A question about Trolls

[ck4829]

What, in your opinion, are the 5 subjects that draw out the most Trolls?

[Mutley]

1. Not in this order...

1. The war
2. Pro-anti troop
3. pro-anti America
4. Abortion
5. ?

[tk2kewl]

3. Reagan sucks!

[William769]

15. Bingo!

[skids]

22. 5. The "clenis". n/t

[Iris]

42. American Girl Dolls

seriously.

[Guaranteed]

48. The anti-troop and anti-America stuff is where the Democratic adults

come out.

Those who lecture you on those subjects are those who are trying to keep our party reality-based, electable, and CORRECT.

[Mutley]

70. I meant to leave 5 open as the hot button issue of the day...

whatever that happens to be. But all those suggestions work, too.

[stepnw1f]

2. religion (nt)

[William769]

12. On edit posted to wrong post.

[Coexist]

4. whatever they are being hammered on. n/t

[Coexist]

5. delete - dupe

[Richard Steele]

6. Police Brutality; especially with TASERS

[Spazito]

7. Here are my five

Bad news about their party
Bad news about the dems
Religion
Abortion
They secretly LOVE the way DU is set up versus Freeper land and have to visit what a GOOD site looks and feels like once in a while.

[Silverhair]

24. DU does have absolutely the BEST set-up of any opinion site.

Great thinking and planning on the part of the Admins. Good work, Skinner.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. OK

1) Separation of Church and State
2) Chavez
3) Castro
4) Bad legal shit happening to a Republican ("INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PROGRESSIVES!")
5) Cindy Sheehan

Did I miss anything?

[moddemny]

64. "3) Castro"

I didn't realize not being a fan of Castro makes you a troll.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

73. The trolls are at the extreme positions.

"Not being a fan" is kind of an understatement, don't you think?

I, for instance, am not a fan. I recognize the fact that he's a dictator, but as far as dictators go, he's a Swedish PM. And the US deals sweetly wich much worse places.

Great. Now EVERYBODY will hate me.

[Maat]

9. An unflattering comment about ...

AnnThrax.

[AlCzervik]

10. immigration is a like chum line for trolls

[XemaSab]

25. Totally

Throw the popcorn in the water and watch them gather...

:popcorn:

(Little bacon grease and suet don't hurt either)

[Joe Chi Minh]

11. Currently, Fitzmastide and associated matters, first ; and the rest,

nowhere.

Interesting recent one, deriding the notion of the Bushes being blue-bloods.

[BrainRants]

13. That would be

1. Hillary and/or Bill
2. Facts getting in the way of spin
3. Defenseless people (i.e. Cindy Sheehan)
4. Superbowl nipples
5. Michael Moore

[McKenzie]

14. Perhaps they take the lead...

by posting links in LBN about "atrocities" caused by "insurgents"... perhaps...

[EFerrari]

16. It's not about topics

It's when they see us drawing together and becoming effective.

They have to kill that. Or, they have to try. :)

[Der Blaue Engel]

17. Caught one this morning

that popped up in every indictment thread and every Iraq thread.

It really depends on the kind of troll, whether they're a stupid loudmouth that can't keep their cover when something angers them, or a disinformation expert, or just a troublemaker...they'll favor different types of threads based on their M.O.

[peacetalksforall]

18. They come out for four purposes:

. create doubt among those who don't have a lot of time and who will remember that someone on DU said xxx which they then quote as having some possible truth.
. squash threads when DUers are exploring an issue and coming close to the truth.
. scatter by trying to steer the thread in the oppostite direction and by trivializing the issue or the messenger.
. intimidate fact and rumor explorers and speculators by calling them conspirators who wear tinfoil while their end game is to silence and embarass them.

They squat, spoil, stain, and scat.

The question is - how do they acquire 1000+ posts?

[sniffa]

19. rawstory threads

:yoiks:

[alcibiades_mystery]

32. Ooooooooo

Curious...

:eyes:

Because no "authentic" DUer would question that impeccable source, yeah? There's often the stench of the street corner commisar around here, though they pretend to be the ones doing the sniffing.

