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When you troll, do you intend to accomplish something worthwhile?

A

aaronsan

Banned
Subject is basically all I wanted to ask, but I will elaborate. I think everyone tends to define "trolling" in a different way, and some people who are trolling by another's definition honestly don't think they ARE trolling.

So, basically...if you are exaggerating in a way you think/hope will piss people off, is there any "greater good" sort of purpose you ever think you might be serving? Or it is just for the LOLs every time? And if you're doing it in the context of presenting a position you don't even believe, same question. If you actually know better, what good are you doing making shit up?

I fully get having fun and fucking around, believe me, no matter how serious I seem here I do more than my share of that. But sometimes it's hard to tell whether there's still an intent to make a point.

I had more but I'll keep this brief. Not sure if this will go anywhere, anyway. I feel like I'm not asking my question the way I need to, but I'm not a writer.
 
Basoes

Basoes

Member
Eh, when I do, I never do it to harm or make fun of someone, it's just out of boredom and seeing a reaction, there's no other purpose.
 
Rabid Dwarf 76

Rabid Dwarf 76

Member
I only troll my friends and it's for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of them. I love to seeing their reaction when they finally realize I'm messing with them. It's all in good fun. If I cross the line I try to apologize quickly. Trolling strangers or people I'm not close to is a no-go for me. There are too many ways that things could go south. Same goes for online. The lines between trolling and harassment are too blurry for me to be comfortable with it. I don't want something I said as a joke online to be misunderstood or twisted and later used against my character. I try, to the best of my ability, to talk to people online as though they were standing in right in front of me.
 
O

oliander

Member
Only do it when I can use someone's words or standards against them, see if I can shake out some cognitive dissonance out of them if they're being hypocrites.

Not to self-aggrandize, but I truly troll only because I care. Otherwise I wouldn't waste the time.
 
L

Lord Thrappleper The 49th

Member
Made a post a while ago where i claimed i believed a made up conspiracy theory where the berlin wall never went down because germany itself never existed. It was the craziest crock of shit i ever made up, citing disneyworld as evidence.

I made this out on wanting it to sound ridiculous to the point people laughed, but the people who believed where the true sources of the laugh. So in a way i trolled them by trolling myself through trolling other people. Thats harmless fun
 
1

120v

Member
it kind of got to point where "trolling" became a useless term because anytime somebody saw something negative they'd just clump that in such. i guess the terminology has a lot to do it - an ogrish being dwelling under a bridge even though it refers to fishing

but people are kind of coming around on that with the russia situation and all. it's to provoke a desired response. i sure as hell have done it from time to time. bottom line is it's a pretty vague question to posit... what do you tend accomplish when you do anything online?
 
Ancient Gray

Ancient Gray

Member
I post on and off in a private community that for some reason I just cannot act like myself on and troll constantly. I have no other reason to post there at this point and yet I can't stop. It's the only place I act like that, which makes it all the more strange. And it's made me look like a huge jerk and a bad person. But I also feel like that community is filled with questionable people and I don't really care what they think, so I do it for my own amusement.

I think it's just a form of lashing out. And it can be both direct and indirect.
 
highrider

highrider

Banned
Trolling is such an impotent pursuit. I have nothing of value to add, but I’d like a lot of attention nonetheless!
 
Rocket Number 22

Rocket Number 22

Member
The problem here used to be that any differing opinion was at best hand waved as trolling at worst it was called some kind of "-ist / ism".

Ban-bait trolling was the worst
 
Infinite_Daremo

Infinite_Daremo

Member
When my coworker is pissed off at work I start sending him SpongeBob troll face images and occasionally play the Best Day Ever song. His anger makes me laugh in that situation.
 
A

aaronsan

Banned
oliander said:
Only do it when I can use someone's words or standards against them, see if I can shake out some cognitive dissonance out of them if they're being hypocrites.

Not to self-aggrandize, but I truly troll only because I care. Otherwise I wouldn't waste the time.
Click to expand...

I see a lot of responses here that give me hope in humanity XD not to overstate the point or anything.

Your response is the closest to what mine would be. Even further, I'd say I try to only counter-troll...although the direct context might not be there and it might seem I'm initiating the trolling.

If I know a certain topic or video is going to elicit particular trolling, let's say for example a topic about clear sexism (not BS stuff), or gun control, or whatever, I might pre-emptively troll a troll I know will be there eventually.

Generally I agree with what I see as the consensus here: it doesn't accomplish anything and most who troll aren't really hoping it will.

It's good so many see it's actually a negative thing to do, not a neutral "for the lolz" thing. Pissing people off just guarantees that they'll go piss MORE people off. If you want everyone pissed off, you're on the right track. Misrepresenting your side's position (or the other side) doesn't do anything to fix the other side or make them see your side. So again it only harms.

But I think deep down almost all of us know that. Whether you care....
 
E

Estellex

Member
I think people that troll tend to be outrageously bored or they might have personal problems and want to take it out on other people.
 
M

McLovin

Member
I dabble but I keep it really subtle. Like on reddit some guy was talking about bringing out his dusty wii to play Metroid prime again. My reply was, “I remember playing my dusty wii just a few weeks after it release, good times”.
 
BANGS

BANGS

Banned
aaronsan said:
So, basically...if you are exaggerating in a way you think/hope will piss people off, is there any "greater good" sort of purpose you ever think you might be serving? Or it is just for the LOLs every time?
Click to expand...

If I do such a thing, it's usually just to exaggerate my point. Adding exaggeration and humor gives my argument more impact to those that would have it, while weeding out the tightwads...
 
Bolivar687

Bolivar687

Banned
BANGS said:
If I do such a thing, it's usually just to exaggerate my point. Adding exaggeration and humor gives my argument more impact to those that would have it, while weeding out the tightwads...
Click to expand...

Same. I do it sometimes when I have an argument I know is going to be unpopular ahead of time, or, better yet, goes against "the narrative." The emphasis makes people who might otherwise crucify me not take it so seriously, whereas the people who go in on it hard kinda out themselves in the process. The laughs and "well-played" are worth it and it's cool when the ridiculousness of it gets people who might not ordinarily speak up to join in and echo the opinion.

I'll admit though a lot of the time it's just for the reaction.
 
L

LookAtMeGo

Member
Life's no fun when you're serious all the time. I'll do it to get a laugh out of someone but the aim is rarely to piss someone off unless they are just being a dick for no reason.
 
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