Might as well get the inevitable done and over with....
Posted on 08/01/2008 12:50:41 PM PDT by reaganaut1
...
In the late 1980s, Internet users adopted the word “troll” to denote someone who intentionally disrupts online communities. Early trolling was relatively innocuous, taking place inside of small, single-topic Usenet groups. The trolls employed what the M.I.T. professor Judith Donath calls a “pseudo-naïve” tactic, asking stupid questions and seeing who would rise to the bait. The game was to find out who would see through this stereotypical newbie behavior, and who would fall for it. As one guide to trolldom puts it, “If you don’t fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.”
Today the Internet is much more than esoteric discussion forums. It is a mass medium for defining who we are to ourselves and to others. Teenagers groom their MySpace profiles as intensely as their hair; escapists clock 50-hour weeks in virtual worlds, accumulating gold for their online avatars. Anyone seeking work or love can expect to be Googled. As our emotional investment in the Internet has grown, the stakes for trolling — for provoking strangers online — have risen. Trolling has evolved from ironic solo skit to vicious group hunt.
“Lulz” is how trolls keep score. A corruption of “LOL” or “laugh out loud,” “lulz” means the joy of disrupting another’s emotional equilibrium. “Lulz is watching someone lose their mind at their computer 2,000 miles away while you chat with friends and laugh,” said one ex-troll who, like many people I contacted, refused to disclose his legal identity.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Tell me about it!
Might as well get the inevitable done and over with....
Hmmm, some people have a split personality . . .
I’ve used my name for nearly five decades. It’s legal for a wide variety of purposes.
Posting flashing GIFs on an epilepsy Web site is terrible. Who even thinks of something like that?
I find it interesting that someone posted a parody of one of those parody motivation posters. Those originated on 4chan. They are a goldmine of internet memes.
Thinking positively for one moment:
Moderators/Administrators/Owners have given voice to those who otherwise will go unheard.
Tough challenge - but think of the rewards you heros deserve.
My personal thanks.
There will always be cruelty - it enhances the beauty of those who can rise beyond its’ limiting boundaries of those who prefer tantrums, demanding we all conform and in so moving away from the ugliness - create even more wonderful thoughts for us to ponder.
They are here... among you. lol
In fact, I submit that some of them have attained a rather “high status” right here on this site, and I see an AWFUL lot of them with leftist leanings going on an on and on, never to be challenged lately.
(I’ve been involved with dealing with them since those ‘early days’ the author mentioned, since before the internet existed!)
Caught a quick signup/post from an Obama fan who has posted the one defense of his candidate and run. Contrary to the quotes he cited.
Practice.. Practice .. Practice !!!
:-]
Shunning is good isn’t it?
Ignoring the obvious tries at argument?
What is the right course of action?
I never win a verbal fight and learned early on I haven’t the knowledge to spar with those who have a dedicated agenda.
Why not plant a big T on their posts so we can move along?
Ping to NYT article mentioning /b/tards, an hero, lost iPods, and moot. No mention of Pedobear, Longcat, or Desu.
The left’s first reflex is to personally discredit their critics (Monica is a stalker, Gennifer is unstable, Swifties are liars, etc) but that's kind of hard to do when your critic's real name and address are not known.
getting a subpoena means that there must have been a crime committed, and simply wondering if the son of a Muslim is a Muslim is not, yet, a crime.
It's coming soon, federal legislation making it illegal to log on to a network with anything other than your real name/address. There are more and more articles planting this concept, and soon it will rise to the level of the MSM Constant Chant.
Luckily... we have the Viking Kitty!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.