Forum Trolls and The World

[Frozen Beat]

Wrecked tbh

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by Vendetta21

Lol you're retarded human interaction on the internet lacks empathy not because people are sociopaths but because they're sufficiently disconnected from others. I don't make an effort to empathize with the 6000 people that died in the last ten seconds and I'm not going to make an effort to empathize with a user-base filled with thousands of people I don't know. I think what we see here is a mind-projection bias. Or you're just a ****ing idiot. The former is funnier.

I get the feeling that you didn't read my second post or misunderstood me greatly after having read it.

I was exaggerating in my first post. They're not sociopaths, but trolling is anti-social behavior. Do you deny this? I suppose I could have merely said "trolling is anti-social behavior", but it just doesn't have the same punch as "trolls are sociopaths."

"Sufficiently disconnected" is also a laughable idea. Empathy is entirely possible over a text-only medium. If you choose to not be empathic, that's up to you, but it's entirely possible. Hell, it's possible to feel empathy while reading fiction. "This is just text on a screen, it's not a real person" is an incredibly immature way of thinking about Internet interaction. It's not entirely unnatural to feel that way, but you should be able to use your brain and realize that those you interact with on the Internet are real people.

ps hi v

[MrRubix]

Yeah, and masturbation is genocide.

[MrGiggles]

Originally Posted by Goldenwind

I just finished a game of SC2, where my opponent expressed strong verbal harassment throughout the game, without me having spoken a word. This harassment reminded me very much of forum trolling - a plethora of mindless irrationals, bent on offending others to fulfill their hourly needs.

Yeah that doesn't really describe forum trolling at all. That guy must have really **** in your cornflakes for you to even consider this thread.

Originally Posted by Afrombeam

Hell, it's possible to feel empathy while reading fiction.

Generally, most fiction writers are trying to get you to empathize with their characters. Forum posts don't often have that goal in mind.

[Bill Kaulitz]

Originally Posted by MrRubix

Trolling is a function of boredom. You get on a forum, stir the pot, and watch your puppets dance for your amusement. Then you move on and have fun with the rest of your life while those on the forum have been worked up and stressed out. It's a sort of psychological schadenfreude that you can have fun with from the anonymity of your computer, and it's sometimes funny. That's about it.

I agree with this entirely. I've only trolled a couple times, but to watch a whole forum and/or chatroom explode after you've trolled is pure amusement.

[Frozen Beat]

Trolling is not anti-social, as I said, you're making too many generalizations. Trolling is anti-social behavior. Do I deny this? Yes, I do. First of all, trolling is interacting with others, and you imply it's with the intention of driving off others. It's not all the time, in fact, from my experiences with online games, as well as many others', it's to bring in a person, or in some instances, groups of people to start an argument, "troll," then come out "on top." Just to feel superior. It's like walking down the alleyways of a bad neighborhood, and somebody random coming up to you and saying "your shirt sucks." The moment you say anything offensive whatsoever, that gives them the "excuse" to beat the crap out of you. And yes, you can compare this to trolling, at least in the luring aspect of it all (despite that some trolling may be a lot more head-on).

""This is just text on a screen, it's not a real person" is an incredibly immature way of thinking about Internet interaction. It's not entirely unnatural to feel that way, but you should be able to use your brain and realize that those you interact with on the Internet are real people. "

It is not an immature way to think of it, I've spoken to some real bright people that treat text online as AI, even when they know it's not. Your opinion is extreme and uncalled for. And jeezus, you said right after "it's not entirely unnatural to feel that way." Really? Then why give such an extremist position on it so fast. And I'm sure that the majority of trollers believe others are real people. Just the fact that you said "should be able to use your brain and realize," just goes to show contradictions in all the holes in your argument.


Also, rofl @ earlier comments

Originally Posted by Afrobean

I get the feeling that you didn't read my second post or misunderstood me greatly after having read it.

I was exaggerating in my first post. They're not sociopaths, but trolling is anti-social behavior. Do you deny this? I suppose I could have merely said "trolling is anti-social behavior", but it just doesn't have the same punch as "trolls are sociopaths."

"Sufficiently disconnected" is also a laughable idea. Empathy is entirely possible over a text-only medium. If you choose to not be empathic, that's up to you, but it's entirely possible. Hell, it's possible to feel empathy while reading fiction. "This is just text on a screen, it's not a real person" is an incredibly immature way of thinking about Internet interaction. It's not entirely unnatural to feel that way, but you should be able to use your brain and realize that those you interact with on the Internet are real people.

ps hi v

[Afrobean]

First of all, trolling is interacting with others

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour

get the **** outta here

I didn't even bother completely reading your terrible post after I saw that instance of stupidity so early on.

[MrRubix]

Projecting, much?

[Frozen Beat]

Originally Posted by Afrobean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour

get the **** outta here

I didn't even bother completely reading your terrible post after I saw that instance of stupidity so early on.

Oh so you get all your garbage from wiki? No wonder arguments are crap hahah

Trolling is interacting with others. If I troll you, are you a wall? Are you a piece of grass? rofl

And just the fact that you said "reading your terrible post after I saw that instance of stupidity so early on," goes to show you can't really argue with the later points of my argument, or you're afraid of reading it.

Dropped.

[Afrobean]

antisocial != asocial

Don't try to argue with me on this point. You are wrong.

[MrRubix]

Most people incorrectly use the term "anti-social," which we typically associate with introversion. "Anti-social behavior" is really a sort of selfishness that can lead to lying/cheating/stealing/harming others in some way without consideration.

So, yes, trolling is anti-social behavior because it's not really promoting any sort of social good in any way -- it's meant to simply disrupt society, even if it's an online community. But only moderately so. It's only slightly harsher than the crap someone might give another in person when making fun of him/her. The fact that you can troll anonymously only incentivizes someone to be even more of a cock without fear of punishment.

[Iam90]

well I do have to agree with afrobean only in that frozen beat's post was really awful but so are afrobeans

[Frozen Beat]

"Most people incorrectly use the term "anti-social," which we typically associate with introversion. "Anti-social behavior" is really a sort of selfishness that can lead to lying/cheating/stealing/harming others in some way without consideration."

Thanks for an actual explanation

[Vendetta21]

Originally Posted by Frozen Beat

Yeah dude you're welcome for the actual explanation.

[Cavernio]

****ing trolls, stupid thread in crit thinking, DEVOOOONIIIIIINNNNNNNN!




:-p

[Vests]

Originally Posted by Goldenwind

Could it be possible that the *true* forum is the world, and people are all just trolling it?

All validity of anything you may have said is torn asunder by this question. Very circular logic. Statements like that get no one anywhere. One could also say "We are all theoretically just computer simulations of a much more advanced creation." What kind of justification is there for such a uncoordinated thought? Pure drivel.