[sniffa]

63. quite cLever you are

:eyes:

[alcibiades_mystery]

65. Why thank you

Very kind.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

20. LOL, had to K/R because of the responses. Funny stuff!

MKJ

[Jed Dilligan]

21. If I were a troll...

I would enter the threads that make DUers hate each other, which (from my lurking time) seem to be: abortion, Jesus in general, Nader, Hillary, guns, and smoking. I would be just a little more shrill on one side or the other (doesn't matter which) than anyone else, and target people who seem to get emotional when they're online. That's the only way a troll "attack" can actually do damage.

Coming over and talking freeper shit is a fast way to get kicked off, but some trolls might stay around for years doing exactly what I described above. They should think about getting a life--but they are damaging the forum to some extent.

That being said, what FR threads cause the freepers to tear into each other? Just in case someone here wants to play tit for tat...

[A-Schwarzenegger]

23. Kitties.

[nomatrix]

26. Whenever they tell them too. Who is they......

Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Rielly, Savage, Coulter, etc.

[Neil Lisst]

27. Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, affirmative action, equal rights, and

homosexual marriage.


Runners up ...

Gun Control, animal rights, environmental issues.

[cosmicdot]

28. the clever ones know how to play the game

they can spell ... you won't see "This is SERIES!!11!! or HUGH!!111!


I'd say a common MO is to quickly rack up enough posts to start one's own thread ... likely in less than 24 hours ...

the first thread will be bait, but not necessarily an obvious one ...
but, perhaps relevant to Bu$h/White House woes ...

building up posts quickly is done by just posting anything on threads even if it doesn't make sense or relate to the topic ... and/or posting the occasional comment to win some trust ... that's building cover ...

the clever ones know the hot-button topics and will either avoid them or just be enough of a devil's advocate to declare that those disagreeing demand purity or question the Democratic Party's tent ...

some long-timers might even note carefully who is posting on threads and will avoid them if posters are recognized as not easy prey ...

A pro troll might have the obvious down pat; and, do the opposite.

I suspect DU has tenured trolls.

DU has had some with thousands of posts before being exposed.

They tend to show up when controversy strikes the White House. A newbie troll may lurk for awhile during such times; and, with something stuck in the craw ... they take the leap ... join ... rack up posts post-haste; and, do a first thread ...


Are some paid to be trolls? Wouldn't surprise me. Hope the job comes with good health care benefits and pension plan.

"Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." gwBu$h

JMHO and 2-cents

[SpiralHawk]

29. Tenured trolls

Part of the BushCo Ministry of Propaganda.

Our tax dollars being used against the people.

Rather poor form, really.

[lildreamer316]

30. I have been dying to ask about that...

..tenured trolls, as it were. I just didn't know how to go about it without getting the thread locked. I have wondered how someone who has several thousand posts could seem so......troll-like. Disclaimer:I AM NOT talking about anyone in particular! Just wondering...

[Chi-Town Exile]

62. I thought it was just me! LOL

I see these goofy responses and the person has 12 million posts next to their name so I'm thinking I must be part of bizarro world.

Guess it makes sense, though, because a lot of the arguments are WAY out there, almost like caricatures of Liberals as dished out by right wing hacks on right wing radio.

Thanks for the tip, I think a lot of these people are trying to discourage new posters from coming into the pool.

Frankly, I left for a few days after some of the responses I got. I'm not about to let any one run me off, though, so I'm here to stay.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

74. In Brazil we have a phrase: "Jogar com o regulamento embaixo do braço"

Translation: "Playing with the rulebook tucked under your arm." Used most often, obviously, in soccer.

I see posters that carefully measure the words so as not to break DU rules with any single post. That's why I always do searchs by author to get the "big picture".

Sometimes a person IS a legitimate liberal who, for example, favors the death penalty.

And sometimes not. As I said, look for the big picture.

[WildEyedLiberal]

35. There are, unfortunately, several "tenured trolls" that I have noticed

Most of them spend 90% of their time here voiciferously attacking Democrats and attempting to undermine support for the Democratic party. You see them come out in force whenever a Democrat, be it Kerry, Clark, Reid, or someone else, does/says something positive - suddenly there are all these "OMG TOO LITTLE TOO LATE" or "FUCK DINOS" threads, coinciding perfectly with the good news. That has ALWAYS set off the alarms in my head, but sadly, most of those types of posters remain here.

