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anon
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« on: June 02, 2005, 09:43:15 AM » |
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What's a troll?
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Untenured
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« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2005, 09:52:56 AM » |
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A troll is a post that is designed to provoke a reaction, usually negative or hostile, from those reading it. The troll person does not want the question actually asked, but really just wants attention. For example, say someone asks the question:
"I am concerned about equality of gender in academia. I think that women should only work in secretarial positions because they are genetically inferior. What do you think?"
This is a troll. The person probably does not genuinely believe this, but is only seeking to provoke a reaction. There are examples of these in the race relations forum and occasionally on other forums.
IMHO, the best option is to ignore them and treat them as spam.
Hope this helps,
Untenured
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Fiona
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« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2005, 09:56:15 AM » |
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Sometimes a troll can provoke an interesting discussion, though, as in the one (in the Classroom forum) claiming that a T. A.'s grading is too hard.
Some, like Untenured's example, are very ignorant, but answering them could give us practice in answering similar questions which do come up (unfortunately) from our students.
It was also kinda fun to lambaste the troll (Mr. Anti-AA) in the Race, Gender & Hiring Forum.
I don't think trolls particularly have feelings, but they do have uses.
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anon
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« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2005, 12:17:35 PM » |
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Thanks for the clarification! I must say, though, that so many comments posted are so wacky that it must be hard to tell apart those who are genuine versus who are simply out to lunch!
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Fiona
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« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2005, 03:38:17 PM » |
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To anon--I think a bigger problem is that there are too many members of the family called "anon." It's impossible to know which one is speaking.
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An Anon
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« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2005, 07:24:35 PM » |
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Fiona wrote:
> To anon--I think a bigger problem is that there are too many
> members of the family called "anon." It's impossible to know
> which one is speaking.
>
Isn't that the point?
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Fiona
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« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2005, 10:07:58 AM » |
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Don't posters on this Forum want to be loved for themselves, and not just seen as part of an undifferentiated mass of Anons?
You are much too humble.
An Anon wrote:
> Fiona wrote:
>
> > To anon--I think a bigger problem is that there are too
> many
> > members of the family called "anon." It's impossible to
> know
> > which one is speaking.
> >
>
> Isn't that the point?
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Untenured
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« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2005, 01:26:19 PM » |
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I guess there are two types of anonymity:
1) relative anonymity - Fiona has a author name. She uses that author name consistently in posts. She is anonymous as to her real identity but known within the world of these forums. This applies to me and many others who post here regularly.
2) absolute anonymity - An anon poster who does not attribute authorship from one owner to the next. This person is both real-world unknown and forum unknown.
Am I making any sense? It's near dinnertime so perhaps not.
:)
Untenured
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