Dealing with Trolls

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 13:31:

agreed nato, I think it might work. The main thing is never, never to discuss anything with a troll.
Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Lauthra says on Jan 22, 2005, 13:33:

SI! I just hope everyones realises this soon enough...

Nato ;)

Nato (='.'=)

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Lionheart says on Jan 22, 2005, 13:34:

Peter has been notified last night All he needs to do now is read his emails.

I agree .. ignoring him is the best way to go for now ....

He will respond to anything I type, so I will be quiet for now. He can't reach me anyway ... maybe I will study if I can create a guide ... I still wonder what my novia wrote him ... it sounded ugly.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 13:43:

lionheart I'd like to know what your novia wrote to him, but you can pm me if you'd like. I can give you a translation.
I think that we should just continue posting as usual, follow up our favorite threads, dig them up from under the pile of manure they've been buried under and go on as usual until peter gets a chance to do something about this situation.
Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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ARMacleod says on Jan 22, 2005, 13:58:

Careful
We have had posts with bestiality, incest, threatening behaviour, hard pornography and swearing that would make long term prisoners blush.

This guy is no worse than some of those who obviously despise him. Think again. He is rough, so what, he is harmless, he is honest, what's wrong with that?

Glass houses spring to mind, let he who is without sin cast the first stone etc...


Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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oldbongo says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:11:

no james...the oldgringo thinks you're wrong. he is worse,... much worse than the others..
he is NOT harmless..

it is his INTENTION to be harmful, to as many people as possible, by infiltrating, and insidiously inserting his harmful,offensive
intentions across as wide a path as possible.

none of his postings can be backed up with any credence or dignity.
what do we have to gain from him?.............ZERO.
what do we have to lose?.......................time.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:13:

nothing's wrong with honesty james, that's not what's bothering me. I'm less offended by the contents than the form, in this case. Yes, we have a whole bunch of questionable threads, because we have more than one troll amongst us. The answer is to simply not to contribute to the threads that don't interest us. I, personally, am not interested in bestiality, hard-core pornography, incest or threatining behaviour; that's why I write about vallenatos, victor rojas and salsa lessons. It's up to us to continue carrying on with the threads that we consider worthy of our attention or to come up with better ideas.

Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:18:

I started a thread called "I'm a troll, feed me" to illustrate just how ridiculous this has all gotten. I have long thought that the site has been diminished and that violations of the rules should be met with a warning and then banning. All Parce has shown is that there are no limits here. You can post anything you want and insult and swear at people with impunity. Basicially the rules are meaningless.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Lionheart says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:20:

there is a simple reply parce is breaking the rules Peter established. No personal attacks.

Even if some of his content is valid, or even good, and we all can deal with rough stuff here, we are seasoned, there is zero tolerance for personal attacks towards individuals, races, religions, etc.

The responses show how mature and seasoned even the established old-timer trolls are here. But all respect Peter's rules.

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ARMacleod says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:22:

Sorry.. I beg to differ here I don't wish to sound like I enjoy the language, I most certainly do not.

You can only be offended if you alow yourself to be, you can only be harmed if you allow it.

How about IGNORE. Easy, ignore and it will stop, don't respond and it will only be his time that is lost.

Personally. If he choses to mouth off to me, I will ignore it. but I will listen to what he has to say, that is important. If chamberlain and co had started to listen to Herr Hitler in 1932, the last war would not have happened. Better the devil that you know, etc.

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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Miguel says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:23:

Troll Stuff Best not to feed them. This guy makes Zagarise look like Socrates.

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Save the Wildcats says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:27:

OMG thanks for the belly laugh, Miguel!

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:28:

I agree ignore--ignore-ignore It's hard to believe that there are actually people that are thrilled at the fact that they can irritate others.

What goes on in one's mind? Am I irritated? No not really. I have pity on that person. At the same time, I think it's kind of important that we allow this person to have his moment.

Remember, the satisfaction that this person derives, does NOT come from the threads that he (she?) posts, but from the responses that WE post in reaction to his nonsense.