[Chi-Town Exile]

60. Now I'm confused ... I thought those guys were the cool kids! nt

[sufrommich]

31. Wow.

I wonder if you people realize how paranoid you sound to this newbie.Are you sure this thread is really about spotting trolls?It sounds more like posting the rules for the playground,or how to stay cool with the popular kids.What happens to us if we misspeak,do we get relegated to the back of the bus with the nerdy kids or thrown off the playground altogether?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

36. Stick around and read, there are many trolls on DU. I consider it to

be a significant problem.

[sufrommich]

39. But a problem how?

I mean what kind of damage can a troll do?The last post on here is somebody who is suspicious of anyone who is "quiet "about Cheney and Miers.I haven't posted anything about them.Am I a troll?Should I run over and post something on a Cheny thread so as not to cause suspicion?Give me a break.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

40. If trolls post and start threads in such volume that it becomes a

significant portion of the total traffic on the board, it can totally screw up the board with crap, make people discouraged and lose interest. That's just one example.

[sufrommich]

45. I understand that,I guess I'm just

trying to figure out what D.U. is all about and whether all Dems. are welcome or if it's a little more narrowly defined.I'm of the moderate persuasion and I hope that's O.K. on this board

[Chi-Town Exile]

51. I've found that I'm a moderate too

which is not how I would have described myself before I started posting on this board.

I too am in the "figuring out" stage.

I wouldn't let anyone on this board stop me from voicing my opinion, and believe me, I haven't LOL :evilgrin:

[hfojvt]

67. I think the constant suspicion of trollery

is itself harmful, but I am not sure what to do about it. It is like a group where something gets stolen. The thief not only steals something of value but also changes the climate of the group.

[Chi-Town Exile]

68. OMG! I used the term "Big Tent" on some of my posts ...

Reading up-thread I've just learned that is a no no. No wonder I was called a Troll. :wow:

[sufrommich]

71. i think some of the troll accusations

are a struggle to control the dialog on this board.The commonality between Free Republic and Democratic Underground is the constant attacks on anyone who doesn't toe the line(the line being defined by the one doing the attacking).I've lurked here and there for a while now and the extremes on both sides seem to be the ones with the least amount of confidence that their opinions can withstand questions from their own .I am a Democrat and that's what I am whether a poster thinks I am or not.Sorry for the rant,I just feel strongly about this.

[WildEyedLiberal]

38. I don't think you're a "real" DUer until you've been accused of trolling

I think I had 60 posts when someone first accused me of trolling. It happens to all of us. It IS really paranoid, and to me, the worst trolls are never even caught anyway. I still fail to understand how someone can come here and post "BUSH ROOLS!!1" once and get banned instantly, yet post thousands of posts undermining the Democratic party and remain for months and years. Which does more damage: one idiot getting in a quick hit-n-run, or someone who posts sustained and incessant attacks on Democrats?

So anyway, if you come here and start tearing down Democrats, you're okay in my book. :hi: Welcome to DU.

[sufrommich]

41. Ha.

Thanks for the heads up and the welcome.

[Chi-Town Exile]

43. Thanks for the tip ... glad to be a part of DU

I've lost count as to how many times I've been called a Troll or Freeper. :hi:

[Guaranteed]

54. Outstanding.

I think you got it. And after only 58 posts.

[Chi-Town Exile]

57. Excellent! Love this post. nt

[WildEyedLiberal]

33. Kerry and Clark for sure

I stuck with names I see in threads that almost always start a flamewar.

Most of these troll cases - in fact, I think most trolls on DU - are disruptors posing as ultra-lefties, who say something ridiculously stupid and absurd and get a lot of go-along kneejerk DUers to climb aboard. Remember seventhson, and his ridiculous crap against Kerry (and Clark) which so many "good DUers" eagerly swallowed because they have their own agenda against Kerry (and Clark)?

