do’s and don’ts of eso forum trolling…

geonsocal · May 2017

curious to see/hear the thoughts of others on eso forum “trolling”…

eso was the first online forum i ever joined (i’ve joined one other since)…I’ve never, ever had to do as much research for eso as I have for any other game…a lot of my research kept leading me to the forums…

it took a good portion of my life to finally understand exactly what “group” or social niche I fell in with…the only real consistent social traits I have is that I don’t really fit in anywhere, I’m a bit of a geek and nerd (not cool enough to qualify as a freak) – and, I really enjoy gaming…

presto - i seem to have found others of my ilk and I’m now hooked on the forums…while I’ve been fortunate in developing some very cool relationships with some of the other posters – I’ve also taken a bit of joy in displaying an ironic or irreverent view of the world in my posts…

for at least the first 3 or so months on the forums I stayed very vanilla…part of that being – I’m not very compelled to argue with others…but, most importantly – it’s took me almost a year and a half of playing eso to git gud, understand all the different terms, and really figure out what the heck is going on with this game…

once I finally learned how to use gifs, meme’s, images and videos into my posts – a whole new, very subtle form of communication revealed itself to me – trolling…

prior to joining the eso forums – I had absolutely no idea what the term meant…

from wiki - In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll's amusement.

yeah, that doesn't sound good...

although I’d like to think my humor/outlook is purely a sardonic one – truth is, I lapse into sarcasm all to easily…however, where do you draw the line at subtle/not so subtle humor and the more negative aspect of how wiki and others perceive trolling?

is "trolling" really always a bad thing - or - just another form of expression?

please, feel free to troll to your heart's content

Tryxus · May 2017

Trolling is walking that fine line between outright breaking the rules and subtly making fun/insulting others

Kiralyn2000 · May 2017

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

Takes-No-Prisoner · May 2017

geonsocal wrote: »

curious to see/hear the thoughts of others on eso forum “trolling”…

ESO forums pales in comparison to Something Awful forum trolling. Something Awful has layers and depths to how far and how hard in they go with trolling.

And it's all so tastefully GOOD.

Rouven · May 2017

See, like I totally expected tips and tricks here. Pffft.

Oh well. Look, some people can tell jokes and some people butcher the same joke. You make me laugh you get an awesome. You make me rofl you may get a digital cookie.

davey1107 · May 2017

Trolling is always in the eye of the beholder, I think. And as such, it's almost always used to describe undesirable behavior. If someone makes a post about dying in pvp, and I respond "your gear sucks, you need to get with the program," they might be offended and consider it trolling. Or they might take it as tersely worded advice, in which case they wouldn't likely call it a troll.

But sometimes, even well intentioned brusque comments can seem like trolling. Recently someone posted a comment about heavy attack damage being too high. The entire community jumped all over him. None of the comments were over the line, but he was ganged up on and that can feel like trolling.

As far as lighter comments, I think the forums are a place for humor and sarcasm. This can still offend (especially if it's actually funny). I made someone really angry in a thread where they were complaining about NB gankers (wow...and I think that was the FIRST POST EVER on that topic, lol.) After a 1,000 work litany of griping, all I said was "There's an old,Khajiit nightblade saying, 'that first snipe was a warning shot and this second one is...oh, you're already dead. Oops.'" Is that a troll? I don't know, but it was funny enough and I think we can joke here and there about a gosh darn video game.

geonsocal · May 2017

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

thanks @Kiralyn2000

honestly, this is not what i'm getting (could very well be ignorance on my part in an understanding of terms)...are you saying that poking fun at folks, illustrating irony to some degree, adding stupid, sometimes humorous, loosely related gifs and memes are unacceptable in a public forum - or - that the definition of trolling does not include these acts?

Turelus · May 2017

Generally if you're trolling just to bait the wiser posted ignore you, or the mods shut your thread.

Some high brow trolling and trash posting seems to work well though. I generally try to only do this in threads where people are being annoyingly ignorant or just posted rage threads without any constructive input.

That said I do also do my best to answer all questions I see and give advice to those who ask in a decent way. Although from my understanding of what I heard about me I am basically Marmite on these forums.

ThePaleItalian · May 2017

Find button... push button... repeat

Rohamad_Ali · May 2017

My girls friends Dad said in his day they didn't call it trolling , they called it being a prick .

geonsocal · May 2017

Rouven wrote: »

See, like I totally expected tips and tricks here. Pffft.

Oh well. Look, some people can tell jokes and some people butcher the same joke. You make me laugh you get an awesome. You make me rofl you may get a digital cookie.

sorry @Rouven - here ya go:

The secret to consistently successful trolling isn’t using special equipment or finding a hot place. It’s presenting your lure most effectively. If more people really understood this, fewer of them would be wandering around doing the wrong thing and unintentionally depending on luck.

