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User:Leucosticte/Trolling

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Accusing others of trolling is discouraged. ZackMartin's Law states that "In any debate, the first person to call someone a 'troll' automatically loses the argument." Most debates go nowhere productive as soon as someone drops the T-bomb. This is to be expected, because one can hardly have a constructive dialog by accusing one's opponents of acting in bad faith[1] or hurling epithets at them. There also seems to be persistent belief (or argument, anyway) that if we don't give in to the demands of whoever calls someone a troll, then the trolls have won.

From my experience on the Internet, I suspect that most of the times when people are accused of trolling, they are actually serious; and most of the times when people are trolling, they're taken seriously and no one expresses any suspicion that they were trolling. There are very difficult epistemological problems involved in identifying trolls. It might be slightly less harsh, when a person suspects someone's trolling, to say "Are you joking?" There is, after all, a fine line between the two. One can be forgiven, in a text-only medium such as this where we're communicating with people we don't know well, for not being able to tell whether a comment is made seriously or in jest.

Food for thought

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“ "When you get right down to it, what even is trolling? And should it necessarily matter? Even if someone is trolling, that doesn't mean they may not have a real point to it, though perhaps they could be more polite. Thing is, the most effective trolling is generally effective precisely /because/ they have a point - a point which may be somehow uncomfortable, something neglected or ignored or that the target doesn't want to admit for whatever reason, but if the point is relevant it often should be brought up.

Unfortunately with such points bringing them in any way, no matter how politely, can potentially be called trolling." — Isarra Yos

”

Tactful ways of telling someone he's an idiot who needs to buy a clue before opening his mouth so he doesn't keep annoying people and wasting their time

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A Futurama Fry cartoon states, "Not sure if trolling ... or just stupid." (See also Hanlon's Razor.) If someone consistently acts stupid, one may as well act under the assumption that the person is indeed stupid rather than questioning his motives. The question then becomes, What is the best way of dealing with consistently stupid people?

  • "The FAQ states..."
  • "Thanks for your input. Unfortunately, because of x, y is unfeasible. You might find this article interesting. In particular, I found that some of the pages it links to, especially a, b and c, were very helpful in helping me understand how this system works. I admire your enthusiasm and initiative in wanting to get involved in this project, and encourage you to continue seeking to offer useful contributions and suggestions after you have familiarized yourself with this material."

References

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  1. ↑ Mises, Ludwig von (1949). "The rigid dogmatism peculiar to religious groups and to Marxism results only in irreconcilable conflict. It condemns beforehand all dissenters as evildoers, it calls into question their good faith, it asks them to surrender unconditionally. No social cooperation is possible where such an attitude prevails." The Fight Against Error, Human Action.
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