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ARMacleod says on Jan 22, 2005, 14:30:

Zagarise? I may be wrong but, I think Zagarise is active, firstly as a sleeper and now active. Check some of the misspellings and the grammar against two others.

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

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Albatross says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:01:

My two cents... Being relatively new to this, I don't know what a "Troll" is exactly, I'm sure some would define them as people just making stupid comments, while others would include sarcastic replies, while still others would insist that they be malicious to be considered Trolls.

I must assume that the current alarm is over Parce’s comments, which I agree, are unnecessarily crude, however I don’t think there are any actual children reading these posts that could honestly claim injury. Also, he didn’t seem to be violating Peter’s rules by attacking anyone personally, he wasn’t advertising, he was on topic and he wasn’t looking for dates. (Again, I’m not defending his language)

Unfortunately, some people seem to be under the impression that they should be interested in everything said here. But, as crude as it was, Parce’s illumination of the possibility of being drugged in Colombia seemed well researched and was far more relevant and interesting to me personally than many of the posts here, “Where can we find cranberry sauce in Bogotá�, for example.

Let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater…

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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Lionheart says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:07:

Albatross I assume you didn't read all his posts since he appeared in PBH, even Peter warned him once. He repeatedly insulted Colombians in general, and also did personal attacks against posters in PBH. If you read other posts concerning this you will understand. Writing one or more interesting posts does not give him the right to bypass Peter's rules in general.

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brunito says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:09:

The problem is with his attitude... Meaning that nobody will take him seriously anymore because of his language, abuse and disrespect.

A person does not command respect, he or she earns it. And Parce has certainly not earned it. His or her posts could be insightfull, full of relevant info and worth reading but because of the person's behavior, people are getting fed up with him or her and don't bother anymore.

So what is it worth? Nothing. I don't have the patience nor the understanding to go trough a troll's obsenities to find a 'jewel' post amongts dozens of 'manure' posts.

I'm sure a lot of you agree with me on this.

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oldbongo says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:15:

as the oldgringo first noted.. he has no credence,dignity, or value here.

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:19:

albatross your two cents would be better used for charity than defending an actual troll. No, you're wrong; a troll is not somebody just making a sarcastic or stupid comment gods only know all we regular posters here do that on and off. A troll is somebody who gets his/her kicks by posting inflammatory messages with no redeeming value (all that parce has said is known to most people here on the board and has been discussed previously).

The rules here are few and simple: no personal attacks (parce makes at least one in every post), no blatant advertising, however, that is not strictly observed and general civility in the dialogue.

He's not the only troll we have here; londonmale could also be considred one since he never comes back to defend his derogatory comments about Colombia or life in Colombia; he only posts his whiney stuff and hides.

Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

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Sonny says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:22:

Peter is in charge???? The simple way to deal with this person is to cut him off. Remove him from the site. We all have a right to speak but we also have the right to see that the rules are followed or the right to just not stay with this site. Freedon of choice. To bad there has been a lot og good from this site and it could be a great source of information from those of us that love Colombia and it's people. Seem that they are nicer then some on this site. Just my thought is all.

Friends???? How do you place a value on that?? They are like memories, without them you have nothing

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isaactraveler says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:24:

BAh even I think he is an imbecile aside from that, I have suspected that parce, londonmale and don negro are one and the same. I suggest we have a 3 strikes rule for marginal stuff ( yeah I know I would probably be at 2.5) and SINCE we have monitors, let those guys evaluate the content of the posts and determine the merit of the post vs attempting to enflame the board. Seriously, all of Londonmales posts were idiotic, and he never once justified his stupid rants.

that parce guy is just an idiotic kid that needs his computer privilages taken away.

If Peter gave you guys monitoring privilages, I suggest you not be shy in using them. You got that rank because you have been here awhile, seen it all and should be able to tell where the hell some of those posts are going.. PLUS, you are wise enough to know when its an old poster like Utopia or Gringo or me or Elmo having fun.

