Beginning to feel untenable

[Lyndon]

Right wing bullies and trolls have no place in the Liberal only thread about rightwing online bullies and trolls!!

 

[Ellen Brown]

Anyone else noticed a recent influx of new and increasingly aggressive trolls to the site? I'm all for constructive dialogue between opposing viewpoints, but the environment is, IMHO, becoming increasingly toxic. Heck, I'm not even a "liberal", not really, I'm just a classical conservative who doesn't like tribal "my side, right or wrong" politics, and even I am close to leaving. How is everyone else finding it? How are you coping? Is this something that's going to get worse in the lead up to the 2020 American election, or is it just a blip?

I just put them on ignore

 

[Lyndon]

putting people on ignore doesn't work, they get to reply to you and say all kinds of crazy and untruthful stuff and you have no chance to see their post and rebut their garbage.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

I just put them on ignore

Ideally. Were we completely logical and not prone to emotional involvement in such things, yes.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

leave me the F alone, what part of that do you not understand

If persistent harassment isn't explicitly ban worthy in the TOS, it should be.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

• You are ignoring content by this member. Show Ignored Content

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

You've been continually harassing me ever since you joined this forum IMHO You're following me and posting some inane comment every where I post anything, stop it, or I will take it up with the moderators

Stop feeding the troll and just report it. Make a thread in Site Feedback. Trolls only want attention since they're empty people. They're parasites, so don't give them what they want. You can still report people you have on ignore, too. You just click "show ignored content" and you can see the posts.

 

[Lyndon]

I really think some of these new member right wing troll types might be foreign agitators, and some actually paid or directed by the Trump campaign, they post incessantly, don't seem to have jobs, and their posting schedule doesn't jive with A USA 9-5 time zone.

 

[PureX]

I trust that the rest of you can recognize one of these idiots just as easily as I can. So when they show up in one of my conversations, I just disengage with them. They will continue to post their foolishness for a few more posts, and maybe even chase me from thread to thread for a while, but when they can't get me to respond, they go after someone else. And I feel no need to "defend myself" because I trust that the rest of you are smart enough to see that they're doing, too. They're easy enough to ignore.

There is a kind of stupidity that becomes aggressive, and wants to take everyone else down into the gutter with it. And I feel sorry for those who have succumbed to it, because it's like succumbing to an addiction. An addiction to feeding one's own ego at the expense of anyone and everyone else. Trump and the media are feeding this kind of addiction because they're profiting from it. And that's sad for all of us.

 

[Lyndon]

People that perpetually troll and break forum rules need to be reported to the moderators, not ignored.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I really think some of these new member right wing troll types might be foreign agitators, and some actually paid or directed by the Trump campaign, they post incessantly, don't seem to have jobs, and their posting schedule doesn't jive with A USA 9-5 time zone.

Sadly there is no need to pay them. There are plenty of trolls that will do so for free.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Sadly there is no need to pay them. There are plenty of trolls that will do so for free.

The timing and increasing frequency does seem suspect. I don't like to jump to the Russian troll conclusion lightly, but we all know what happened last American election, and it would be naiive to think previously successful strategies won't be repeated and expanded on. Sure, SOME, most, even, of the resident Trumpettes and Usual Suspects are just semi-retired boomers with no self awareness and too much time, but there are a few recent additions who seem particularly vicious and ridiculously fake and utterly impervious to logic. It's hard not to wonder about their origin.

 

[Lyndon]

too right, mate

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

too right, mate

I mean, the regular Trumpettes, mostly, will have the good grace to act sheepish and pretend they haven't seen it when you post evidence of Derpy Donny's buffoonery. The current blow ins outright deny reality and then personally attack you. It's hard not to see it as a deliberate and coordinated escalation.

 

[Laika]

Are the mods actually addressing the issue, or are they tolerated for page views?

I can't go in to too many details (as for privacy reasons you can't discuss moderation on the forum) but as an ex-mod my advice is: if you see something, say something and report it.

A rule of thumb is, if you see anything violent or sexually explicit, report it as a Rule 5. Anything Criminal or illegal is rule 6. It is easier for the staff to recognise this kind of content and they can therefore respond faster. Reports have to get a consensus of staff to agree to a decision so in mod terms, "fast" is usually within a few hours or in the same day. The forum is supposed to be PG rated for advertisers, so if you wouldn't want your kids exposed to it, report it and the mods will look at it.

basically, every member should act as the staffs eyes and ears. most reports are made by members other than staff and that is usually the only way bad content gets seen. Occasionally someone on staff might spot it themselves, but it's better not to assume that will be the case and report any content that rubs you the wrong way. It generally better to report content by default as it gives the staff more information to make better decisions and moderate better.

 

[Shiranui117]

putting people on ignore doesn't work, they get to reply to you and say all kinds of crazy and untruthful stuff and you have no chance to see their post and rebut their garbage.

You don't have to rebut every idiot on the internet. Doing that is an endless game of whack-a-mole with an infinite field of moles, and you still only have one hammer. Choose your battles. Respond to the people who stay at least mostly respectful and who are capable of actually having an honest and intelligent conversation, ignore or block the rest.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Don't let the kids and yokels get you down, although the mods' apparent struggle with the blatant trolls does leave me scratching my head.

Are the mods actually addressing the issue, or are they tolerated for page views?

Without going into rule 2 territory, the staff has our own rules to abide by with how to enforce moderation. Which includes a consensus model where multiple mods have to vote to prevent biases, and points based infractions for graduating responses. Unfortunately though, it can take time for the amount of votes needed, staff are volunteers. We aren't always on. Or we might be specifically waiting for something like participation in site feedback which can't be discussed with other members, or we are reviewing evidence, or we simply see something you might have missed.

If something blatantly rule breaking happens and you don't think staff have seen it, report it. But if you have, give us the kindness of being patiant and not assuming we're just 'letting it go for pageviews.'

 

[Subduction Zone]

The timing and increasing frequency does seem suspect. I don't like to jump to the Russian troll conclusion lightly, but we all know what happened last American election, and it would be naiive to think previously successful strategies won't be repeated and expanded on. Sure, SOME, most, even, of the resident Trumpettes and Usual Suspects are just semi-retired boomers with no self awareness and too much time, but there are a few recent additions who seem particularly vicious and ridiculously fake and utterly impervious to logic. It's hard not to wonder about their origin.

The upcoming election may also stir some people to action. No need for a deeper conspiracy. A threat to their dear leader brings out the stupid in some people just as new scientific discoveries supporting the already well demonstrated theory of evolution brings out creationists from the woodwork.