Should forum trolls be given the same rights as human beings?

1. 78

   mythbusterposted 14 years ago

   Okay, so this isn't intended to be a very serious topic/thread.
   
   Go ahead and express your opinion about forum trolls:
   
   (lookit all this space that needs to be filled)

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   1. 72

      lorlie6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Let the billy goats have 'em, I say!

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         SunSevenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         What about lurkers, like me?

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         1. 78

            mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Oh, definitely, Sun Seven, lurkers should be given the same rights as human beans....... j/k Human beings.

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            1. 61

               SunSevenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I really liked it. Especially the human beans part. (No pun intended)
               
               Warm Regards

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      2. 78

         mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         But are you sure, lorlie6, that the Billy Goat's Council will really treat the trolls fairly?
         
         If so, then I, too, say: Off with they go, take them to the Billy Goats!

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            lorlie6posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Indeed!

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   2. 0

      kimberlyslyricsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      
      
      
      The
      Reckless
      Opinionated
      Loud
      Leech
      
      I believe that is the official acronym for troll, but what do I know, I have 9 of them
      
      

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      1. 69

         alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         9 LEECHES   omg :d  THAT IS SERIOUS

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   3. 0

      Poppa Bluesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I don't care how many ID's someone has, I treat each one as a separate person, which in many ways they are. I don't have the time or desire to keep track of them any other way.

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2. 0

   Justine76posted 14 years ago

   I told you..they need to be gay forum trolls... 

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   1. 78

      mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      OH! *slaps forehead* I see your point, Justine76 - how could I have overlooked THAT!
      
      my bad

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3. 59

   Beelzedadposted 14 years ago

   Trolls have their own declaration of rights and are debating whether or not humans should be allowed to share those rights.

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   1. 78

      mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You'll inform us of the results when the verdict on this matter comes in, won't you, Beelzedad? I mean - after this important debate has drawn to a close?

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         Falsor Wingposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Unfortunately the debate will never come to an end as Godwins law was applied seconds after threads creation.

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4. 66

   RKHenryposted 14 years ago

   What the hell is a forum troll?  You? Who? What?
   
   I've been here a while now, and I've never seen so many made up "forum names," in my entire career here.  WTF?  Bored or something?

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   1. 78

      mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Forum troll: one who posts inflammatory, off-topic, totally irrelevant or purposely out of context remarks with the primary intent to provoke others or otherwise bait people into highly emotional responses and to significantly disrupt or impair discussions.
      
      Or at least that's what "troll" has come to mean in the last decade or so - but an earlier form of "troll" was not quite so negative... ie: the owners/creator of Snopes .com (the urban folklore site ) "trolled" in forums, picking up urban legends and tidbits and later created a site based on many stories gleaned from "trolling." David Mikkelson, prior to creation of the Snopes (created 1995) site, was involved in the AFU (alt/folklore/urban) newsgroup online at the time he was trolling.
      
      Shortly after creation of Snopes, the alt folklore urban legend site was hit very hard with other, more detrimental types of "trollers" - ones who consider forums part of a virtual world they're playing a game in - and who fit the first description of "troll" posted earliest in this response - and participants who aren't concerned about the well-being of others. AFU was hit so hard with multiple user accounts, postings and activity that the act of trolling became very frowned upon.
      
      Also, an earlier meaning of the term has been considered a positive contribution in forums whereby a beneficial type of troller posts topics intended to garner positive reaction and identify those members of a site/forum who are like-minded in a positive way and who are 'insiders' to what's going on in a forum or specific site - more the type of trolling done by Mikkelson - who used the name "Snopes" as a handle in the AFU newsgroup.
      
      There are explanations of troll and trolling on wikipedia, snopes, AFU and several articles elsewhere online. The "behavior" and "effects" have also been studied quite a lot. If you search for Susan Herring (topics concerning safety, females and safety in forums) you're sure to find a good article - or search on Judith Donath, who has studied on usenet groups, and something interesting should be returned in search results. Both these authors/researchers are actually listed in the Wikipedia article on the troll topic.