Kerry and Clark seem to draw the most smear jobs, a combination perhaps of the fact that the right-wingers feel threatened by them, and also because a lot of "legit" DUers seem to have severe problems with them, and are all too eager to swallow the trollbait.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. A better question would be

what subjects they avoid.

1. DeLay (since he was arrested, they have been very quiet:) )

2. Cheney and the rumors of his indictment

3. Harriett Miers

[Berserker]

37. And sometimes they

try to cover their ass by calling you a lurker or troll.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. I post on a freeper dominated board

And they are friggin hilarious this week. They are posting cute little internet games and silly little polls. There is also a bible verses thread there and it's been lots more active this week. The biggest current debate is about global warming.

They tried to bring up the clenis and of course the old reliable - Teddy Kennedy. They posted some silly story about Kennedy helping some stranded boaters over the weekend. Now of course, that story just painted Kennedy in a favorable light but they just went batty over it.

They gave up on their 'Tom DeLay's judge donated to moveon' argument when we pointed out that his lawyer gave even more $$ to Dems than the judge. Their best argument was that lawyers don't have to be impartial like judges do. One of them claimed that of course DeLay's lawyer donated to Dems because lawyers as a whole are more likely to be Dems. That was also easy to counter.

They are avoiding Fitzmas like the plague. LOL. I can't wait till the indictments come out. I plan on starting a new thread and titling it "Merry Fitzmas! Treasons Greetings!"

[Chi-Town Exile]

49. I did that too! My head exploded too much so I came here

and was promptly designated a Troll! LOL

Me a Freeper! Wow. My family and the people on that other board I frequented would get quite a laugh out of that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. I spend more time here

but I still post on the other board because that way I know what the RW is thinking. Same reason some DUers watch Hannity and O'Reilly or listen to Rush.

I get some of my best thread starters here at DU. And I usually refer any good libs on that board over here.

[Chi-Town Exile]

58. I can't frequent that other board any more

because its completely Freeper dominated.

There are 4 Libs, tops.

Since I live in a red state all I need to do is drive around the area and look at bumper stickers. Unfortunately, I know what they're thinking and it's really scary! LOL :scared:

[Kingofalldems]

66. Absolutely correct

And I might add a DUer who was all over the Roberts nomination---went gaga over him.

[mandyky]

44. Reparations

and other racial issues.

[Terran]

61. That was going to be my #1

Hell, mention reparations and you make a lot of genuine DUers red in the face. But freepers go absolutely ballistic on that subject.

[Chi-Town Exile]

47. We give Freepers way too much ink on here.

I've been a long time lurker and as you can see, have only been posting on DU for a short time. What I've encountered is quite interesting. There are way too many people on here concerned about the bastards. Fuck 'em. Who gives a shit if they come on here?
Besides, have you ever considered that they like DU because it has a spell checker?

Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about Freepers. They're not worth the time or the effort.

We have way too much fun beating the shit out of each other! :spank:

[PowerToThePeople]

50. Maybe we don't infight as much as it seems.

Some of these so-called infights could be true DU'ers vs. lurkers/trolls. I certainly am not claiming anyone I have had back and forths with recently is one, but wouldn't doubt that now and again there are threads where the majority of the dissenting viewpoints may be lurkers/trolls.

[Chi-Town Exile]

55. Maybe I'm overly sensitive

but I don't think people on here like Moderates.

I tend to be a person that sees a lot more gray than black and white and there are many on here that don't take too kindly to that.

There seems to be a lot of, "If you're not with us, you're against us."

But you could be right (no pun intended) maybe those people are the trolls, because they see everything in Black and White like an average Freeper.

[stepnw1f]

52. Guns (nt)

[SeaNap05]

53. What is a troll, i think i know, but some help please

[EnfantTerrible]

59. 9/11

Anything that suggests that the administration was complicit in the attacks.

[stillcool]

69. it seems to me...

that their main beef is with the modern world, and they would like nothing more than to return to the days of Wagon-Train and Gunsmoke.

[LWolf]

72. Define troll.

I'm curious; that definition seems to have changed, and I'd like to hear who is now targeted as a "troll."