The Definition of a "Concern Troll" - The Most Important Thread of the Day (Vanity, but true)

[editor-surveyor]

As I said, the dog that yelps.

[j.argese]

There are also the “arbiter trolls”. Those who take it as their duty to determine who is actually concerned from those who only pretend to be concerned. A quick way to confirm is to see if they are members of the condo association board of directors or members of the PTA.

[Undocumented_capitalist]

Instead of being concerned about trolls send
CASH donations to every republican candidate who is
either behind or in toss up situations.

[McGruff]

but the American People...blah...blah...blah

[I see my hands]

I don't care.

[Alex Murphy]

Concern trolling is a form of Internet trolling in which someone enters a discussion with claims that he or she supports the view of the discussion, but has concerns. In fact, the concern troll is opposed to the view of the discussion, and he or she uses concern trolling to sow doubt and dissent in the community of commenters or posters. Although this practice originated on the Internet, it has since spread to the real world as well, with concern trolls popping up in a variety of places from network television to op-ed columns.

"Now you’ve arrived, and you are already beginning to sense some of the items you might select to make trouble over. You will find that if you judiciously leak out some of your dissatisfactions, some people will come to you and express theirs to you. After all, you are cutting a “most holy” image. Where the church is “extreme ,“ you counsel “moderation. ” Where the church is “compromised,“ you advocate “faithfulness .“ Where the church is “harsh, ” you advocate a “loving spirit .“ Where the church is “too tolerant and longsuffering,” you advocate a “firmer hand.“ You will find people who want to hear just this kind of talk. Keep them in mind for the future....

....Now, it is important, once you have your own church going, that you “extend the right hand of fellowship” and offer “fraternal relations” to the church you just shafted. If they refuse, it makes them look bad; if they accept, you don’t lose anything. If they refuse close relations with you, then it proves what you said all along, that they are “unloving.”"
-- from the thread The Effective Church Splitter's Guide

[MaggieCarta]

While I agree with your topic, I am somewhat concerned.....

Giggle. You beat me to it.

That worries me somewhat...

[frithguild]

[publana]

Says he that posted the blatant lie thread yesterday that claimed Rove was on Hannity ranting about COD. Who is the real troll?

[agere_contra]

Calling everyone who disagrees a “concern troll” sounds like a liberal idea.

You make a good point!

You're obviously one of those "sensible comment trolls" we have so many of on Free Republic.

[Scythian]

LOL, okay guys, I get it, it’s just good to know that there really is such a thing as a “concern troll”, that was my point, of course will fight and disagree like crazy as we always do ...

[50mm]

I’m concerned that those concerned will not discern the meaning in your disconcerting concern graphic. /concern

[ridesthemiles]

Willie Green is my candidate for this title here on FR.

[andy58-in-nh]

I agree it's a useful term, but sometimes people have genuine concerns and wish to express them so that they may be judged on their merits.

It's interesting, because I have seen people unfairly attacked for making legitimate points about a given subject by someone who clearly objected to the criticism in and of itself - without considering its merits.

Through open discussion: hidden agendas, motivations and depth of commitment to a person or proposition are often revealed in time. The problem comes about when emotion and passion begin to dominate a discussion, and some subjects just seem to lend themselves to polarized, emotional responses (oh, say... Sarah Palin, for example). And that concerns me... (heh heh)

[dforest]

You do it all the time. All of your posts are the same thing backing your opinion.

What is it about that you fail to understand?

What makes you any different?

If a large amount of posters were for something other than what you are for, would you still think yourself entitled to air your opinion? or would you think you had to go with the flow or shut up?

If you believe in the cause or opinion that you are for, you don’t need to repress the thoughts of others with tactics like name calling.

[IronJack]

So is anyone who expresses misgivings over an issue to be considered a “concern troll?” That would seem to limit FR’s function to that of an Amen Chorus rather than a freewheeling political marketplace.

[agere_contra]

Oh no. Willie is not a concern troll.

Willie is merely trying to remake American society from the ground up through the dialectic of subsidized light rail.

To give you your due, Willie: you don’t sidle onto threads and evince ‘concerns’. You’re refreshingly direct. And I hope you don’t mind us talking about you like this.

[RedStateRocker]

A variant is the ‘holy hand grenade’ thrower.

On DU one can easily stir up a hornet's nest over whether the Obama administration has “thrown under the bus” GLBT issues people, environmentalists or the ‘financial reform’ process. Even the RKBA has the potential to inflame debate as there are plenty of otherwise ‘liberal’ posters who are hunters, ex military and otherwise opposed to ‘gun grabbers’ these being separate from the mere”purist” vs Pragmatist” general strain of argumentation that plays out on every political board.

On FR it really DOES sadden and concern me to see discord between Catholics, Mormons and Evangelical Protestants and even other/non believers who otherwise are on board with an agenda of fiscal conservatism and adherence to constitutional principles- when *ALL* should be fighting the socialism, incompetence and general moral turpitude of Democrats, RINOs and their ilk. The ‘culture clashes’ between the moralists and the libertarian strands of conservatism are no where nearly as acrimonious; I am working on a vanity that actually argues that a good bit of the ability of the conservative movement's ability to periodically revitalize itself is derived from the ‘genetic diversity’ of the disparate approaches to liberty, but that's another post.
Observe who throws the ‘hand grenade’, for those who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.

[agere_contra]

Scythian did us all a favor bringing this concept to our attention, but I agree - none of us want “concern-denunciation” to become a toxic meme on FR.

[Pan_Yan]

So the people who post endless positive articles about their favorite candidate, filled with gushing comments, who travel in herds and ping each other to their latest photoshopped pictures, are they unconcerned trolls?