Has internet trolling gone too far?

[Alantor32]

I wanted to ask people this. Has internet trolling gone too far?

 

Before I came to forums I liked, I was the victim of trolls in a past forum before PSN came into being and Gamefaqs aka Lamefaqs. Worst yet, Lamefaqs' moderation staff simply allows trolls to continue trolling without punishing them, which makes me think Lamefaqs' moderation staff is corrupted and drunk with power.

 

So I am asking this. Has internet trolling gone too far? If so, what do you think?

[Valyrious]

Couldn't care less tbh.

[thegirlruka]

Is... Is this a troll post?

[Parker]

Trolls are annoying sure, but they rely on people actually getting upset with them in order to flourish. If you ignore them, they'll eventually shut up. Here at PSNP though, we don't allow trolls and if you ever feel like someone is just trolling to be an asshole make sure you report the post and the mod staff will take care of it. 

 

 

Parker

[hore]

You make it sound like trolling has escalated to terrorism and is threatening our national security.

 

It's not very difficult to ignore trolling. And GameFAQs has always been a cesspool.

[Alantor32]

You make it sound like trolling has escalated to terrorism and is threatening our national security.

 

It's not very difficult to ignore trolling. And GameFAQs has always been a cesspool.

I know, right? That's why I called Gamefaqs Lamefaqs because it deserves to be called that. And you have a point there. I apologized, but I couldn't help but get angry at internet trolls for making people miserable.

[BlindMango]

Trolling is and always has been part of the DNA of the internet, personally I mostly find it entertaining and it never really bugged me much   Trolls go away pretty quickly if they're ignored but with each and every community it's a balancing act - you'd want people to speak their mind, have fun, and not sound like fake robots who are scared to say anything but you also don't want it to get out of hand at the same time. It's a tough thing overall to moderate I'd imagine.
 
Every community is different, even within this website - the chat for example has a lot of trolling and jokes while the forums seem a lot more relaxed.

 

But to answer the ultimate question, the internet hasn't gone too far - it has always been the way it is and the only reason it seems like it's gone too far is because of outrage culture, people usually now throw a fit or further escalate troll bait to massive levels by pouring gasoline on the fire instead of just ignoring the trolls. It seems like there's a recent trend of people knowingly baiting trolls because they see a benefit in it like patreon donations or 15 minutes of fame and stuff like that, it hits the news media, and people can't believe that the internet has trolls, etc...

Edited September 9, 2016 by BlindMango

[Parker]

I know, right? That's why I called Gamefaqs Lamefaqs because it deserves to be called that. And you have a point there. I apologized, but I couldn't help but get angry at internet trolls for making people miserable.

 

 

Just ignore them. There is no reason to get angry at someone while discussing video games.

 

 

Parker

[RedRodriguez87]

Trolls are annoying sure, but they rely on people actually getting upset with them in order to flourish. If you ignore them, they'll eventually shut up. Here at PSNP though, we don't allow trolls and if you ever feel like someone is just trolling to be an asshole make sure you report the post and the mod staff will take care of it. 

 

 

Parker

 

Ideally, yes this would be the case. But it doesn't always work out that way.

 

It's true they do it for attention, but it doesn't need to be the attention of the victim. It could just as easily come from their pals. There's also the length they will go to get attention, and that could include digging up and posting personal info and plastering it on the net.

 

Many times, simply ignoring gives them silent confirmation to keep doing it. I mean, reporting and banning doesn't sound like ignoring the problem, does it?

[Parker]

Ideally, yes this would be the case. But it doesn't always work out that way.

 

It's true they do it for attention, but it doesn't need to be the attention of the victim. It could just as easily come from their pals. There's also the length they will go to get attention, and that could include digging up and posting personal info and plastering it on the net.

 

Many times, simply ignoring gives them silent confirmation to keep doing it. I mean, reporting and banning doesn't sound like ignoring the problem, does it?

 

I didn't say ignore the problem, I said ignore the troll. You as a user can ignore the troll while I as a mod will take care of the troll. 

 

 

Parker

[Ginklage]

It's literally impossible for trolling to go too far in my opinion. 

 

There's trolling and then there's bullying, they're completely different. 

Bullying can go too far obviously. Trolling? nah.  

Edited September 9, 2016 by Ginklage

[SwampGas]

I have to say, trolls annoy me, not because they are stupid... but possibly because they ruin the 'flow' of a real conversation. For lack of a better term. Now if someone starts a 'troll' thread, it's easy enough to ignore. It's the ones that interject into the middle of a decent/civilized conversation that annoy me.

