Your Opinion of Trolling

[nsqared]

So tonight i was bored, and got on Omegle, for those who know what that is. For all who don't, Omegle is a website where you can video chat with people anonymously. Anyway, I never go on there for any real purpose, just to troll and mess with people. I got pretty far into a conversation and started considering my motives. At first i thought this wasn't very nice, but also considered that it's the internet, anyone who comes on here has to consider that they might get trolled. I guess it all comes down to your preference:
Are you realistic, and think that you will probably never meet this person and they are probably expecting it,
or do you uphold personal values, and really don't care whether or not you meet them, it's still not very cool.
What do you think?

 

[manic_depressive13]

It's all fair game. If you enjoy trolling, more power to you. If you don't enjoy being trolled, learn to enjoy trolling. That's how the internet works.

 

[imnot]

I like good trolling, yknow the funny stuff (cant think of any examples right now) ,rather than caps lock obsenities.

 

[Mariakko]

Trolling is fun, Especially on Omegle. As long as there is wit in your trolls, not just saying "first" to everything.

 

[Ruwrak]

As long as I can giggle about it myself it's all good.

 

[jim1398]

If it's original and funny, I have no problem with people trolling. If it's just stupid and obvious (which unfortunately it is most of the time), then it annoys me because of how pointless it is. If everyone's calling you out as a troll from the start, then you've failed and just wasted your time.

It also depends on where and who you're trolling. For example, if you're doing this sort of trolling,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-14894576
then that really isn't cool.

 

[A Klokwerk Kaos]

while on the subject of trolling, here's a how to I wrote up years ago based on content from all over the net. -Link removed by Mod. Please don't advertise your own blogs on the site, use your profile. considered nsfw.

As one might suspect, I think trolling has it's place in net society and am greatful for it, provided it stays online and not offline. For me that's the line where it's no longer a joke and moving rapidly towards difficult to ignore harassment.

 

[C-Mag]

The problem I have with rolling is that how good it is completely depends not only on the troller, but also on the reader. For the average person, there is far more bad trolling than good trolling.

Personally, if we define trolling as 'getting someone angry because it amuses you', that is what I consider dickish. You are making someone else experience unpleasant feelings and getting enjoyment from it. Now obviously there are extenuating circumstances, particularly if they were asking for it, if you know what I mean.

For me, a (rare) good troll twists people around, trips them up and basically acts like a forum version of Bugs Bunny. But what you're far more likely to find is some asshat acting like an annoying and superior jerk, brushing off comments and arguments like they don't matter (rather than twisting them around or making fun of them) and basically acting like a complete bastard that I feel like giving a good smack around the ear.

I find the vast majority of trolls to be sad and annoying individuals who hamper everyone's enjoyment in sacrifice to their own. So unless you are REALLY good, proudly yourself as a troll to me IRL will result in a smack.

I have no respect for them.

 

[Hammartroll]

The only time I ever troll is when both I and the victim will find it funny in the end, or when (usually during political discussion) I play the devil's advocate.

I'm kinda in the same boat as you in that I end up feeling like a jerk if I succesfully trolled and made the other person feel bad. It just feels like I'm not accomplishing anything by trolling to make people mad.

also my name's not a refrence to the way I act but rather just a refrence to the internet term, just so yinz know

 

[Spectral Dragon]

Done right, it's not bad. Though the whole "it's on the internet so it doesn't matter" bothers me. We're still people, though more likely to just be jerks, rather than even trolls. You shouldn't expect to be harassed (the bad kind of trolling) just because you use the internet. Fine trolling, and knowing when to apply it, is an fine art that few can master.

 

[Lilani]

The only time I really have a problem with it if it goes too far, or if one person is being specifically targeted to the point where they can't get away. For example, the LulzSec thing and cyber-bullying. Those are the most extreme ends of trolling. There is a line that separates good fun and intentional degradation, and I think people flirt with their borders far too often.

 

[Neverhoodian]

In most cases it's little more than a waste of time and/or a desperate cry by someone starved for attention. If someone has to resort to getting random strangers riled up online for their jollies, then they should probably go do something more productive with their time.

The one exception is if it's done in the name of "internet vigilantism." It's schadenfreude-tastic when genuinely despicable people or groups are trolled successfully.

 

[idodo35]

you either troll or get trolled in the internet wilderness...

 

[Geekosaurus]

It's high-larious.

 

[Vegosiux]

The problem with trolling is as follows:

Too often people are just being stupid, and not actually trolling.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Being a dick, for the sole purpose of being a dick?

Yeah, don't see how you can defend that, really. Sure, you have banter amongst friends and all, but if your purpose is to spoil people's fun or upset/traumatise them, no, that's seriously not cool.

 

[AwesomeFerret]

I stand by my principals wherever I'm interecting with people. Being anonymous doesn't mean you lose the ability to communicate like a normal human being. People should stop acting like it's an excuse. And before you ask, I am certainly "not mad bro".