is it just me or has there been a drop off of the amount of trolls on here

[Javaman]

lately?

[mike_c]

1. funny, I was just thinking that there were more lately....

:shrug:

I think maybe we notice them at different times.

[stepnw1f]

3. Mike...are you a...

made you look!

[mike_c]

14. LOL-- I got yer troll....

:rofl:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. Trolls?

I'm not sure I know what trolls are here, but I've noticed a lot of posters with counts in the low single digits, particularly on the truthout bogus Rove indictment story.

Does that mean troll?

[mike_c]

16. that means "increased potential to have once resided..."

"...under a bridge in Denmark." Parse that any way you wish, luv.

[stepnw1f]

2. I'd Say More....

not less. They are a bit bolder now as well.

[Avalux]

4. Hmmm.

I'd say it's a consequence of the number of trolls in general declining as Bush loses support. The poor things have lost their will to infiltrate and irritate us. ;-)

[bluerum]

6. I would say more - and expect more in the months up to Nov.

[uppityperson]

7. I am getting suspicious of some high# posters.

haven't noticed the low # ones, but there are some really obnoxious high # ones.

[Joe Chi Minh]

8. Yep, and they've got some rinky-dinky leftie names.

[uppityperson]

9. Yup.

:rofl:

[Joe Chi Minh]

23. Usual suspects...

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Huh?

[kmla]

11. Yep. This is the only one left that hasn't been tombstoned...

[Asgaya Dihi]

12. Might depend on the threads

I've avoided threads such as the debates about the truthout article so there may be a bit going on that I just choose to avoid, but in the threads I'm reading I see quite a few people reminding us to be civil and make friends where we can rather than them trolling. Might be more a matter of a rough news time with a few items and reading specific threads, but I feel more welcome here than I have in the nearly a year I've read here. I just skip the ones that look like an obvious fight, solves most of it right there.

[displacedtexan]

19. Very wise, Asgaya Dihi!

I stupidly jumped into what seemed like a flamebait
deal this morning.

I should've known better.

[CTyankee]

27. You were wise, indeed, not to get involved in theTO brouhaha

I'm sorry I ever started reading those threads, but once I got started I couldn't stop. Guilty pleasure I guess. But I always came away feeling depressed.

Maybe we'd all be better off if we just shut up about the TO deal.:-(

[peacetalksforall]

32. The trolls are more active when it is some breaking news that is quite

to very damaging to the Repubs. It's almost as if they are pre-prepared. One will say something and others are right there controlling the ball as if in a basketball game - from one to the other with little pats on the butt.

There arguments often deny logic and often go against what turns out be the truth (as far as any truth is possible in the PNAC World).

They have high numbers.

They are at work also in issues that involve the law. I think there is a lot of disinformation being handed out. I wish we had more lawyers who are genuine to the cause on board.

[Asgaya Dihi]

39. No doubt

First off, thanks displacedtexan and CTyankee, I appreciate it.

higher class, it's not that I doubt that they are out there, it's that I doubt they matter unless we let them. I've been using computers since the days of the old XT on a 2400 modem, trolls have always been with us. Here it's us and FR picking at each other, on some game boards they've got role players, when I followed the net-abuse.email group on Usenet we had Sanford (biggest known spammer at the time) and all of his crowd in the middle of it all the time. They've always been there.

The way I look at it, don't feed the trolls. They can only disrupt as much as we allow them to, left on their own they start to look pretty stupid shouting to themselves.

[Radio_Guy]

13. Sshhh

Do not stir them up. Let's not unintentionally invite the trash over here.

[RufusEarl]

15. I usually check out the posters profile value,

and here's what i've discovered. The low number of post usually coincide with nothing in ones profile, i don't know if it's just me but when a DUer doesn't post the state they live in or some information about themselves i ignore them or think they are hiding something.

Maybe i'm just being paranoid, but it helps me put a person with the post if i know something about the person. Doesn't always mean everything in ones profile is true, but it helps.

Peace!

[librechik]

17. it's all trolls nowadays

if you listen to some folks

[Minnesota Libra]

18. Maybe they're sleeping right now so let's be real quiet. LOL nt

[gatorboy]

20. I think they're just getting better at blending in.

There are few here still that I've been suspicious of, but what the heck.
I never understood the whole trolling as a true DU member thing any way. Who has that much extra time besides someone whose life is obviously pointless?