Like any other method of fishing, trolling demands figuring out where and how to make the best presentation. No matter what species you seek, the following factors are common, and critical, to effective trolling.
DEPTH CONTROL FOR TROLLING LURES
SPEED
LURE ACTION
SIDE AND BACK PLACEMENT
BOAT CONTROL

you should be fairly well set now

CaptainBeerDude · May 2017

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

What if you would say it in person?
Sometimes you just gotta let people know they are being stupid. If they want to start a fight, then come at me, Bro (or Sis, I've been punched by girls before. Being a bouncer introduces you to all of the magical people.)

Magdalina · May 2017

There's no real equivalent to word "trolling" in my language (though word "troll" is gathering popularity lately in that sense and more and more people understand what you refer to if you bring it up) so it's an interesting one for me.

I think there're several kinds of trolls, one is the outright rude and offensive one that's actually enjoying provoking/hurting others knowing not much can be done back in an online forum.

Another is the kind that actually kinda cracks me up, it's like a little mischievous kid kind of troll and they aren't really looking to hurt anyone but just to have fun. They're hardly ever outright rude, often very intelligent and charismatic. Sometimes they still can and do upset people but they're generally nice guys and should just be taken light heartedly. I always just imagine a little kid playing in the dirt and laughing happily because he's doing exactly what he was told not to do and it's amazing. It's almost cute in a way, as long as certain lines are not crossed. They also usually quite enjoy being trolled back and take it all in good humour.

Then there's the third kind which is something I see on these forums quite a bit and which I actually sometimes indulge in myself. It's intelligent and generally nice people who react that way to absolutely unreasonable attitudes of the people who refuse to listen to reason. It happens, for example, when someone starts a complaining thread, gets given good helpful advice in a friendly manner, then calls the advisor(s) idiots for not understanding his problems and daring to offer some silly solutions rather than indulge whatever silly whim OP had. ...then, after they refuse to listen to all reason, they get trolled down pretty hard, possibly in their next posts too. Which honestly...it's well deserved

For some reason we have quite an influx of such people lately, or so it feels.

Now the question is just which kind of a troll op is

Kiwi · May 2017

once upon a time trolls were rare complex and fierce creatures
they would go by mostly unnoticed, occasionally rolling a subtle grenade into a forum, sitting back and watching everyone throw themselves on it

its a lost art and what some consider 'trolls' these days are nothing more than unintelligent grasps for attention.

Kiralyn2000 · May 2017

geonsocal wrote: »

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

thanks @Kiralyn2000

honestly, this is not what i'm getting (could very well be ignorance on my part in an understanding of terms)...are you saying that poking fun at folks, illustrating irony to some degree, adding stupid, sometimes humorous, loosely related gifs and memes are unacceptable in a public forum - or - that the definition of trolling does not include these acts?

As far as I'm aware, "trolling" isn't telling jokes or trying to be funny. It's trying to deliberately upset/anger/***-off people. Throwing a (conversational) grenade into a crowded room, and laughing at the misery you cause. Being offensive for the enjoyment of watching people be offended.

Rouven · May 2017

CaptainBeerDude · May 2017

Magdalina wrote: »

Then there's the third kind which is something I see on these forums quite a bit and which I actually sometimes indulge in myself. It's intelligent and generally nice people who react that way to absolutely unreasonable attitudes of the people who refuse to listen to reason. It happens, for example, when someone starts a complaining thread, gets given good helpful advice in a friendly manner, then calls the advisor(s) idiots for not understanding his problems and daring to offer some silly solutions rather than indulge whatever silly whim OP had. ...then, after they refuse to listen to all reason, they get trolled down pretty hard, possibly in their next posts too. Which honestly...it's well deserved For some reason we have quite an influx of such people lately, or so it feels.

Now the question is just which kind of a troll op is

I remember one of these threads. I was sad it got closed, it felt like we were getting close to having a breakthrough with that specific OP.

geonsocal · May 2017

Magdalina wrote: »

Another is the kind that actually kinda cracks me up, it's like a little mischievous kid kind of troll and they aren't really looking to hurt anyone but just to have fun. They're hardly ever outright rude, often very intelligent and charismatic. Sometimes they still can and do upset people but they're generally nice guys and should just be taken light heartedly. I always just imagine a little kid playing in the dirt and laughing happily because he's doing exactly what he was told not to do and it's amazing. It's almost cute in a way, as long as certain lines are not crossed. They also usually quite enjoy being trolled back and take it all in good humour. Now the question is just which kind of a troll op is

oh my god - your description is exactly me...
@Magdalina

Mashille · May 2017

I hate PvErs and everything they say and do is dumb.

Heh Heh, (this is an example of a bad troll)

Vasoka · May 2017

-..this OP...what?

