Why are trolls such an issue?

[Ham_authority95]

They're just annoying. They usually don't cause harm, but they clutter up the forum.

And they mostly do nothing to further discussions.

 

[Virus0015]

In short: because it wastes peoples time, either by reading their turd of a post, or crafting a reply.

 

[JuryNelson]

It's because they can talk and act just like you and me. Trolls are dangerous simply because they bring out the worst in ourselves. It's not just that they are weak and we dislike them, it's because a troll can turn a perfectly decent forum resident into a screaming lunatic, and then dance around in front of you shouting "TROLL'D YA!" and you, spitting and kicking, fly into a blind rage in a thread that was supposed to be about the Last Airbender movie.

 

[Shepard's Shadow]

People are stupid. I lump people who call other users trolls, when they obviously are not, in the same category with the users who post, "vs threads are bad" or "search bar!", when ten users before them already pointed that out.

In doing that you're purposely attaching your own point of view onto that persons opinion. The problem with this concept, that someone is "obviously not" a troll, is that you don't know that for sure - and someone could see that person in a different way.

For example, I could claim this very post was trolling, by your definition, because you're "throwing insults" at people, (in this case you claim "people are stupid") whilst at the same time appearing to imply you are not. Regardless, I disagree entirely with your perception of a troll; if that was the case there'd be no trolls on most sites because people aren't foolish enough to post something as obvious as your examples. (That I shall take at face value, as they are, after all, examples)

A clever troll will disguise their true intentions, and as a result you wouldn't know they hadn't seen that TV show they claims sucks, because they'd find opinions that support the view you don't like through the internet.

In short, your argument is highly flawed, mainly because you attach the stigma of troll onto either a great many people, or none at all - displaying you don't appear to fully understand the typically know what typically defines a troll.

It all depends on the specific person and situation. You can never know someones intentions. People have different opinions, I was merely stating mine. But lets be honest here, if a user has about 10,000 posts and are accused by someone else of being a troll, I think its safe to say User 10,000 is not a troll.

By "throwing insults at people" I mean people who quote specific users and say "hey, (insert user name here) your stupid and wrong because of it!" If you have quoted the rest of the sentence, more specifically the part that reads: "when ten users before them already pointed that out." posting the same thing 10 others users posted before you is stupid. Especially if its "Search Bar!".

Congratulations, you have an opinion of your own and you disagree with me. Your kidding yourself if you don't think people post "search bar!" and "vs threads are bad". I think its quite obvious when someone hasn't watched or played a game. Mainly because they say it sucks and that's all they can say. Trolls don't tend to go out of their way to find evidence something is bad, so them hating it actually seems justified.

A clever troll will disguise their true intentions, and as a result you wouldn't know they hadn't seen that TV show they claims sucks, because they'd find opinions that support the view you don't like through the internet.

Basically what I'm getting from that sentence is that anybody who dislikes a game or movie could potentially be a troll "in disguise". I'm mean its the internet, you can't tell what someones intentions are, right?

So... "a great many people" post in threads and don't contribute to the topic?

... displaying you don't appear to fully understand the typically know what typically defines a troll.

I'll just let you take care of this one "In doing that you're purposely attaching your own point of view onto that persons opinion." I gave my opinion on what a troll is and you disagreed with it.

 

[VanityGirl]

Why? Because trolls are stupid. Yep, that's why trolls are an issue.

Trolls add NOTHING to a conversation and can also offend several users. Trolls can also take something sweet and wonderful like the wedding of two people and say something like "Way to waste your pathetic lives with marriage! You'll all cheat on each other and die of STDs". Yes, these things have happened. Pretty much a troll is an inconsiderate DOUCHE.

Actually, on this site, we've had problems with trolls ruining a sad or sweet moment by adding comments of douchebaggery.

Also a troll is someone purposefully doing or saying things to piss of people. Starting a topic like "This is why religion is wrong" and going on to write a 3 paragraph post about how religion is wrong and stupid and anyone who practices it is an idiot.
^That = trolling

Also, trolls are more likely to spam forums with multiple stupid threads like "Halo iz teh 5uckz!" As a matter of fact, we had a troll here a few months ago who kept recreating accounts just to keep saying how bad Halo sucked and anyone who likes it has no taste and is stupid.

 

[Truehare]

I think the real problem with trolls is that they make anyone who has a legitimate controversial opinion have a hard time in stating it, because they will look like just another stupid attention-seeker.

And yes, there is a difference between someone with a controversial opinion and a troll. Usually it's very easy to tell, but sometimes the line gets blurry.