The crunched numbers show that proportionately, one poster -- the troll in question -- has an OVERWHELMING dominance on this thread in terms of number of posts.
I have found number-crunching critical to getting an ACCURATE picture of FReeper sentiment. THREE times now on three different issues, I have observed that while it appeared that "most FReepers" held a certain point of view, when the numbers were crunched, it was the opposite. Frequency of posts by the "side" that holds the minority view, makes it appear that the minority isn't as small as it in fact, is, and that the majority isn't as decided as it actually is. Many FReepers still labor under the wrong conclusion that "most" Freepers thought such-and-such because the posts of a small minority stating that such-and-such were so predominant.
On this issue of the Waco "shootout" charade, my number-crunching reveals that among FReepers who have commented clearly, the people who think the "official" narrative is bogus and wrong, MORE THAN DOUBLE those who buy the police narrative. However, when the latter dominate the threads in frequency of posts, even when we KNOW it is only a handful, it STILL creates the impression of size that is illusion. The trolls' purpose is to harm morale by trying to make the opposition at the very least sound smaller than it is.
well said. It can also discourage others from posting because they see how visciously others posting are attacked.
I've occasionally taken the time to go through and tally up posts on threads like these to see if my impressions of numbers are accurate, and I see similar results to what you describe.
Another common tactic is to constantly demand proof of claims, to cause folks to waste time looking stuff up, or to repeatedly attack small inconsiquential things and drag the conversation away from issues they don't want to discuss.
A few months ago someone posted an excellent article that analysed and described trollish behavior in some detail. I thought I'd bookmarked it, but I can't seem to find it.