Monday, September 8, 2008

Trolls

The seem to be a high incidence of trolls on Althouse lately. These trolls are a little different. They seem to be reasonable and ask legitimate questions, but they are not interested in an answer or a dialogue. They just move the goal posts and change the argument. You can get sucked into their vortex by trying to debate them when they are not acting in good faith. To be sure there are some on both sides of the aisle. so just want to throw out insults and are easily ignored. But others are more insidious.

My new policy is to ignore them. Formerly I would mock them, but this encouragement is counter productive. They are to be scorned.

5 comments:

blake said...

Yeah, it's irritating, isn't it?

It's like they can't believe that anyone would be interested in legitimate discussion, so they don't even bother.

knox said...

They seem to be reasonable and ask legitimate questions, but they are not interested in an answer or a dialogue. They just move the goal posts and change the argument.

There used to be a commenter on Althouse who went by the name geoduck who was that way. She seemed cool, was pretty friendly-- but then she would turn up on those cuckoobird sites talking about what an idiot Althouse and her commenters were. Weird. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people were her. I don't think that type of freak ever goes away. And you know Doyle couldn't stay away if he wanted to...

blake said...

Those people have no idea how much they're beclowning themselves.

I think of them as props in Ann's performance art. They're not quite to the level of actual characters, but like a door slam in a scary movie or a dance number in a musical, they serve a purpose.

Meade said...

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a troll.

For instance, I'm just itching to posit the question: What if you put lipstick on RHHarding? Then would girls like him?

It would be mean and trollish, I know. So far, I've been able to restrain myself. Barely.

Trooper York said...

Poor Rh. Every once in a while I feel like I have been teasing him too much and then he posts something that freaks me out.