Troll code

This is a suggestion for a way of dealing with trolls in uk.rec.cycling. I am very bad at dealing with trolls, so please note item 3 - this is as much a note to myself as anything else.

Please also see Dave Fawthrop's anti-troll FAQ and the excellent field guide to trolls for help in identifying the various sub-species. It's also worth reading "dealing with sporge".

Trolling varies between a mild game and a form of net abuse. The more abusive trolls need to be LARTed (see item 6).


 * 1) If you think someone is trolling, but that they may be reasonable underneath, draw it politely to their attention that their style may be perceived as inflammatory.
 * 2) If someone is identified as a troll, ignore them. Use a killfile.
 * 3) If someone fails to ignore a troll and this annoys you, contact them privately - to berate them in the forum where the trolls are active gives pleasure to the trolls and emboldens them.
 * 4) While withering scorn is always tempting, it never makes trolls go away.  In the old days you could "spank" a troll, nowadays most trolls either lack the self-awareness to know they have been spanked, or don't care about their reputation.
 * 5) Once a troll infestation has taken place, ignoring is the only way to go. In exceptional circumstances (such as non-obvious forgery) it is permissible to draw a group's attention to the forgery, but not repeatedly.
 * 6) Certain types of behaviour are commonly violations of terms of service of ISPs and/or news services, including:
 * 7) Header forgery.
 * 8) Use of unrouteable email addresses.
 * 9) Use of email addresses which you are not entitled to use.
 * 10) Harassment.
 * 11) Posting of private information.
 * Reports should be sent to the abusive user's service providers, but it is not advisable to announce such reports in the forum they are abusing.

On a personal level, I welcome email with constructive criticism, and will do the same for others, but I prefer not to see those who are not trolls themselves, damaged by being berated for the style of their interaction with trolls; it is, after all, a matter of personal choice whether one identifies an individual as a troll or not, though the worst cases are of course unambiguous. Berating the regulars for their interactions with trolls spins out the threads and gratifies the trolls' egos. Trolling is one of the few truly binary situations on Usenet: it is us and them, and anything that encourages them damages us.

Finally, here is .mother's recipe for troll stew: Ingredients:

1 small fresh troll 1 Cup of reticence 2 small measures of humour 1 teaspoon of wit 1 large bunch of sour grapes 6 tablespoons of Vitriol Assorted nuts 5 bottles fine whine

Method:

Carefully skin and bone the troll. It is absolutely essential to ensure adequate draining of all urine.

You may now consider killing troll, although this is only really necessary if it eats all of the sour grapes or makes excessive noise (Live troll cooks noisily).

Simmer gently for a couple of months, gradually increase the heat. If troll appears to be drying out add more vitriol, troll may create own whine, stir gently.

Test for tenderness by sticking something sharp into troll. When cooked to perfection place on a heatproof surface and allow to cool.

Ignore totally for another couple of months before discarding completely.