KodiaX987
Dec 29, 2009, 10:47 PM
Most of those who were youngins back in the 90s might vagely recall the common troll: a brute who attacked blindly, with a large hammer or club, shouting obscenities and relying on the power of mass to accomplish his mission. Back then, life was simple, caveman-style. A troll attacked, and the forum rose up to fight him. It was a straightforward battle at the barricades, where most who fed the troll were those who shouted obscenities back. The parties were clearly announced, the boundaries defined. All one had to do was look up to the banners in the sky to easily recognize both camps, usually one invader attempting to rile as many people up as possible.
Now, flash-forward in the 2005+ era, in which the Internet has grown much more sophisticated. There are more people, more sorts of people, with no longer boundaries between who is what but rather a mix of proportions where gray areas are often larger than the absolutes themselves. In fact, the forum of today is much like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/Shurikane/13.jpg
Find the troll.
A little stumped, aren't you? You should be. The common troll now is invisible, refined, populating the highest spheres of society - or at least whatever sort of society or lack thereof the Internet is - and seamlessly blending himself into the crowd, playing a spy who will tell le mot juste at just the right moment to cause a force-5 shitstorm. He is now known as a "bandit wearing a tie", far ahead of the club-wielding caveman he used to be. Is it Matt Damon? Is it George Clooney? Maybe it's Bernie Mac, he looks so innocent. Could be Elliot Gould. On the left, in the background, almost out of sight. But can we be sure?
Let's play a game. The twelve persons in the above picture are members of an established forum. One of them is a troll. You must carefully examine the behavior and call out the troll. Not only the person, but at the exact moment to which he perpetrates his crime. In short, you must catch him red-handed. You only get one chance. Should you fail, the entire group will turn against you. Surprizing? No. That's the way the Internet is. Well then, let's play.
Should you call out the troll in the correct post, his treachery is revealed to all, and everyone realizes what's going on when somebody shines the light on the truth. The trolling attempt fails.
Should you call out the the troll but on the wrong post, no one is convinced, and the troll's credibility is further enhanced by the fact that not only has he gone undetected, but that someone cast a false positive on him and shielded him from further suspicion by way of sympathy. The troll is successful.
Should you call out the wrong person entirely, the crew dismisses your claims as frivolous and the troll remains hidden. The troll is successful.
Should you miss a call on the troll in a troll post, the forum is riled up and shitstorm ensues. The troll is successful by default.
Should you, in the process of your search, get riled up at a post, no matter who made it or in what intent, the entire forum will label the original poster as a successful troll and congratulate him, while ridiculizing you. The troll is successful by way of faction.
Similarly, should you be called out as a troll in one of your posts, it is likely you will be at a disadvantage if you are not part of the tight-knit group in the first place - a common occurence, and especially if the group sees fit to label you a troll. Sadly, you cannot answer that it takes one to know one, for the troll knows better than to call out others in order to deflect suspicion away from himself, a tactic he considers primitive. In any case, your search is likely over and your time left on the forum clearly counted. The troll is successful.
Thus, from the above list, it would seem that you have one out of six chances to win at this game. But, this is from situation only and ignoring the fact that you will be dealing with several dozens of posts written by a dozen individuals. As a trolling post is usually done only on occasion, your chances of detection actually dwindle with time. Unless the troll makes a grave mistake, or pushes the limits a little too far too often, he may reveal himself - but otherwise, you are playing a game of Mafia in which you are the next victim and have one shot at pointing out the right target.
But this is only a game.
In reality, you deal with hundreds or even thousands of individuals. You deal with forums where all users are anonymous or games where you never know who you will end up with. Sometimes, you witness a troll only once, miss him, and never get to see him again. Most favor trolling by retardation. They make you believe they are new and know nothing. They are so pure, innocent and incompetent. But when you tell the story, you are proudly announced that you have been trolled, fucked through and through sideways. Perhaps the person you had been dealing with truly was stupid, but you will never know. Stupidity has been elevated on a pedestal and worshipped, and the troll has made it his base of operations.
Much like the devil, he has convinced us he does not exist.
Now, flash-forward in the 2005+ era, in which the Internet has grown much more sophisticated. There are more people, more sorts of people, with no longer boundaries between who is what but rather a mix of proportions where gray areas are often larger than the absolutes themselves. In fact, the forum of today is much like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/Shurikane/13.jpg
Find the troll.
A little stumped, aren't you? You should be. The common troll now is invisible, refined, populating the highest spheres of society - or at least whatever sort of society or lack thereof the Internet is - and seamlessly blending himself into the crowd, playing a spy who will tell le mot juste at just the right moment to cause a force-5 shitstorm. He is now known as a "bandit wearing a tie", far ahead of the club-wielding caveman he used to be. Is it Matt Damon? Is it George Clooney? Maybe it's Bernie Mac, he looks so innocent. Could be Elliot Gould. On the left, in the background, almost out of sight. But can we be sure?
Let's play a game. The twelve persons in the above picture are members of an established forum. One of them is a troll. You must carefully examine the behavior and call out the troll. Not only the person, but at the exact moment to which he perpetrates his crime. In short, you must catch him red-handed. You only get one chance. Should you fail, the entire group will turn against you. Surprizing? No. That's the way the Internet is. Well then, let's play.
Should you call out the troll in the correct post, his treachery is revealed to all, and everyone realizes what's going on when somebody shines the light on the truth. The trolling attempt fails.
Should you call out the the troll but on the wrong post, no one is convinced, and the troll's credibility is further enhanced by the fact that not only has he gone undetected, but that someone cast a false positive on him and shielded him from further suspicion by way of sympathy. The troll is successful.
Should you call out the wrong person entirely, the crew dismisses your claims as frivolous and the troll remains hidden. The troll is successful.
Should you miss a call on the troll in a troll post, the forum is riled up and shitstorm ensues. The troll is successful by default.
Should you, in the process of your search, get riled up at a post, no matter who made it or in what intent, the entire forum will label the original poster as a successful troll and congratulate him, while ridiculizing you. The troll is successful by way of faction.
Similarly, should you be called out as a troll in one of your posts, it is likely you will be at a disadvantage if you are not part of the tight-knit group in the first place - a common occurence, and especially if the group sees fit to label you a troll. Sadly, you cannot answer that it takes one to know one, for the troll knows better than to call out others in order to deflect suspicion away from himself, a tactic he considers primitive. In any case, your search is likely over and your time left on the forum clearly counted. The troll is successful.
Thus, from the above list, it would seem that you have one out of six chances to win at this game. But, this is from situation only and ignoring the fact that you will be dealing with several dozens of posts written by a dozen individuals. As a trolling post is usually done only on occasion, your chances of detection actually dwindle with time. Unless the troll makes a grave mistake, or pushes the limits a little too far too often, he may reveal himself - but otherwise, you are playing a game of Mafia in which you are the next victim and have one shot at pointing out the right target.
But this is only a game.
In reality, you deal with hundreds or even thousands of individuals. You deal with forums where all users are anonymous or games where you never know who you will end up with. Sometimes, you witness a troll only once, miss him, and never get to see him again. Most favor trolling by retardation. They make you believe they are new and know nothing. They are so pure, innocent and incompetent. But when you tell the story, you are proudly announced that you have been trolled, fucked through and through sideways. Perhaps the person you had been dealing with truly was stupid, but you will never know. Stupidity has been elevated on a pedestal and worshipped, and the troll has made it his base of operations.
Much like the devil, he has convinced us he does not exist.