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      1. 69

         alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         So our trolls are actually the dark side of the beneficial troll!  virtual good and evil WOW. 
         
         There is a thread somewhere about cloned human beings - would they have a soul, do religious trolls have a soul, or does each face of the owner share a fragment of the whole personality soul?
         
         Thanks for the history of trolls, very enlightening.
         
         I have noticed with ours that when they feel under peer pressure in the threads (effectively getting their own medicine but from a group of real(ish) characters) - or when they are being talked about - they become almost nice and join in random discussions, especially I like the occasional little apology

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         1. 69

            alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            and I forgot - the way a face of the soul-less ones will cuddle up in the threads, I guess so that your apparent friend can agree with its nasty alter ego later?

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               mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, and these are just more good points to the aforementioned dark troll you've informed us of, right?

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5. 62

   oscillationatendposted 14 years ago

   I think trolls are fine as long as they don't start trying to make us pay to cross the bridge that leads to the bathroom.

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6. 0

   Will Bensonposted 14 years ago

   
   
   "No goats around, guess I'll go visit the religious threads."

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   1. 78

      mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This is a great photo!

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      1. 63

         Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         It's a great photo - but in a way he kind of looks like a regular guy without clothes on, cold, and with some horrible skin condition.     I kind of feel bad for him.        then again, he's also creepy.

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   2. 66

      ceciliabeltranposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      

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7. 67

   TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years ago

   Trolls serve the purpose of helping us all to realize the value of sane, reasonable, courteous communication.
   
   
   Besides, If we were lacking in trolls, upon what flesh would we sharpen our verbal sparring skills??

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   1. 78

      mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You can take this point of view, yes...but must we sharpen to such a fine point?
      
      Hey Falsor Wing - I just searched 99chan... it sounded like a radio station I used to listen to lol but alas, I found a write up on it on the Encyclopedia Dramatica wiki.
      
      *whistles* Looks too nasty for me to go to, Falsor Wing. W-Dramatica says it's a recreated 78chan - only with a bunch of glitches and slow as molasses. 
      
      I'm seriously going to cut down on the sharpening of my verbal sparring skills, anyway, so I appreciate the mention of 99chan but you'll have to frequent that site without me.

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      1. 67

         TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Mythbuster, the second part of my statement was "spoken" with my tongue firmly in my cheek. I'm all for peaceful communication, although I have been known to fail in my attempts at it.

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8. 61

   Jane@CMposted 14 years ago

   Great history of the troll.  I never knew that - see you learn something new everyday, regardless if its worth a bean or not.

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9. 72

   lorlie6posted 14 years ago

   http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lkOPHZJetNI/S … +gruff.jpg
   Does anyone wish to share the secret of uploading photos to the forums?  Obviously I have no idea!

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10. 60

    Falsor Wingposted 14 years ago

    For more on trolls visit 99chan the internet's dark underbelly.

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    1. 0

       Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       gasp!! the internet has a... dark side?

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11. 60

    Friendlywordposted 14 years ago

    I guess I'm going to be troll and say this is wasted space. 25 post and no one named one person they think is a troll. According to discription; any thinking person with an opinion is a troll. 
    
    I think Sad Oh/TKsenseless is a troll. He only comments to start arguments or get people banned.
    
    Have some backbone people!

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    1. 69

       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Yes he/they is/are, along with a few other avatars which are also him/her - you could also be one of his clones for all anyone knows. It is bad form in polite discussion to out someone don't yer know, for one you can be wrong also there is always the possibility of redemption and maybe one day the trolls will stop playing this like a mindless computer game of sad laughs and actually think or learn something.
       
       And a troll is not a thinking person with an opinion - it is someone playing games for their own mindless ends.

