg that kid who had his WoW account taken off him (which, btw, is how people come across when successfully trolled)
People who go "Herf derf I would kick their ass if people did this in real life" are the true morons of our age; I can't think of a more intellectually lacking group of people than those who only have enough brain to swing a clenched fist around in response to words. What screams more dumb than "The things these people are saying are rude and socially inappropriate, I SHALL BEAT THEM HEARTILY, as violence is most certainly not the rudest and most socially inappropriate action you can take on a person"?
Seems like posting a differing opinion on TGWTG or Spoonyexperiment forums is described as going too far in trolling.
I meant chosen ignorance, the kind you encounter when you argue with zealots on youtube.gamezombieghgh said:
I don't mean non-chosen ignorance, the kind that a 5 year old would have about giraffes, or the ignorance of the normal person about the intricacies about particle physics; making fun of someone for that would just be cruel and not productive in any way.
In my mind, ignorance is the greatest epidemic of the 21st century; much worse than cancer and AIDS combined.
TL;DR version: Its always ok to troll.RagTagBand said:
I do enjoy your justification though, I just think there are certain situations where my conscience kicked in and says "ok now, if you do that, I am going to make you feel like shit for the next 2 hours"
The internet hasn't completely desensitized me yet
The other forum I frequent is a mothers forum (I will not put the name up here, obviously).
We get so many trolls faking pregnancy, miscarriage and death. Then you get the trolls that come in and pic-bomb aborted fetus' in the "Abortion Survivors" section and whatnot. Trolls don't bother me personally though. Words on a screen.. ooooo how eeeeevil.
*shakes in boots*
We get so many trolls faking pregnancy, miscarriage and death. Then you get the trolls that come in and pic-bomb aborted fetus' in the "Abortion Survivors" section and whatnot. Trolls don't bother me personally though. Words on a screen.. ooooo how eeeeevil.
*shakes in boots*
Hmm...this is actually a pretty challenging question since I think, at the end of the day, EVERYONE enjoys being a Troll once in awhile. If you have even a hint of cynicism or a bit of a mean streak, invariably you'll find times where you Troll someone either online or in real life and you just can't help but smile at their rage. It just depends on who you are and how MUCH of one you are.
That said, when is it NOT okay? Well, if you have a conscience or any kind of social training, I think you know when it's NOT okay. Trolling over/about natural disasters, personal griefs like a death in the family, all of that kind of stuff that causes people honest pain is just not right.
However when you encounter a self-righteous jerk? Well...I suppose one could make a case to Troll the heck outta 'em. A few examples have already been given in this topic. (Although the religious zealots thing is just kinda dangerous, so I wouldn't condone that, however amusing it might be.)
A Boombox is not a toy. (points to anyone who DOESN'T know where that comes from.) Nor is Trolling. Learning to use it properly so you're not banned and you do more good than harm is a long process, I think. If you know how and when to Troll in order to do some good, then that's okay. If you don't, if you're getting kicked off places like the Escapist and others for your behavior, just...stop Trolling. Stop trying to Troll. More than anything it's NOT okay to Troll when you don't know what you're doing and you don't have self-control. Satire is one thing, but one can easily go too far if they don't have enough empathy and self-control to know when to stop or when not to start.
That said, when is it NOT okay? Well, if you have a conscience or any kind of social training, I think you know when it's NOT okay. Trolling over/about natural disasters, personal griefs like a death in the family, all of that kind of stuff that causes people honest pain is just not right.
However when you encounter a self-righteous jerk? Well...I suppose one could make a case to Troll the heck outta 'em. A few examples have already been given in this topic. (Although the religious zealots thing is just kinda dangerous, so I wouldn't condone that, however amusing it might be.)
A Boombox is not a toy. (points to anyone who DOESN'T know where that comes from.) Nor is Trolling. Learning to use it properly so you're not banned and you do more good than harm is a long process, I think. If you know how and when to Troll in order to do some good, then that's okay. If you don't, if you're getting kicked off places like the Escapist and others for your behavior, just...stop Trolling. Stop trying to Troll. More than anything it's NOT okay to Troll when you don't know what you're doing and you don't have self-control. Satire is one thing, but one can easily go too far if they don't have enough empathy and self-control to know when to stop or when not to start.
Whenever the WBC, I think that's the correct abbriveation, protests something like say a soldier's funeral saying things like, "god hates fags and they deserve to die in a war."
When its clear that it's not funny and they resort to spamming "U mad?". Boring, ineffective and Shows a lack of creativity