What is Trolling exactly?

Hello all, I have been trying to post questions here for some time, and almost always get accused of being a Troll, but am not clear on what that truly means to be honest…

Still, is there a reason why my posts are denounced as being trolling that I am not aware of??
Can someone please clear this up for me

You can start with the sections I just trimmed out of your post.

Being passive/aggressive - or just plain uncivil is a very good way to lose your ability to post on our forums.

14 Likes

Trolling is a bit of a nebulous term that can encompass many behaviors. We have it generally defined in our Code of Conduct as follows:

  • Creating threads for the sole purpose of causing unrest on the forums
  • Causing disturbances in forum threads, such as picking fights, making off topic posts that ruin the thread, insulting other posters
  • Making non-constructive posts
  • Abusing the Reported Post feature by sending false alarms or nonsensical messages
  • Numbering a thread, IBTL, TLDR, or any other fad statements

It doesn’t mean… because you said something I disagree with, or that I continue to disagree with you even after you made a point that you feel counters what I said… though participating in circular arguments can fall into trolling as well as passive-aggressive posting.

It is often very much in how you reply to someone. Saying… “I don’t share that opinion, I enjoy this and would like to see X” is entirely different from “You’re stupid, it should be done like this and everyone agrees with me”.

In the end there is no “Exact” outline that can definitively say what is and is not trolling, but our moderators use what we have in conjunction with our philosophy for the forums to determine when things cross that line.

If you need an example this…

I would say it is because there are SO MANY posters here that have tiny little egos

…Is trolling. It is that need to add an insult to others, directed or not.

21 Likes

Sadly this way of expressing opinion is so common across the internet that it seems to be seen as the norm, to the point that people take opposition to this form of expression as opposition to expression as a whole.

I know this is definitely not the place for a discussion about human psychology on the internet, but it really is nice to have the difference spelled out every now and then.

5 Likes

The main reason I asked is because I seem to get a surplus of unhelpful comments, whenever i post what I feel is a reasonable question, and a good half of them accuse me of trolling…
It was starting to feel like if you post anything in the forums that is not what someone else wants to read, they can just jump on your thread, and start attacking you, calling you a troll to justify this. The explanation provided here does not truly answer my question honestly, just provides a somewhat vague definition of trolling, which is not completely helpful to me in this, as if trolling is an undefined term that can mean any number of things.
irregardless, I suppose that I will try to ignore people who unnecessarily go on the attack in my posts to avoid being labeled a troll or whatever.
The rudeness on gaming forums is rampant, and seems to dictate a response, but if you do respond to ignorant people, you get reported as Trolling is seems!!

Well it all how you respond. You can be civil or you can be combative or insulting. The trick is not to let known troublemakers get to you. I have been called a troll many times because they don’t agree with my views or are not getting a response they want.

Sometimes it’s best not to engage them. Some posters are just cantankerous by nature, they are easy to spot though.

5 Likes

Traditionally, trolling includes activities designed to incite negative responses or outcomes. Definitions you may find - including Blizzard’s - are purposefully vague because human interactions are wild and varied.

The term does also get thrown about wantonly these days. I’d just try to stay calm, act like decent person, and not worry about it.

2 Likes

You mean “regardless” . <-----That is trolling

1 Like

It is, to an extent. For example, define “upsetting,” one of the key definitions in the CoC and flag feature for trolling.

It’s nearly impossible to do because different things are upsetting to different people. “Upsetting” is a subjective label.

So, the best thing to do is to not assume you are speaking to one particular audience when you post. Assume you are speaking to whomever you primarily want to reach, sure, but speak as if the audience includes your mom, your dad, your cool uncle, your teacher, your doctor, some octogenarians, some teens, etc., etc., everything in-between, and a hefty helping of random people you don’t know that still deserve respect.

If you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying whatever it is you’re about to say in a room full of those people, then either re-phrase it, or don’t say it. There is always a respectful way to get any point across, no matter the subject matter.

6 Likes

Trolling can be a bit nebulous in the details, but it often is fairly clear cut in philosophy. It focuses on responses that aren’t constructive, those that name call, belittle, that are toxic.

I took the liberty of looking into some of your posting history, obviously not on this character. The first thread I found was posted in the wrong section. You posted in the General Discussion for Classic instead of Battle for Azeroth. Folks reacted the way they normally do between the two games, they stated you are in the wrong forum, they teased a bit that you aren’t in Classic, etc…

You reacted to other player’s responses, some trolling, some not, by attacking them yourself. Though you replied to several folks, I’ll list one as an example: When someone said you were in the wrong forum, you insulted a person’s spelling and called them a wannabe moderator. Other examples would be calling folks “low level losers” and “little weasels”.

Later in the thread, another user reiterated that you were posting in the wrong spot and they were reporting it for trolling to hopefully be moved. You seem to react as if they specifically called you a troll, ignoring anything else.

It is also important to understand that sometimes reporting a thread isn’t because they believe you are trolling but it is a good category to use to have a moderator move the thread to the appropriate area.

Breakbeat put in very well, and while there are those that would “curse like a sailor” along with their grandma, you should be able to understand the point being made. Act like you are in normal society with the rules and customs that are in place that help us all interact like adults.

12 Likes