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       1. 60

          Friendlywordposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you for clearing that up for me. I can't argue with the possibility of redemption. What about the people like me that might be clones of a troll,  but would like to improve their communication habits. How can you improve without honest criticism?

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          1. 69

             alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             or damnation

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    2. 78

       mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       This was just to open up discussions on opinions about trolls - not to "out" the names of people who are trolls.

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          Friendlywordposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          OK, My opinion is; I don't care if you are a troll.  Don't stalk me! There are so many people on the Hubpages and forums. Why me?

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12. 61

    gramaryeposted 14 years ago

    I like the photo, but nobody answered the question about uploading photos into the forum cause I've wanted to ask that question for a while.
    
    P.S Trolls did nothing to deserve a bad reputation!

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    1. 69

       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       You clearly have not been harassed and mindlessly pursued through every thread  by one !

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       Falsor Wingposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       then you don't know enough trolls

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    3. 0

       Will Bensonposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       It's pretty simple. The pic must be downloaded from the web, not your computer's picture files.
       
       Copy the url and paste it as follows:
       
       [img]http/..(the rest of the url)..-flickr.jpg[/img]
       
       Note the forward slash in the second [/img]

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          ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          If you ever forget... just click the little blue "Formatting Tips" at the bottom right of your reply box (where you are actually typing your reply.)  The appropriate formatting for including images is there.

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    4. 63

       Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       If you go to something like photobucket.com and search for a picture you'll see there are codes.  You'll also see which code you would need to paste in here (since it's a forum).  You copy the code for a forum, and paste into your post. 
       
       There's one thing you need to do, though, and that's to change the lower case "img" at the beginning and end of the code to upper case "IMG"

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          Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          really? I always use lower case..  like this  [img]insert address of photo found by left clicking on it and seeing properties. it will say address or URL, just copy it and no spaces[/img]
          
          

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             rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             that's how I do it also. no need for caps.

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13. 73

    blondepoetposted 14 years ago

    As the queen of hearts would say "Off with their heads". LMAO!!!
    
    

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       skyfireposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       

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    2. 78

       mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       People are finding great photos for posting.
       
       Thanks, blondepoet!

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       blake4dposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Hey BP and Mythbuster, you might wanna check my response at the end of the hub...I left it while trolling thru these parts. Blake4d

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          alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          what hub and where ?
          
          But you are not trolling are you - you have posted witty interesting comments and as far as I know you are not following anyone just to post irritating one liners after every post they make - are you ?

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             blake4dposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Fine Mr. Poet, can I call myself something lesser but still sickly and reptilian sounding, how about the boot beastie.
             
             I am boot beasting around the hub.
             But if I find myself a troll, I am gonna follow and irritate them
             until they wish they never heard of the boot beastie.

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       2. 0

          blake4dposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Boot beastie...Boot beastie...Boot beastie...

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             alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             OK - I have visited your hubs, now I understand even less   Like your poetry.

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14. 60

    Originposted 14 years ago

    I've been a video gamer for the past couple decades, and that is usually where you find a rather large portion of forum trolls. You can't really stop a forum troll, because the person doing the trolling feels protected because of being anonymous, protected by being 1,000 miles away from people.
    
    It's sort of like those people in cars that are filled with road rage, they yell and swear at people, honk their horns, etc. Yet, when they are out of the car they change who they are.

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15. 0

    kimberlyslyricsposted 14 years ago

    hmmmmm...............  *sigh*

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16. 72

    waynetposted 14 years ago

    Burn the trolls!!!!
    
    Especially if their hair sticks up and is green, blue or pink!!
    
    Burn them I say!

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       Uninvited Writerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Or at least put some clothes on them...

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17. 86

    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    let the bridges fall as they run for cover with their forum plunder!
    
    
    
    

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       waynetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Hey that art is from deviant art the bridge troll....
       
       Yeah let the forum trolls get buried by the bridge!

