Petition about the trolls on AI

Posted:
in Feedback edited April 2014


I have had enough of the trolls coming to an Apple forum just to bash, while mods sit on their hands allowing the site to be highjacked.


If you are as fed up as I am about this, please add your vote, and lets get something done about it.


 


If they want an Apple forum to have Apple fans, then they'd better do something. If not, I advise you to send feedback and tell them you are unhappy and will leave.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Well, we'd need to define 'trolling'—how it appears, its context, etc.—to be able to do much about it.

  • Reply 2 of 37
    kr00kr00 Posts: 99member


    I think anyone who isn't one would know, but I'm open to your suggestions on criteria. Besides, who am I to judge on what a troll is. I would be accused of bias, you on the other hand……...image


     


    This is more about the sentiment of the matter. If it came to anything more, a criteria would be framed by those who wanted a change. IMHO.


     


    If you want change as you say, then vote for it.

  • Reply 3 of 37
    kr00kr00 Posts: 99member


    Nice to see a troll who is honest for a change, but it proves my point.

  • Reply 4 of 37
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    The problem is that many people with differing opinions on Apples strategy have been labelled as trolls.

    Obvious trolls are obvious. Difference of opinions is not trolling.
  • Reply 5 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post

    Obvious trolls are obvious. Difference of opinions is not trolling.


     


    Bingo.

  • Reply 6 of 37


    current bird flu is spreading to the world, with the H7N9 virus caveats, can watch television, or media for more details

  • Reply 7 of 37
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member


    The word "troll" is overused these days. There is saying something in disagreement with another poster, which is not trolling, and actually can create more conversation.


     


    Then there is saying something that is so outrageous that it just blows up the thread, derailing any real conversation, which is trolling. And if they are banned they complain that it's "against free speech" or something, when really they were the one destroying the conversation.


     


    But there's also a grey area, if you have quite original people, they can be saying something sincerely and have is misinterpreted as trolling because the original can shock, and shock is an emotion, and some people think if they feel any emotion the person must be trolling them to cause that.

  • Reply 8 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by ascii View Post


    And if they are banned they complain that it's "against free speech" or something, when really they were the one destroying the conversation.



     


    The trick, then, is to just… ban them again. And again. And again. They'll get the message eventually, because it's ~90 times easier for us to destroy their account and all its contents than for them to make another new one.

  • Reply 9 of 37


    Solution: Hide My @ss with a proxy running from 4 different countries, and a sick person with enough time to re-enlist and claim. lol.

  • Reply 10 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by SCProfessor View Post

    Solution: Hide My @ss with a proxy running from 4 different countries, and a sick person with enough time to re-enlist and claim. lol.


     


    We ban proxy IPs on principle. Not gonna work.

  • Reply 11 of 37
    scprofessorscprofessor Posts: 218member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    We ban proxy IPs on principle. Not gonna work.



    Don't be so smug. Do you want a Denial of Service attack from 4Chan on their PCs?

  • Reply 12 of 37
    scprofessorscprofessor Posts: 218member


    Yeah I see.. delete, delete, and delete. Don't let it happen again.

  • Reply 13 of 37
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member
    ascii wrote: »
    The word "troll" is overused these days. There is saying something in disagreement with another poster, which is not trolling, and actually can create more conversation.

    Then there is saying something that is so outrageous that it just blows up the thread, derailing any real conversation, which is trolling. And if they are banned they complain that it's "against free speech" or something, when really they were the one destroying the conversation.

    But there's also a grey area, if you have quite original people, they can be saying something sincerely and have is misinterpreted as trolling because the original can shock, and shock is an emotion, and some people think if they feel any emotion the person must be trolling them to cause that.

    There is only one way to find a true Troll.

    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
  • Reply 14 of 37
    nosemannoseman Posts: 3member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by asdasd View Post



    The problem is that many people with differing opinions on Apples strategy have been labelled as trolls.



    Obvious trolls are obvious. Difference of opinions is not trolling.


    The way someone expresses his "difference of opinion" defines him as a "troll" or not, as well as the number of posts by that person. Very often, for users with huge numbers, unless they're giving advice or being helpful, the high post count is a good indication of a possible "troll".


    The funny thing is that many people don't understand when they're crossing the line, and think they're just giving "witty" replies, when in fact they are trolling.

