Is Trolling... fun? What does someone gain from trolling others? (Fun Poll)
 

This is a great place to start this conversation as I'm sure the anecdotal studies all have done in this section will provide great insight.

I used to troll when I was much younger. I also loved debate (of an academic/intellectual quality), but those things often do not mix for creating conversations that aren't without major discord. :laugh: I had trouble there and I lost quite a few arguments...

Actually, I think many people--if not most--troll in some form on the net. My trolling tendencies really came from immaturity and a lack of an ability to get my opinion across without using personalized language (you!!!)...

I wonder if because of the advent of the internet, especially in the US since now we have an internet troll as president, ... perhaps people will have to learn to not react so easily to emotional arguments. Instead, look for better ways to communicate and get their ideas across than screaming at each other in the face... one can only hope right? :laugh:

If we somehow survive a Donald Trump presidency, I think that would be the next step would be to work on education and improving people's social/communication skills... especially since ideas are real currency now (thanks internet!)... and we kinda need to improve those things in other to fix (or work on) a lot of social problems that face society. Edit: Also to work on communicating with each other in general to lower divorce rates and to counteract cultural collision...

Personally, I think we need more social/life skills taught in schools. That would avert some trouble there, as it would teach kids to better navigate situations where people prey on others... for whatever reason. Also, it would help them to better understand when they should seek help and maybe other child-hood problems can be nipped in the bud before they become major problems in adulthood.

LT is not here to defend himself.

I used to troll on a dress up sit called stardoll when I was about 11 or 12, I made accouts called things like smelly poopoo and made the doll really ugly and joined clubs and posted things like 'I can hear my mum and dad humping' or 'I just got my 1st period' :laugh:

I forgot to put a poll option for "to get attention"... derp!

:laugh::hehe:

That's why I made the poll 30 days :smug:

Me

You told people you just got your 1st period? :laugh: Interesting...

I've known a few guys to regularly pose as girls online too. When I used to play MMO RPGs, I was regularly accused of being a man because of such...

On the other hand, I knew many girls who played as men to preserve their anonymity, so men beware... :dazzler:

Ask Saturn :hehe:

Those two things never mix... which is why SD is the way it is right now.

I find this topic difficult to debate because media attention / misunderstanding has, in my opinion, altered the meaning of the word for those of us who have been online "from the beginning".

The confusion is when genuinely malicious, deliberately harmful comments, designed to cause real injury, are flippantly described as "trolling" (facebook / twitter "trolls" etc.) and that's the meaning the word has now taken on. What it really is, or was, is more like a gentle ribbing / employment of satire that can actually have a point if used sparingly and with awareness.

So basically... it depends which variety you're talking about :joker:.

@ LT?

Are you the one who trolled the troll poll? :laugh:

http://i.imgur.com/jJGZBFW.jpg

What is the primary definition of trolling for you?

I was around when the name was new/new-ish, but it used to be used as an insult to try to finger wag/shame people being assholes :laugh:... then it kinda became a thing that people did for fun. Then it kinda tee-d off from that in my experience into applying to various use cases for the word...

For me trolling is mostly when you are deceiving others for some cause.. it can be as light as baiting someone into making certain commentary (stealth trolling)... but it doesn't have to involve any bullying. It doesn't even have to involve humiliation. It does often involve the deception component... particular with the purpose of forcing others to show their hand.

Imo, Western societies, particularly America, where individualism is King are really bad at being trolled. Our mainstream media is very easily trolled as well. Donald Trump would not have been elected had it not been for the gullibility of people to respond and make viral his controversial remarks... if you read his history, particularly his Twitter feed, truthfully, he's been running a campaign for more than 2 years... so shouldn't have been a surprise to our media what his ultimate goal was. Had they not fed the troll, we may have had had a different result... but I think that is is true in most cases where social media and politics is involved... people are very prone to baiting remarks and thinly veiled commentary... therefore our society as a whole tries to "correct" the problematic individual by condemning or otherwise trying to "purge" these influences... but thanks to the internet and individualism, it can never be purged... instead it is further re-circulated by the "troll armies" (remember that term?) by way of click bait-y headlines and shock jock-esk speeches at rallies... our media, none the wiser fed into this trap hook line and sinker... therefore unintentionally and successfully vetted him as an "anti-establishment" candidate.

You gotta troll the troll poll if you wanna get into this boy's soul... you gotta troll the troll poll to get in! If you want the baby boy's soul you gotta troll the troll poll, you gotta troll the poll to get in! Troooll poll! What you say? Troooll poll! Hey hey heeey.. Troll poll!

But nah it wasn't me.

Largely I agree with that as the definition; it generally involves a bit of harmless immaturity, "poking the bear with a stick". Mischief, I suppose. Annoying / irritating people in a way that, if done skillfully, as you said can often prompt people to spill what they've been holding back. Then you had unskilled trolls who were JUST annoying and trying to amuse themselves, but again, more or less harmless.

Where the definition was lost, for me, was when the media adopted it (at least here, I don't know about over there) as a blanket term to describe something else: Any and All online bullying. Facebook hate campaigns, with real malice and intent to cause harm behind them, were reported as "trolling" when (in my opinion) it's a complete misuse of a term that had a specific meaning online. A hateful bully is simply a bully... offline or online.