Low Quality Trolling

[Buzz Killington]

Really guys, watching this parakeet drama from both sides of it has been pretty sad.  I mean maybe he thinks this place is full of devious master trolls cunningly plotting his downfall, but all I'm seeing is the cruelty without the funny or the clever that is the mark of quality trolling.

First, the target is another Aspie with classic AS issues like paranoia, a reliance on authority figures for problem solving, naivety, etc, and strong religious views to boot.  Anyone could troll a guy like that, that's just clubbing a baby seal.  Where's the challenge? 
The only people I ever really went after on WP had their names in green, and they had to seriously bend their own rules to ban me, and only after months of me in their faces.  Getting the ban reversed was the final slap in the face to them, and far more satisfying than just making some guy mad because it's easy.

Secondly, the "trolling" itself has been just sub-par.  Gay jokes?  Fat jokes? Imposter profiles on third party sites?  Really?  I think not having to worry about mods and rules has made people lazy.  If I want to fuck with someone on WP, I can call them a jerk, a moron an asshole and a loser without ever using those words and still have the message get through loud and clear, it just takes a bit more thought and deviousness.  Anyone can make a dummy account and get in a few personal shots before the mods there delete them, doing it in such a way that no rules are technically broken and there is no pretext for action takes much more skill.  I know there are people here who can do it, but I'm just not seeing it here. 

Finally, the justification.  Like I mentioned before, it looks an awful lot like people are bullying an Aspie for reacting like an Aspie to being taunted, not cool in my book.  If it really was all about the lulz a la 4chan, there wouldn't be the self righteous justifications, either own the behavior or don't do it, don't wuss out by making it about "avenging" homophobia or some bullshit about threats. 
Now that he's come in here of his own volition, that's sort of accepting whatever comes his way here, but what went on earlier in the year with the fake profiles and such was seriously fucked.  Schoolyard bullshit, and without even the risk of an asskicking that being a dick to someone in person carries.  I expected better.

Hmm, perhaps this should have gone in callouts...

[The_Chosen_One]

Meh, just let him burn.

His turn in the barrel this week.

[Buzz Killington]

Meh, just let him burn.

His turn in the barrel this week.

Well yeah, now that he's here that's fine; it was all the off-site stuff from months ago that I had a real problem with.  I was going to let it lie until it flared back up this week, and since I held my tongue last time I decided to say me piece now.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Well here's the thing, the fact he threatened legal action over such schoolyard bullshit shows that while low quality it still worked. If he can't even handle that kind of trolling without getting that serious business about it, god forbid if more proficient trolls ever showed interest. Believe me, if he threatened a proficient troll with lolsuits, the reaction would simply be more extreme trolling and harassment.

[bodie]

@Dox47

Speaking as someone who has never really been into 'trolling',  as in never participated in it, and as far as i know never
been the target of it,  i have never before thought much about the points you raise.

Out of sheer laziness really,  i have never bothered to analyse,  look up to,  or condone this behaviour.   To me things are either funny or not on an internet forum and a troll is some crusty little dwarf under a Scandinavian bridge!

I think your above post is very interesting and think you should stick around as i think you would be rather good in a callout,
anyway,  :thumbup:whatever it was over!

[Frolic_Fun]

You come here now and then and whine like a bitch over WP.... and yet you have the audacity to give a lecture on how we're doing a shite job at trolling. That's not just funny, that's outright hilarious.

That said, I do admit I'm a crap troll. However sometimes simple ad-homs and shitstirring does work effectively.

I never considered i2 to be a haven for trolls, most of the members are too soft and sensitive for that. Trolls came here and didn't even try (such as buttcoffee), causing widespread butthurt.

["couldbecousin"]

You come here now and then and whine like a bitch over WP.... and yet you have the audacity to give a lecture on how we're doing a shite job at trolling. That's not just funny, that's outright hilarious.

That said, I do admit I'm a crap troll. However sometimes simple ad-homs and shitstirring does work effectively.

I never considered i2 to be a haven for trolls, most of the members are too soft and sensitive for that. Trolls came here and didn't even try (such as buttcoffee), causing widespread butthurt.

 That's true!  I myself am as weak as a kitten!   

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

You come here now and then and whine like a bitch over WP.... and yet you have the audacity to give a lecture on how we're doing a shite job at trolling. That's not just funny, that's outright hilarious.

That said, I do admit I'm a crap troll. However sometimes simple ad-homs and shitstirring does work effectively.

I never considered i2 to be a haven for trolls, most of the members are too soft and sensitive for that. Trolls came here and didn't even try (such as buttcoffee), causing widespread butthurt.

Well most trolling is always seen as low quality crap from someone on the receiving end usually. I've never seen a target and their sympathizers go, "Oh boy, you guys are good at trolling I lol'd", in fact to hear those words instantly shows you've failed so hard.

But when you hear, "OMG I'MMA PRESSIN' CHARGES" or "You guys are such fucking dicks", it's a gauge of success.

But then, I'm hardly a great troll, I'm too inexperienced to say I'm even good at it.

[Buzz Killington]

Well here's the thing, the fact he threatened legal action over such schoolyard bullshit shows that while low quality it still worked. If he can't even handle that kind of trolling without getting that serious business about it, god forbid if more proficient trolls ever showed interest. Believe me, if he threatened a proficient troll with lolsuits, the reaction would simply be more extreme trolling and harassment.