[joeunderdog]

21. There are a reduced number of Bush Backers. nt

[redwitch]

22. Trolls? We don't need no stinking trolls!

We have each other. :-(

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. It's just you

There are a ton of them.

[TwilightZone]

25. I think you forgot something...

This: :sarcasm:

:)

[kskiska]

26. Well, for one thing, they don't want to talk DaVinci

I noticed how once it became obvious the movie was a huge success, there were very few DaVinci threads "over there," as opposed to at least a half dozen at a time before and after the Cannes reviews.

[norml]

28. Trolls?

[gaspee]

29. I was just thinking

Yesterday as I was reading a bunch of different threads that I think there are agent provacateurs out in force on this board. I don't think I'm being paranoid delusional about it either. And like an ealier poster, I'm highly suspicious of certain very high number posters.

I've been reading here since 2002 (this is a new name, but I've never had a high post count. I don't feel the need to respond with a one liner to every post out there!) I'm super suspicious especially when I see *certain* people always jump in on certain things. Israel. Immigration. Different races, etc. Same people stirring the pot each time.

I'm super paranoid about the government and what they are up to, so I keep a pretty low profile. The fact that my sister's husband is a Syrian native makes me think twice about a lot of things relating to privacy.

Anyhow, I think they're out in force (after kind of disappearing after the 2004 election. Criminal organizations (RNC I'm talking to you) never, ever give up their power easily or voluntarily.

I think all the fighting on DU lately might be a product of that. Just a theory.

[SidDithers]

30. No more so than usual...

There have been some contentious issues on the board in the last few months, tho. Heated debate and strong opinion have allowed some discussions to become personal.

I do think there have been more posters who have resorted to labelling those with differing positions as "trolls" or "paid infiltrators", instead of accepting that we don't all march in lockstep.

Sid

[treestar]

34. IA, and there is a false idea that we have to have unity

Everyone has to agree about everything. With people who use their minds, you can't have that. Just not realistic.

Freepers may seem united, that's because they don't use their minds, they follow what Rush tells them.

It is a cop out, instead of arguing the issue, to resort to name calling, like "troll."

[iconoclastNYC]

31. How to find them.

Post anything negative about Hillary or the DLC. Poof.....you have to swat them down like knats.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

33. Probably Not. It's Just That So Many Real DU'ers Are Getting So Ansy,

frustrated, short tempered and petty that it's not as easy to tell the difference anymore.

But I think that's just a phase we're in right now. Lot of frustrating shit going on and people's patience is wearing thin.

[Kerrytravelers]

40. THere sure is some antsy-ness (is that a real word?) with some DUers

lately. Whew. I have seen some of the most rude and uncalled for snarkiness in the last week or so. Sometimes, it gets so bad, I am literally embarrassed for them since they clearly aren't embarrassed by their own rude behavior. I try to send nice PMs to people who've been treated badly letting them know that the rudeness they experienced was uncalled for. I've made some great DU friends this way, so I guess there is a silver lining to some of the behavior!

[Taxloss]

35. I've noticed that the definition of "troll" keeps getting wider.

I've also noticed that some posters are having fun implicating high-# donors. I wonder what would dissipate their McCarthyite fantasies - maybe if we had our home address, telephone number and the sum total of our donations, that would satisfy them.

Or maybe they could drop the doctrinaire zealotry and accept the fact that some people on their side have different opinions.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

41. That's A Very True Sentiment.

But I think the truth of it is even broader, in the sense that the sentiment holds true regardless of post count or how long one has been here.

[Kerrytravelers]

36. I've noticed more trolls and more people being snarky.

I'm getting real sick of both.

[Maddy McCall]

37. Mods have always done a good job of zapping them.

If you suspect a troll, all you have to do is hit the alert button, and the mods will take care of it.

[ladjf]

38. I don't know. Check out the thread above "Chavez considers

buying Russian jets".

[pinto]

42. Locking

This subject comes up from time to time and our answer is always simple, and always the same.

If you suspect a member is intent upon disrupting the forum, use the alert notice. Moderators and/or Administrators will follow up.

Thanks.