Trolling a way of expressing yourself? -..what? I don't even.

Judging by the way OP writes and the things he says I think it's rather safe to state that it's a very socially disturbed and lonely individual who's probably writing from his basement.

Please, not again.

Danksta · May 2017

CaptainBeerDude wrote: »

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

What if you would say it in person?
Sometimes you just gotta let people know they are being stupid. If they want to start a fight, then come at me, Bro (or Sis, I've been punched by girls before. Being a bouncer introduces you to all of the magical people.)

Then you're just an ***, like me.

BlackSparrow · May 2017

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

thanks @Kiralyn2000

honestly, this is not what i'm getting (could very well be ignorance on my part in an understanding of terms)...are you saying that poking fun at folks, illustrating irony to some degree, adding stupid, sometimes humorous, loosely related gifs and memes are unacceptable in a public forum - or - that the definition of trolling does not include these acts?

As far as I'm aware, "trolling" isn't telling jokes or trying to be funny. It's trying to deliberately upset/anger/***-off people. Throwing a (conversational) grenade into a crowded room, and laughing at the misery you cause. Being offensive for the enjoyment of watching people be offended.

Pretty much this. Poking fun is fine. Posting memes and GIFs is fine.

To "troll" is to deliberately *** people off, purely for the sake of pissing them off. Trolls are obnoxious and insincere, and rarely care about the content of discussions taking place beyond their ability to use that discussion to evoke a negative reaction from the people involved.

To be honest, this forum is pretty rough to use as a basis for what's trolling and what's not, just because of the tone of the forum. Look around for other forums and communities, and see what "trolling" is in their communities. It might be easier to see the distinction that way.

aaisoaho · May 2017

I think trolling is about getting attention and reactions. For example: some dude comes here on the forum and brag how he scammed some people and then throws a comment how the punishment wasn't justified, just to make people angry and pissed off.

On the other hand, I don't consider irony and sarcasm as trolling.

Turelus · May 2017

Mashille wrote: »

I have PvErs and everything they say and do is dumb.
Heh Heh

I'm a PvE player and I think Mashille is an awesome person.

geonsocal · May 2017

Vasoka wrote: »

-..this OP...what?

Trolling a way of expressing yourself? -..what? I don't even.

Judging by the way OP writes and the things he says I think it's rather safe to state that it's a very socially disturbed and lonely individual who's probably writing from his basement.

Please, not again.

nice...

a very appropriate and proper reply

Edit: with that comment - you most certainly earned your 3rd forum star...

GreenSoup2HoT · May 2017

Trolling is also always asking for buffs or nerfs to particular builds just for the sake of trying to buff your class or nerf others.

Eso forums can be pretty trolly but its usally when new forum users come here blatently asking for nerfs or buffs, we all were that new forum user at one point. I remember my first posts/threads..... so cringe worthy.

KochDerDamonen · May 2017

Trolling is not inherently bad. It's a form of humor.
Posing this question, one could replace trolling with... puns, references, self-depreciation, irony... and someone would come along and tell you how much puns make them groan, or self-depreciating just makes you look like a depressing sap. Have your fun, just don't do anything destructive.

I think one would have a harder time convincing others that their 'troll' was funny if it involved a loss on the part of the troll-ee. Convincing someone to delere their system32 or that some horrible(falsified) event has occured.

Finally, do not let anyone convince you that trolling is harassment or bullying. Trolling is a tool, and harassment and bullying are intentions. You are not doing those things by plainly being sarcastic and sardonic for the sake of humor.

Strider_Roshin · May 2017

Dos: Break forum rules without appearing like you're intending to. Then end post with

Don'ts: Discuss real life politics (e.g. Donald Trump is an amazing president).

Mashille · May 2017

@Turelus

I think you're Awesome too Turelus.

Just by the way though I don't mean anything by what I said it was just a meaningless example of a bad troll.

Etaniel · May 2017

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

My girls friends Dad said in his day they didn't call it trolling , they called it being a prick .

See, people who think insulting is trolling are the ones who give trolling a bad rep.
Insulting someone, is flaming. Not trolling.

CaptainBeerDude · May 2017

Danksta wrote: »

CaptainBeerDude wrote: »

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

geonsocal wrote: »

is "trolling" really always a bad thing

Yes.

Trolling is just being a griefer on a different platform.

Taking advantage of the fact that people can't punch you through a screen, to say things you wouldn't say in person. Gaining enjoyment in the aggravation/tormenting of others. Sickness.

What if you would say it in person?
Sometimes you just gotta let people know they are being stupid. If they want to start a fight, then come at me, Bro (or Sis, I've been punched by girls before. Being a bouncer introduces you to all of the magical people.)

Then you're just an ***, like me.

I may have been told that on many occasions. In my newer jobs as well. The people might be on to something here...