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18. 86

    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    yeah, I couldn't resist.. this is what they really look like, those nasty trolls....
    
    
    
    

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19. 80

    mega1posted 14 years ago

    If you live near the ocean and you're out there on a boat you might be "trolling" or fishing with lines.  I think that is more descriptive of the trolls - at least here on HubPages - they are "fishing" for pithy and witty comments with posts such as this one right chere!
    
    So, no, I don't hate trolls - without them these forums would be a sleepy, sludgy place - like about 80% of the time - and I live for that 10% when people are thoughtful and witty - the other 10% the place is totally dead.
    
    We need trolls possibly more than they need us.
    
    Long live the trolls!  (especially when they're not too hairy!)

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       susanlangposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       (not a troll) but had to laugh.

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20. 80

    mega1posted 14 years ago

    and as for "troll rights"  - we don't have to GIVE them rights - they will just TAKE them!  not to worry about trolls - worry about the clouds of ash and the prevalence of earthquakes and tornadoes and cyclones and hurricanes - worry about drought and destruction of barrier reef - worry about jobs and big employers going elsewhere or out of business - worry about healthcare - worry about taxes - worry about youe teenagers and your grandchildren and what kind of world are we making for them?  and worry about that annoying growth on the side of your neck - worry about whether your hubby will come home on time tonight instead of 4 hours late reeking of someone elses perfume and cheap liquor - worry about the price of eggs, milk, veggies - worry about global warming for pete's sake - BUT DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE DAMN TROLLS!    and have a good goddamn day!

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21. 0

    blake4dposted 14 years ago

    Oh I see, when all else fails, then we can all rest easy cause the world has one last scapegoat in our arsenal...the lowly troll.
    
    Well I have only met one troll in my life, at least to my knowledge, His name was Freddy Fork Fingers and he only was two or three feet tall even while wearing high heels. He was rather unfavorably looking, having what I assume from some pictures posted that he had a traditionally unnaturally large nose, and his fingernails were nearly the same length. I only knew him for a short time, less than a week. He was traveling down through my neighborhood trying to sell his best friend and lifelong companion. A big fat french speaking cow - who I can only assume by some wickedly unfortunate twist of fate had been named of all things 'Deja Moo.' I never saw Freddy Fork Fingers talk, giggle or even sneeze - in fact the story is very sad. Parking his french speaking cow by a city park with a little man made lake. Freddy decided to rest himself under a shady juniper tree and take off his stilletos for a nap. When out of nowhere a militant frenchman of ill favor appeared from nowhere. He was dressed as a bad looking like a junkie reject from Circe de Solei. But in fact was a devilish and terrible Mime. Who without saying a word slit Freddys throat, stole his stillettos, chopped off Freddys head and feets, then mounted poor innocent Deja Moo bareback, blew Freddys corpse a kiss of death...and like all evil Mimes, waved one gloved hand high while spaking his gettaway cow hard to make haste.
    
    Freddy was AWOL from the Foreign Leigion, and what remained of his body was desecrated by Interpol for no apparent reason.
    
    Deja Moo was found hog tied outside of an adult movie theatre in Paris two nights later, she had been milked, assaulted with a chocolate pudding pop, the local police had never seen anything like this ever before, especially done to a cow.
    
    And the allegedly troll murdering Mime is still out there someplace conducting business as usual, possibly wearing stolen stillettos and drinking chocolate milk.
    
    I think I have made my point clear.

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       TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       This may be the best forum post I've ever read. *cracking up*

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       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       very funny, creative, interesting - but no you haven't made your point clear, what is your point ?   

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       mega1posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       clear as mud, man!   why do chocolate pudding pops sound especially good to me right now?

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       mythbusterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       This is great blake4d - creative...I am swearing off chocolate pudding pops now - forver. lol
       
       I'm going to browse for which hub you were talking about quite a few posts back.

