To Be Pissed Off By Troll Hunters?

[DioneTheDiabolist]

They feed trolls and disrupt the flow of threads.

Troll Hunting breaches the Talk Guidelines, if you believe that someone is a troll, use the Report button and ignore the thread. It really is that simple, but repeatedly I see people accusing posters of being trolls.

So why do they do it?. Does it make the hunter feel superior, that they have been so insightful and feel the rest of us, mere mortals need their wisdom or do they live such sheltered lives that they cannot imagine anything outside the realms of their own personal experience?

I have recently seen it happen on threads regarding child abuse and suicide. I understand that these are sensitive, triggering topics, but they are real problems for some people who come here seeking support.

So AIBU to be pissed off by Troll Hunters and wish they would stop it? After all, if it really is a Troll thread, all the hunters do is push it back up the Active board and give it more traffic, thereby feeding it.

Well, this morning we all shouted troll, and reported, a thread featuring child pornography (! ) and I am glad we shouted TROLL as it was a sick thread and did not warrant genuine response

( it was vile vile vile)

I'm with you OP. One of my earlier experiences here was of some pretty vicious trollhunting on a Relationships thread and it nearly put me off MN entirely. The descendent of that thread is still running. The OP is real, and really was in that much of a shit situation and the Miss Marple club were fucking horrible to her.

I've been known to make the odd sarky reference to hooves and bridges myself, that's surely more than enough to tip others the wink. Sustained nasty trollhunting is just not on.

According to the OP, we were thinking too highly of ourselves for doing so, Parmarella. Even though another poster was grateful for being told as she was trying to advise the evil bastard.

And yet if no one had said on the one this morning that it was clearly a grubby troll, mners would have continued writing posts about their own naked children.

It fucks me off that one isn't allowed to question for fear of deletion, which will then lead most people to assume you've been a total cunt.

There are so many troll threads a the moment, including some pretty fucking nasty ones, but there appears to be little point in reporting.

My point, exactly, Auntfini.

Op I agree that it is ego satisfying to some extent and I include myself in this. I wrote "reported" on that thread and tried ti convince myself to leave it there. But as the thread moves on it is irresistible not to post.

That said it was clear that many of the posters who had responded as if the op were real (with advice) had their own misgivings but were being good and playing by the rules.

Dont, I wrote "reported" which shoukd have said it all (and by thr time my post showed up iwasnt the only one obviously). My subsequent posts were rubbernecking and I should have left well alone as the thread was just getting more peolle reading it from all the bumping and threads about it. And that is what we were trying to prevent by reporting it, surely?

But obviously you think a lot of yourself dontmeanto ;-)
I do see the point that troll hunting can be annoying. Remember the teenage girl who got pregnant? Years ago? And there have been loads, where it's easier to report to mn in case it's actually true. But in the case of the peadophile thread, people are entirely justified in warning other posters.
Also, mnhq can't actually prove that people are trolls, a story might ring untrue but it they're first time posters there may well be no proof. So a thread will stand, even though you get the feeling it's all bollocks. Do we just watch people give time/emotions/energy and sometimes money to threads that aren't even true?

Stuntgirl, I absolutely agree that Trolls are as annoying as fuck. But far from sitting meekly in silence, silence is the weapon that gets rid of trolls. Trolls need response and troll hunters give them that. They can only run rampaging if you react to them.

How is having an anti troll hunting policy treating the posters here like children?. Report and Ignore is an effective way of dealing with the fuckers. Claims by hunters that they are doing it to protect other posters is treating members as children.

Ooh what about a ticker? "This post has been reported 3 times" etc. Raises the concerns without peolle needing to post on the thread

No trolls feed on all the stories and support they get from gullable posters.

Why do you think they start the troll threads?

I agree, troll hunters do nothing to the trolls. In fact the odd comment calling bullshit usually reveals the troll to everyone else, they react in a way that isn't consistent with the thread or say something that is immediately suspicious.

All they want is for people to believe them.

I think the ticker would have to be just for whole threads, not posts IYSWIM, which would be tantamount to a recommendation system (which I have mixed feelings about). Good idea though.

Yes ticjer for posts. So majority would just say zero (or not be there)

Trolls dont like trollhuntrrs, yes. But trollhunters bump the thread, which gets it into active more. More people read it. People start threads cryptically alluding to it. Troll thrives on the dramA

Silence is the only way to deal with trolls, but posters who take a thread at face value will still respond as though its real

Trolls don't give a toss about troll hunters, that's not what they want.

Not to mention the damage that is done to genuine posters (some of whom are on this thread), who are really going through a horrible time and need support and instead find themselves being called liars.

Compos makes a good point with reference to the 'samwidge' idiot uproariously funny person. It's a form of trolling. Once one form is allowed who is anyone to say another form isn't allowed? Ok - I appreciate I may just not find that whole thing funny (And I don't - I rather pan fry my own gizzards in sizzling troll fat!) and I appreciate that some might find it hugely amusing - but then maybe I am amused by the ones pretending to be in some huge crisis (I'm not. Not at all, but see my point?).

Off to pan fry my gizzards.

Sorry misunderstood. You cant report threads jusy posts.So the ticker would need to be post specific.

Yes aunt and that cant be helped. But the inevitable descent into a discussik about trolks can be avoided

Trolls need response and troll hunters give them that. They can only run rampaging if you react to them.
Depends on the type of troll, the peado one this morning wasnt after that type of response, they want people to share their own stories of naked children with them. Have come across a few school uniform trolls who just want to discuss short skirts/gym knickers/kilts/ teenage boy in school shorts etc and the last thing they want is someone shouting troll.

Sorry meant to say posters need to warned off from sharing with them.

Exactly, usual. A troll is far more likely to be satisfied with someone believing they are genuine and giving them sympathy and attention than someone who is calling out their bullshit.

Or someone who is sat there getting off on other people's anecdotes, even.

I think the incessant reminders to Report and Ignore in bold is the most patronising thing I've seen so far.

Exactly, Trolls want you to believe them.

No point trolling if no one believes you.