..... NO! I'm not talking about that movie. Haven't watched it. And having sat through seven (or is it eight) doses of JKR already - entertaining, I grant you - I think I've had my fill of waving wooden sticks around and levitating on brooms or toenails or whatever...
No, the particular fantastic creature I have in mind rejoices in the scientific name Trollus subpontinus - and is frequently to be encountered in cyberspace, on chatrooms, social networks ... and forums, possibly including this one.
What worries me is that they do appear to share qualities with Lewis Carroll's Boojum: approach one too close, it seems, and [your posts]
"...will softly and suddenly vanish away, And never be met with again!"
What to do about this phenomenon? Years ago I would have gone for them with all guns blazing. Now - I'm not so sure. I'm getting too old for this....
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity. Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments... --- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
gaz wrote:https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=46727
Ah! But (a) that thread was before my time here (clearly this has been an issue for quite a while!), and (b) my intent is a somewhat light-hearted approach.
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity. Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments... --- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
661-Pete wrote:Ah! But (a) that thread was before my time here
There’s no point in acting surprised about it. The Troll Poll has been on display in the Tea Shop department of the Forum for six years, so you’ve had plenty of time to vote and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in Forum affairs, that’s your own lookout .
661-Pete wrote:(b) my intent is a somewhat light-hearted approach.
gaz wrote:There’s no point in acting surprised about it. The Troll Poll has been on display in the Tea Shop department of the Forum for six years, so you’ve had plenty of time to vote and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in Forum affairs, that’s your own lookout .
All right then. You said it. ACTIVATE THE TROLL-DEMOLITION BEAM!! "Apathetic bloody forum! I've no sympathy at all!"
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity. Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments... --- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
On reflection, I suppose there is a serious side to this.
I was wondering whether to 'bump' the earlier poll mentioned by Gaz - instigated before my time here on this forum - but perhaps best to leave it be. I don't know whether the 'zero-tolerance' or 'lassez-faire' approach - or somewhere in between - is best.
Trouble is, there are many different kinds of troll. What is a troll? There's no single answer.
I recall one particular individual - or rather, a small group of individuals posing as a single person. Very active in Another Place, years ago, the pattern was always the same. He'd (they'd) put across some pretty militant pro-cycling, anti-motorist views, someone would challenge his views, he'd launch into a tirade of personal abuse, then a public warning from the Mods, summary ban, then re-appearance under a different ident. I remember meeting the guy (to be more accurate, the most active member of the group) once or twice, at a social gathering of fellow-cyclists. I found him a quite charming, self-effacing person in Real Life - so different from his online behaviour! We chatted for a while about his Touring plans, which were very impressive.
I had no problems with this guy, myself. OK, I did once take him to task - by exchange of PMs. He'd copied-and-pasted a post of mine and reproduced it, verbatim, on a petrolhead forum which he was trolling - passing off the text as his own writing. I PM'd him to say, could he possibly have asked my permission first? He replied and was most apologetic. Just shows - a troll isn't always a troll!
If I'm all set to launch upon a troll-hunt, I think I need to be careful not to make this a personal crusade. I'm aware of that. I've had other personal trouble with trolls in the past (not the person I described above). It gave me lots of grief at the time, but I think I'm over that, as far as personal hurts go. What bothers me is what damage trolls may inflict on the community as a whole, not on me personally. If I call out a troll, it's because I see it as a 'Common Good' issue.
I may be wrong! Aren't we all, at times?
What I have noticed is, that there is a whole lot more moderation going on, on this forum, than there was when I re-joined this forum back in 2012. Surely that is a significant point?
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity. Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments... --- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
661-Pete wrote:I may be wrong! Aren't we all, at times?
No...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.