I wouldnt mind ANY post, as long as it just isnt parked there with this idiot watching the fun.

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Lauthra says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:52:

You're wrong Isaac Don Negro is not one of those trolls, he's now in Bogota and we have met and I know for sure he's not any of those twats, although I can see why you would think that.
Nato ;)

Nato (='.'=)

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isaactraveler says on Jan 22, 2005, 15:55:

well thats good to hear. and i really like it when you talk dirty, Lathra. :)

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utopiacowboy says on Jan 22, 2005, 16:11:

Maybe if you go to Bogota, she'll meet you too, Isaac, and call you a hijodeputa?

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Lionheart says on Jan 22, 2005, 16:16:

isaac I think all the long-time members and many newer members agree that the frequency of the new swarm of troublemakers entering PBH has gone up fast and needs to be taken care of as soon as they pop into existence.

Having received moderator priviledges does not mean everything is in place yet. As mentioned before, Peter is working on the mechanics so we can actually moderate effectively. This includes deleting posts, deleting threads, banning members. I hope it will be possible to register a member's IP number one day, which will make it easier to detect multiple personas writing under different nics, or simply returning with a new nic when banned. Of course, there are ways to change your IP as well, but with good tools there are ways to trace IPs to their origin, which can't be easily faked. It is also possible to send those origins little presents. But I don't want to get into technical details here. Let's just hope we will be able to take care of trolls soon as they should be taken care of.

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 22, 2005, 16:21:

Issactraveler Unfortunatly, Peter appointed Tinto and Lionheart as moderators, but he did not give the power to delete entries, close discussions, or cancel members. As I stated before, then what is the point. That's like having car with no gasoline to operate it-- you are never going to get anywhere !

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Gomezman5 says on Jan 22, 2005, 16:26:

Desi....your response to Albatross was "right on point" Desi, I agree with your assesment of what a troll is and how little he/she contributes. It's not that they just come here to disrupt the people on the board. They come here, and contribute nothing from an intellectual perspective. There is no thought provoking value. worse yet, they have picked some of the finest members of this board to attack personally......what a shame.

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oldbongo says on Jan 22, 2005, 16:41:

i thank you..gomez for referring to me so kindly

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 17:03:

Hi guys,
I appreciate all your discussion. I am VERY busy the last few days (and the next few days), but I will read ALL your comments and discuss them with the other moderators. Parce's posts were clearly out of line beyond anything I've seen, and I deleted his account and therefore ALL his post. I feel pretty good about that. I just hope next time it can be faster.

Poor but snappy

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Peter (Moderator) says on Jan 22, 2005, 17:03:

Also, I am working on a way to give the moderators more power. Soon!

Poor but snappy

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Miguel says on Jan 22, 2005, 17:19:

JAJAJA Great thread, topped off with Nato saying "twat"! Seems that Pedro has seen the agreement we have about giving moderators the power to eliminate the trolls...and the whole take on being drugged in Colombia is really old news...even the stupid US State Department picked up on that years ago. It was a helpful reminder to not "buy a gun from a stranger". I'll have to remember that!

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Albatross says on Jan 23, 2005, 11:46:

Lionheart, Desi, Gomezman... et al... Lionheart - you’re right, I only read a couple of his posts… my bad.

Desi - I don’t see how you can say I’m “wrong� about the definition of a Troll, since in the first sentence of my post, I admitted that I did NOT know the definition. And I thought it was clear (perhaps it wasn’t) that I was NOT defending Parce’s style, language or attitude, but rather the general information in his post (which I had never heard before). Furthermore, “general civility in the dialogue�, as you put it, may be a good idea, but it is not actually in Peter's rules…

Gomezman – As I was trying to point out in the third paragraph of my post, at least half of the posts on this site fail to contain anything from an “intellectual perspective�, as you put it, so I would be careful before I called posts meaningless or irrelevant (unless, of course, they have absolutely nothing to do with Colombia)

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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