So what if he did threaten legal action?  He's an Aspie, and going to authorities is something that some of us tend to do.  Clearly he was/is also naive about interactions on the internet, another thing we're known for.  I hate internet tough guys as much as the next person, but I do cut a certain amount of slack for people I know to have issues, especially when I share some of those same issues.  It's not like anyone here was actually afraid of a summons showing up or something, this was clearly driven by people getting a kick out of tormenting someone and using the thinnest of justifications to excuse their actions. 

I suppose you could say that the trolling is "working" in that you've made one Aspie more miserable than he was before, further eroded his trust in other people, and made it clear that other Aspies are just as callous and cruel as everyone else out there.  Congrats on that, I'll bet you're really proud of yourself, having successfully shot a fish in a barrel.  Why not go make a bunch of posts with flashing graphics on an epilepsy support site next?  Bet that ought to toughen those crybabies up, right?

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Well here's the thing, the fact he threatened legal action over such schoolyard bullshit shows that while low quality it still worked. If he can't even handle that kind of trolling without getting that serious business about it, god forbid if more proficient trolls ever showed interest. Believe me, if he threatened a proficient troll with lolsuits, the reaction would simply be more extreme trolling and harassment.

So what if he did threaten legal action?  He's an Aspie, and going to authorities is something that some of us tend to do.  Clearly he was/is also naive about interactions on the internet, another thing we're known for.  I hate internet tough guys as much as the next person, but I do cut a certain amount of slack for people I know to have issues, especially when I share some of those same issues.  It's not like anyone here was actually afraid of a summons showing up or something, this was clearly driven by people getting a kick out of tormenting someone and using the thinnest of justifications to excuse their actions. 

I suppose you could say that the trolling is "working" in that you've made one Aspie more miserable than he was before, further eroded his trust in other people, and made it clear that other Aspies are just as callous and cruel as everyone else out there.  Congrats on that, I'll bet you're really proud of yourself, having successfully shot a fish in a barrel.  Why not go make a bunch of posts with flashing graphics on an epilepsy support site next?  Bet that ought to toughen those crybabies up, right?

The fact you're taking me too seriously shows you fail at understanding trolls. I couldn't care less about the issue, I only saw an opportunity to be an asshole and took it.

[Buzz Killington]

You come here now and then and whine like a bitch over WP.... and yet you have the audacity to give a lecture on how we're doing a shite job at trolling. That's not just funny, that's outright hilarious.

That said, I do admit I'm a crap troll. However sometimes simple ad-homs and shitstirring does work effectively.

I never considered i2 to be a haven for trolls, most of the members are too soft and sensitive for that. Trolls came here and didn't even try (such as buttcoffee), causing widespread butthurt.

Well, if I recall my early days here were less about whining over WP and more about devising ironic deaths for their moderators, but I digress.  I should have spoken up when the earlier thing was going on because I felt strongly about it, but didn't because I didn't want to get involved.  Now I'm actually saying what I was thinking months ago, while also taking the opportunity to critique what I see as the laziness brought on by not having rules to evade.  Anyone can call somebody a faggot or tell them to fuck off or that they're a moron, that takes no skill at all.  It's not that I don't say those very things, but I can say them in such a way that the person I'm saying them to doesn't realize it until later.  Much more fun that way.

[Buzz Killington]

The fact you're taking me too seriously shows you fail at understanding trolls. I couldn't care less about the issue, I only saw an opportunity to be an asshole and took it.

Oh, believe me, I understand trolling very well.  Emotion is like blood in the water to me, I see emotion coming off of a post and I just zero in on it.  The difference is that I don't place so much value in assholery for it's own sake that I devote huge amounts of time and effort to it or go out of my way to be one.  I'm a tit-for-tat sort of guy, and I prefer to let people make assholes of themselves rather than the other way around.  Think of it like rope-a-dope, why put the effort into smacking a guy around who will do it to himself given enough rope? 

I'm only reacting to you seriously because as a WP regular I've seen the effect on 'keet firsthand, and it hasn't been pretty.  I think he's actually an ok guy with many of the usual AS issues, religion aside,, and honestly it made me angry to see him being hurt like that.  It may have been good fun for some people, but there were real consequences to it and I think that should be taken seriously.  The guy has literally been jumping at shadows for months now and driving the mods crazy, so clearly he's been damaged by your "fun".  Forgive me if I find bullying distasteful, especially when it's Aspie on Aspie.

[Buzz Killington]

Well most trolling is always seen as low quality crap from someone on the receiving end usually. I've never seen a target and their sympathizers go, "Oh boy, you guys are good at trolling I lol'd", in fact to hear those words instantly shows you've failed so hard.

But when you hear, "OMG I'MMA PRESSIN' CHARGES" or "You guys are such fucking dicks", it's a gauge of success.

But then, I'm hardly a great troll, I'm too inexperienced to say I'm even good at it.

My favorite gauge of success for getting under someone's skin is actually spurious mod complaints about my "threatening" avatar or other completely unrelated things, that tells me that I've rattled someone in such a way that they can't complain directly.  Death threats are good too, especially if you're me.  Funny that simple reverse psychology would seem to be a good response, at least if it's you guys trolling.  I'm actually breaking my own rule and addressing things head on here.

I do think you need different rules of engagement for Aspies though, I mean the whole damn thing is predicated on communication problems after all.  I know I mellowed after a while in PPR when I figured out that certain people weren't actually being jerks but were truly lower functioning, made me feel kinda bad about some things I'd said to them.

[ProfessorFarnsworth]

Heh, I see your trolling kung fu and it doesn't impress me. Needs to contain less arrogance and more stealth.

[Charlotte Quin]

You used to have a gun pointing avatar on WP for a long while. I had a similar avatar for about five minutes before sins removed it. What made you so special?