Ban the trolls?

[SoftWareRevue]

Do you ban those that exhibit troll behaviors?

Do you ignore them?

Or do you try to reform them?

:chairhide

[writespeak]

I've spent a lot of time in newsgroups, most of which are unmoderated. I've seen the damage that trolls can do when there are no tools to control them. :pullhair:

The best course of action in newsgroups is to ignore them. They lose interest if they can't ignite flames. But it's almost impossible to get everyone to do that. One big advantage of forums over newsgroups is that we have tools to deal with problem people. I vote for using them. With care, of course.

I like to try to help people reform unless or until it's clear that there's no hope of reform for an individual. Some people may not realize what they're doing, but those ones aren't true trolls.

What's your definition of a troll? It would help to make sure we're all talking about the same types of people.

Lois

[Jan]

Forum trolls in general, target certain discussions. Be it xcompany, xhost, or certain political and/or religious threads. Some troll in threads of any kind, but mainly to prove xmember wrong. They clearly show a pattern after time. Members notice it before we do and end up reporting it. A "shape up or ship out" warning *might* curtail their habit for a bit, but it seems they have very strong feelings to a certain issue or member that time out is often warranted.

[Doug]

It depends on the troll. If they aren't popular with the other members, they can probably be banned and won't be missed. However, if they're popular, you have to approach the situation differently and see what you can do.

[Scott]

Trying to correct their behaviour is always worth a try, but often doesn't get very far.

In this case they're better of out than in, IMO.

[writespeak]

Forum trolls in general, target certain discussions. Be it xcompany, xhost, or certain political and/or religious threads. Some troll in threads of any kind, but mainly to prove xmember wrong. They clearly show a pattern after time. Members notice it before we do and end up reporting it. A "shape up or ship out" warning *might* curtail their habit for a bit, but it seems they have very strong feelings to a certain issue or member that time out is often warranted.

Your description includes those on a mission as well as those who just want to be disruptive. Both types are problems, but I think we need to treat them differently. The crusader types can be often be reasoned with. The attention-getter types can't.

A concise description of newsgroup trolls is here (http://www.binaries.net/articles/newsgroup_trolls.htm). A troll according to this definition might go into a vegetarian newsgroup/forum and post about killing animals. A crusader type might post in various groups about how a specific company treats animals, going on about it crusader-style without regard for the group.

I see the latter as a mentality that develops from specific situations, and the former as immaturity displayed by people who lack social skills. We can help people think through their behaviour, but we can't help them get lives.

Lois

[Tyler]

Well, no. We've recently dealt with a case that we thought he just wanted to be a troll, but it turns out he really thought that way and did not mean any harm to others.

A conversation with 'em sometimes goes a long way. If not, just break out the warning stick :D

[D'Godown]

Simply try to reform, if its not hurting anybody in person.

Yes i feel best bet is to maintain quality standards, So sometimes a ban is good as well, But situation tells easily what to do.

[Chris]

I agree with Tyler. I think definitely you need to make sure you understand their intentions. Talk to them first, and see if they realize their behavior is unacceptable. If it continues, well, action needs to be taken :)