On 9/24/07, Paul Brannan <pbrannan / atdesk.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 24, 2007 at 02:49:22PM +0900, Michael T. Richter wrote:
> >    You're still playing into their game.  You're reacting to the troll's
> >    input.  If you want to share the good news about YARV performance,
> >    start your own breathless thread.  Don't respond to a troll.
> >    ESPECIALLY don't quote the troll and do a point-by-point counter.
> >    That's exactly what they're looking for.
> >    Let me give you a little secret: the troll knows all your countering
> >    arguments.  In another forum, under a different name, the troll is
> >    using those very same arguments to tweak the noses of other people and
> >    make them "dance to his strings".  The only winning move, as the old
> >    movie goes, is not to play the game.
>
> You sure do seem to know a lot about trolls. :)
>
> Seriously, though, any move that falls outside the troll's script is a
> valid move.  Not playing at all works, but rarely, since not everyone
> follows that advice.
>
> I've found that trolling the troll also works, that is, making plausible
> but ridicuous arguments in order to frustrate the troll.  This is a
> difficult maneuver in a public forum like this one.
>
> Responding in kindness rather than argumentatively works as well, if the
> troll's intentions were to start an argument.
>
> People with crediblity should almost never respond to a troll, because
> their response gives the troll credibility, so if you are going to try
> to beat the troll at his own game, get an alias, or limit your responses
> to those which reduce the troll's credibility while keeping your own
> intact.
>
> Calling the troll a troll is dangerous, since it's essentially an ad
> hominem attack that can reduce your own credibility over time.
>
> The goal in any response to a thread started by the troll should be to
> prevent thread explosion.  If the thread has already reached critical
> mass, responding to the thread further postpones its death.
>
> Trolls can also show up in real life situations.  These trolls are best
> handled by turning the forum into a debate so, keeping in mind that the
> goal of a debate is to convince the audience rather than the other
> person.
>
> Paul
>
What do you have against trolls, did you not here about the newest
revelations about Koom valley ?
Sorry I could not resist; for those who do not read all Terry
Pratchett books ;)...

I am not sure if there is any better strategy than ignoring them,
there are sometimes of course very serious and valid posts because
some people do not think it is a troll in the first place and starting
a discussion about what to do about trolls in the troll's thread might
be counter productive.
I tend to ignore them, and sometimes I throw in a "Don't feed the
troll" when I feel it is appropriate (carries information for the
replier).

After all if the troll gets some food the thread becomes uninteresting...
Sometimes I try to warn people not to lose their time, but it is
*their* time anyway.

Cheers
Robert
>
>


-- 
I'm an atheist and that's it. I believe there's nothing we can know
except that we should be kind to each other and do what we can for
other people.
-- Katharine Hepburn