  • Reply 15 of 37
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    noseman wrote: »
    The way someone expresses his "difference of opinion" defines him as a "troll" or not, as well as the number of posts by that person. Very often, for users with huge numbers, unless they're giving advice or being helpful, the high post count is a good indication of a possible "troll".
    The funny thing is that many people don't understand when they're crossing the line, and think they're just giving "witty" replies, when in fact they are trolling.

    Total nonsense. If some one has been here since before the iPhone - like moi for instance - we are aware of apples flaws and are used to robust debate. Being sacmrcastic or witty is not trolling. the OP here is sarcastic in defending Apple, if never witty.

    And people can be fans of apple and disagree on the whether there should be cheaper iPhones. I've been called a troll for supporting cheaper iPhones even though cheaper iPhones would increase Apples market share.

    I'd like the opposite. Accusations of trolling of long term members lead to bans.
  • Reply 16 of 37
    williamlondonwilliamlondon Posts: 1,324member


    Some obvious things they do:


     


    1) use terms like fanboy or fanboi (this should be grounds for instant ban - works both ways with "fandroid" - the terms are condescending and intended to harm)


    2) attitude embedded in a "different opinion" implies s/he thinks others are stupid for theirs or directly attacks others


    3) their first post is negative


    4) brings up Apple competitors as universally superior products (especially when it doesn't make sense in the conversation to bring up competition)


    5) constant attacking of Apple and anything new or is rumoured to be coming from them - someone who's a real negative nelly without being constructive


    6) threaten to leave Apple ("the magic is gone")


     


    Differences of opinion are great, sometimes that's how we learn new things or new perspectives, but the trolling behaviours that are rife in these forums (much better than here than on other forums, not sure whether that's the overall quality of people attracted to comment here, or the moderators or both??) accomplishes one thing: it shuts down any exchange of ideas and information. Civil discourse requires that people remain civil with each other, especially when they are disagreeing with each other, or what happens is that defensiveness arises and the conversation immediately devolves into a tit-tat-tit-tat argument or all out fight.


     


    I don't want conversations shut down, and I don't want people's differing opinions blocked - I want to talk with others about the good and bad things that are coming out of Apple (though, I have to admit, I think there's a hell of a lot more good than bad!<grin>), and I don't want a bunch of morons and idiots who's sole purpose for being here on these forums is to disrupt this (usually by intentionally starting a fight) and make me feel bad or inferior because I happen to like my Apple products.


     


    (stepping down off soapbox)

  • Reply 17 of 37
    I think Wikipedia offers a [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)]pretty good definition[/URL] of troll:
    [I]In Internet slang, a troll (/?tro?l/, /?tr?l/) is a person who [B]sows discord on the Internet by trying to start arguments and upset people[/B]. They may do this by posting deliberately inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the result of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[/I]

    You should be able to spot trolling based entirely on a person's [B]total conduct[/B] in the context of a particular thread.

    Expressing an opinion--even an unpopular one--isn't sufficient grounds to meet the troll definition. The AppleInsider community is mostly pro-Apple, so trolls (real ones) often take a very anti-Apple stance... but then people confuse that for trolling. There are plenty of forum regulars who criticize Apple, but conduct themselves in a way that suggests they're either here to express an opinion and/or to have a real discussion, not fan the flames, gloat, or trying to piss others off.

    You have to judge whether the person is on the thread for the purpose of trying to be inflammatory. And that is not always easy to spot. For example, if someone registers just to post one negative opinion about Apple, is that trolling? It's very common, but if they never come back and they never post a follow up or continue to engage the forum community, I would argue that they aren't doing enough to disrupt the conversation to qualify as a "troll."

    I agree with the Wikipedia definition because the troll's purpose is to disrupt, not to be part of the community. Community doesn't mean you have to agree--just be mature enough to be civil.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    Well, we'd need to define 'trolling'—how it appears, its context, etc.—to be able to do much about it.

    Easy, go by the rules you yourself compiled.
  • Reply 19 of 37


    TS is still an obtuse piece of flotsam.

  • Reply 20 of 37


    TS is still an obtuse piece of flotsam.... must be a bit of a pickle when proxies can sail in as fast as you delete.

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