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22. 67

    TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years ago

    I think that's probably part of the point. Especially given the topic.

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23. 61

    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    There are some individuals out there who don't just enjoy winding up people on newsgroups and bulletin boards - it's their sad lifestyle choice! Using every known disruptive trick in the book, these troublesome types don't go out to the pub, meet members of the opposite sex or enjoy life. They spend their time hunched over their computers trolling.
    Here's how they work:
    
    INTRODUCTION
    
    The object of this post is to bring together a definitive document to cover the phenomena of the Usenet Troll. To many a troll is nothing more than an annoying method of defeating the killfile whereas to the heavily killfiled, trolling can be a virtual Godsend.
    
    What I want this document to focus on is how to create entertaining trolls. I have drawn on the expertise of the writer's of some of Usenet's finest and best remembered trolls. Trolls are for fun. The object of recreational trolling is to sit back and laugh at all those gullible idiots that will believe *anything*.
    
    Section 1: What Is A Troll?
    
    The WWW gives this as a definition:
    
    troll v.,n. To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies"; which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling";, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite.
    
    The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll.
    
    If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.

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24. 0

    blake4dposted 14 years ago

    Freddy! Is it really you?
    I thought you were dead!!!!

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25. 0

    blake4dposted 14 years ago

    You know they killed your cow right?

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       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Not even close to trolling yet. A bit more sarcasm or name calling might do it, but you have started from the wrong place you gotta go to a serious thread where a few guys are really debating something you don't understand and butt in
       
       If we have to teach you to be a troll then you are not cut out for it

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26. 61

    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    Alter Poet, I just checked your profile, some good reads you have there. I'll be back to read more now don't troll me.

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       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I don't have it in me to troll, just don't have the figure for it .
       
       How could I write love poems with the bitter mind of a troll?

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          susanlangposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          lol, you dont have a troll's figure, well then, that makes two of us And I love your poems indeed.

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27. 0

    blake4dposted 14 years ago

    Freddy!
    What have you done with Freddy....
    (gasps,tears, whimpering sounds)
    
    It shouldn't have happened to a Troll....

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    TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years ago

    *holding a hand to her ear* "...ormhole."
    
    "What? A wormhole?"
    
    "Yes, ma'am - it looks like you've wandered into one."
    
    "Just my luck"
    
    "...'ll have to bew...of the boot..."
    
    "What the hell are you talking about? Hello...hello!?"
    
    *walks off toward the bridge* twilight zone, man.

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29. 0

    cosetteposted 14 years ago

    then there's the scariest troll imaginable...the undead.
    
    flesh-eating zombies with self-replicating on autopilot
    
    
    
    alas, there is no hope for trolls of this nature.
    
    perhaps someone will invent zombie elixir one day and the internet will be forever free of such hideous creatures.
    
    well, one can dream anyway...

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30. 0

    blake4dposted 14 years ago

    "Deja Moo?"

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31. 90

    Will Apseposted 14 years ago

    Trolls can bring out the worst in people and sometimes it is very revealing.

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       susanlangposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I have to agree with you on that, Will.  I love it!   

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       EmpressFelicityposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       "Bring out the worst" - do you mean in the troll, or in the person who's talking to the troll?

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32. 61

    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    Empress, I think Will is tied up right now.

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33. 61

    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    And I don't mean with a rope.

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    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    Ok, this topic is now dead! (clapping)

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       alternate poetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I don't think so !  it will not be dead until all the trolls are 'outed' !  I notice they did not seem to get into this thread earlier  I can't believe they were all in their little cots !

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35. 61

    susanlangposted 14 years ago

    Little cots.. Poet? Or was it sleeping bags?

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    ceciliabeltranposted 14 years ago

    I think trolls need a life, ya know. they don't know how to get positive attention so they...well try to get it anyway they can. it's adult tantrum.

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       susanlangposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I agree cecil... it's tantrum! Your so right!

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