Simple idea, really...
We see all kinds of arguments back and forth between posters, especially in the Bar Room, where various people are accused of trolling...That's all fine and good, but what exactly is it, in your opinion? Sometimes I see the word used as a compliment, such as "SlyFox696 is the greatest troller on these forums, and he is the Admin", and sometimes its an insult, like "So and so is just trolling for attention" or whatever. I have seen the term being used to apply to both situations.
Is a troll only someone who just goes deliberately out of his or her way to piss people off, without any concern for the actual topic at hand? Or can it be someone who takes a controversial position on something NOT to piss people off, even though they know it will, but because they know it will provoke discussion and bring new life to a dying thread? IE, it may appear to be trolling, but really serves a much more benign higher purpose? (I suspect a lot of the "trolling" that Sly does is in fact closer to this than to just be a douche)
Essentially, do you see trolling as a specific thing where one person goes out of their way to just be insulting and stupid, or do you define the term in a more general stir-the-pot kind of way as well?
Personally, I tend to think of trolling in both ways, that it's not automatically an insult, but that it depends on the context. Trolling can be either destructive or constructive.
We see all kinds of arguments back and forth between posters, especially in the Bar Room, where various people are accused of trolling...That's all fine and good, but what exactly is it, in your opinion? Sometimes I see the word used as a compliment, such as "SlyFox696 is the greatest troller on these forums, and he is the Admin", and sometimes its an insult, like "So and so is just trolling for attention" or whatever. I have seen the term being used to apply to both situations.
Is a troll only someone who just goes deliberately out of his or her way to piss people off, without any concern for the actual topic at hand? Or can it be someone who takes a controversial position on something NOT to piss people off, even though they know it will, but because they know it will provoke discussion and bring new life to a dying thread? IE, it may appear to be trolling, but really serves a much more benign higher purpose? (I suspect a lot of the "trolling" that Sly does is in fact closer to this than to just be a douche)
Essentially, do you see trolling as a specific thing where one person goes out of their way to just be insulting and stupid, or do you define the term in a more general stir-the-pot kind of way as well?
Personally, I tend to think of trolling in both ways, that it's not automatically an insult, but that it depends on the context. Trolling can be either destructive or constructive.
