Josh writes: There’s been a bit of closet trolling recently, a pretence if being polite but blatantly not, and generally trying to derail posts. Fortunately we have a helpful cartoon for that.
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Richardscourtney says
Don’t remember ever calling someone a troll and since, grammatically, i know I am usually pretty bad I am quite ok with being criticized.
I always thought a troll was one who opposes opinions in an article but doesn’t have any real “evidence” to back his/her argument & is obviously on line for the soul purpose of undermining the general consensus. I find the best way to deal with trolls is to ignore ’em
I find the best way is to ask them a direct question about what is going to happen in the future not what has already happened in the past. “Trolls” typically just move from one climatic event to another and explain how the event was predicted by AGW theory and is proof of its existence. If you ask them what the theory predicts will happen going foward and ask them to put their name to that prediction they usually either go away, ignore you out right or even sometimes publicly refuse to make a prediction. Thus you both prove they actually know nothing about the theory and are also just posting to be a pest.
What I’ve liked at WUWT is that it is exciting discussions taking place, and that one can learn from. With accusations of trolling and moderation of provocative input, it is as if something is being tightened. Spot the troll, or the devil, and go for a witch hunt. Over some time it can create a small congregation who agree on most things. Internet debates can be characterized by a mass psychology where it comes to discredit persons, take person instead of the ball, polarize, etc. It comes to chase trolls back into the mountain
In fairy tales about trolls is one thing trolls do not tolerate. It is getting out in the sun. Then they crack. It is a deep symbolic significance in this. What cannot tolerate daylight will disappear.
Mr Green Genes says:
August 19, 2014 at 12:41 am
JohnWho says:
August 18, 2014 at 4:59 pm
Oh, I forgot to add the word “troll” somewhere in my last post.
You know, just to insure that I appeared on topic.
Dunno if I’m trolling or merely being pedantic but actually you did it to ensure that you appeared on topic.
I’ll be sure to insure that I don’t do that again.
(Merriam Webster: “to make (something) sure, certain, or safe”)
🙂
– – – – – – – – – – –
Joe Born / Patrick / Tonyb,
Always appreciate your responses.
To me the illogical argumentation represented in the habitual troll taunting accusations (aka schoolboy troll name-calling) made by more than a few regular commenters here represents irrational intellectual behavior. I wonder how it came to be an intellectually tolerated behavior? I do not know the answer.
John
@ur momisugly richardscourtney says:
August 18, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Richard, please note that this thread is a “Monday Mirthiness” thread.
You seem to lack a proper dose of mirth, which my post was attempting to promote.
The self-deprecating description of one, who, perhaps, uses too many commas, I thought, obviously wrongly, was intended to promote, uh, mirth.
To incur either wrath, scorn, or ridicule in a humor thread just don’t seem right.
But, as Forrest Gump might have said: “Troll is as troll does”.
/mirthiness
Guidelines for commenting are available here:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/about-wuwt/policy/
We all do a pretty good job of respecting these. Another form of trolling involves the invention of new content guidelines within the comments, and the abusive, aggressive enforcement of a commenter’s personal content preferences. This is also breaking the WUWT guidelines because it is a form of thread domination. This form of trolling on this website regularly results in over 1/3 of the comments in a thread to be directed to or written by the same person, or as many as 130 comments having that person’s name within it.
If any one is harassed and disquieted by this activity, ask the perpetrator which content guideline on this page you have broken:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/about-wuwt/policy/
@ur momisugly richardscourtney says:
August 18, 2014 at 11:59 pm
So let me see if I have this right, if make a post with solid scientific content you will put me on the ignore list, but if I continue to make frivolous comments you will continue to give me your undivided attention?
If you were a woman I would swear you were flirting with me ;0)
Anthony sorry about the vernacular. Cum-up- ence. This is how I pronounce it. Means they get what they deserve – one day. Anyway, just because one doesn’t agree isn’t the criteria, it is the way a person goes about disagreeing. And in the past we have seen some really good examples of trolls. After all we are not all scientists, and I can’t comment on graphs and mathematical equations. Be they factual or not. I use my eyes and experience about this subject of climates and weather. There is no absolute. But one, CO2 does not have any impact on changing climates. Water vapor is the largest greenhouse gas, and – well you’ve heard it all before.