They're referred to by many names such as "flamers" or "hijackers", but a troll is a troll. Below are just some of the characteristics and intentions of an average forum troll.


-When trolls initially join a discussion forum, they will typically post an unusually large number of messages, which is known as "flooding".

-Troll postings are often inflammatory (flamers), attacking threads because they "disagree" with the content.

-Trolls quite frequently present themselves as genuine skeptics with no hidden agenda. However, they are "extremely" skeptical of the main subject of the targeted forum.

-Under the guise of "searching for the truth", trolls are very devisive and argumentative, with a "need to be right" attitude. They thrive on the emotional response they get from making other users angry, and often "bait" others to reply to their postings.

-Many times trolls will insult other members, either directly or indirectly, with the firm intention of provoking them to insult back. Then, they will complain to the forum moderators that they were insulted by a certain member, and want some kind of action taken against that user.

_Trolls need attention. In order to attain it, their posts are disruptive, often times they will re-use the words of their "opponents" and attempt to use the same words against them. Trolls will also try to make other members look ignorant by discrediting them.

-Trolls are well known to try to "take over" existing forum threads (hijacker). To do this, they will manipulate the content of the other user's posts, and the posts of those who reply, until they become the focus of the thread.

-Trolls have a strong desire to control. They'll find fault with other member's replies, post inappropriate responses, and will attempt to intimidate new members, by giving them disinformation, or making them afraid to ask questions for fear of the troll's reprisal.

_Trolls are impossible to reason with, impervious to constructive criticism, and will often complain about the "freedom of speech" during their mission. Sometimes they will try to harass other users by sending them private messages (PMs), to continue their "bullying" off the board. They are usually cowards in real life, but find the power that they need behind their keyboards.

_Trolls are notorious for causing arguments among established members, and find great pleasure in doing so.

The best advice to deal with forum trolls is to ignore them. Skip over their post and continue with the thread as if it wasn't there. They are starved for attention, and if they don't get it, they usually get frustrated and move on to flame another forum. Please do not hesitate to post as you normally would. If you start receiving unwanted PMs or emails from a troll, please bring it to the attention of a moderator. The other forum moderators are jfh, Matrix, Saved1986 and Cookie.

Thanks,
k2c

__________________
"We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals." ~Immanual Kant~