But respect where respect is due... i haven't come across a single one here on PSNP... Kudos to the forum staff and for the user base for being mostly civilized

Edited September 9, 2016 by SwampGas

[yellowwindow7]

just ignore them and they'll fade away.

[RedRodriguez87]

I didn't say ignore the problem, I said ignore the troll. You as a user can ignore the troll while I as a mod will take care of the troll. 

 

 

Parker

 

But, the troll IS the problem. You may not be speaking to them, but they DO have enough of your attention to take action.

 

And FTR Parker, I'm with SwampGas in saying you all got some really good mods on here, so kudos.

 

 

There's trolling and then there's bullying, they're completely different. 

Bullying can go too far obviously. Trolling? nah.  

 

That's true, didn't think about this.

 

Maybe the disconnect comes from whether or not one believes bullying can happen via the internet.

[Alantor32]

I didn't say ignore the problem, I said ignore the troll. You as a user can ignore the troll while I as a mod will take care of the troll. 

 

 

Parker

Yes, that is true. I am glad you're a good moderator unlike Lamefaqs' moderation staff.

[Ginklage]

But, the troll IS the problem. You may not be speaking to them, but they DO have enough of your attention to take action.

 

And FTR Parker, I'm with SwampGas in saying you all got some really good mods on here, so kudos.

 

 

 

That's true, didn't think about this.

 

Maybe the disconnect comes from whether or not one believes bullying can happen via the internet.

 

Oh it definitely can. I just think people conflate the two too much and blur the lines. 

Trolling to me has always been saying something you don't mean that's usually somewhat fucked up or the polar opposite of what you actually believe, purely for a reaction. 

To wind somebody up pretty much. 

Bullying is saying something that you believe to be true to hurt someone else's feelings.

I think intent and whether or not it's true, determines if it's trolling or bullying.

 

Trolling as it stands by that definition if you wanna call it that, can't go too far in my opinion.  

Edited September 9, 2016 by Ginklage

[Dark Layla]

Yes, that is true. I am glad you're a good moderator unlike Lamefaqs' moderation staff.

the difference between this site and the others is that the moderators here has "big balls"

 

[Asvinia]

Depends what you think is trolling.

Someone disagreeing with you is not trolling.

Someone posting uncomfortable facts or images is not trolling.

 

Someone arguing rubbish points for rubbish reasons in a place where they know it will cause arguments between other members is trolling.

 

Directly attacking someone personally is just bullying.

[TheAveryChu]

As I troll I say that everyone in this thread be banned including myself.

[Dragon-Archon]

It used to bother me a lot when people were trolling or starting a witch hunt just because someone disagreed with the alpha dog's opinion. Mods on those sites didn't even bother to do their job and one even claimed people had freedom of speech to say whatever they wanted. Jumped sites lots of time, but this one seems pretty easygoing most of the time and the mods take their job seriously.

[HaSoOoN-MHD]

Harassment and cyber bullying are a pretty real problem that are only exacerbated by fuck heads like Milo gaining such massive traction on the internet; i'm against its normalization and think people should stop telling others to get a thicker skin when someone's being a genuine shithead on the internet.

 

Who you are on the internet counts.

[RabbiAndy]

Trolls used to bother me, until I turned 16. You just have to understand that they're people too, looking for some kind of dynamic with other individuals around the world. If I see an obvious troll post I just like to engage in stimulating, yet somehow equally mindless banter back and forth until the troll tires out. Having been a former troll myself, I've built enough endurance to outlast them for quite some time.    The biggest mistake you can make is to show that you're angry with what they're saying, though. 

[DEMON]

GameFAQs is full of trolls; you're honestly best to stay off that site's forums these days and just use it for the FAQ part.

Also with trolls if the mods on a site are useless, it's best just to ignore them, they'll quit eventually if they see they aren't getting attention.

Trolls on this site don't survive for long though, the mod team are fast here at getting rid of them.

[Masamune]

Ah... GameFaqs, you can find some useful info there sometimes, but the forums are pretty bad (almost as bad as YouTube comments). I only bothered to make a few posts there myself before I gave-up on that.

[skateak]

But respect where respect is due... i haven't come across a single one here on PSNP... Kudos to the forum staff and for the user base for being mostly civilized

They come and go but Parker and Stevieboy do a good job of burning their bridges.