What is a troll thread and what isn't?

[PhineasJWhoopee]

Why is this a "troll" thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2099443&highlight=sad+state+atheism

and this isn't:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2098554&highlight=sad+state+religionhttp://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2099443&highlight=sad+state+atheism

Can a moderator please explain this to me?





Answer is below


esquared
Anandtech Administrator

 

[olds]

Why is this a "troll" thread:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2099443&highlight=sad+state+atheism

and this isn't:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2099443&highlight=sad+state+atheism

Can a moderator please explain this to me?

Nice links, troll

 

[KeithTalent]

Is this a joke? Did you purposely link to the same thread twice OP?

KT

 

[Newbian]

Well religious threads tend to be heavily troll and when you proceed to make a reference against the members that only helps the cause.

 

[PhineasJWhoopee]

Is this a joke? Did you purposely link to the same thread twice OP?

KT

No, I made a mistake. Fixed.

 

[KeithTalent]

Well I'm going to go out on a limb and say it may have something to do with the fact one thread was posting an actual article for discussion while the other thread was pure conjecture with nothing to support it? :hmm:

KT

 

[Evadman]

Wow, I don't understand how you can't see the difference. Your post was written to incite a flamewar or argument. It is the definition of a troll thread. Read and understand this.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

The algorithm is fairly advanced, but let's see if you can follow:

if (thread.getOriginalPoster().getUserName().equals("PhineasJWhoopee"))
  thread.markAsTrollThread();

Do you really want to get bounced again??? I thought you just came back.

PFI is for actual discussion not posting crap. If you don't have an answer for the OP, then stay out.

esquared
Anandtech Administrator

 

[PhineasJWhoopee]

Wow, I don't understand how you can't see the difference. Your post was written to incite a flamewar or argument. It is the definition of a troll thread. Read and understand this.

And what was the point of this thread?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2098554&highlight=sad+state+religion

I honestly don't see the difference.

 

[erikistired]

i would guess the part where you said all of the agnostics and atheists post on the forums in an effort to incite them made it a troll thread. just guessing tho.

 

[PhineasJWhoopee]

i would guess the part where you said all of the agnostics and atheists post on the forums in an effort to incite them made it a troll thread. just guessing tho.

That was called humor/sarcasm. Check just about any thread, you'll find plently of it. You can't possible make that an offense, or there would be on one on the forums.

When you put post a big picture of a televaneglelist as if he's representative of Chistian evangelical pastors, that's not trolling?

Plus, the article is a hack piece that blatantly takes quotes from the pope completely out of context. I surmised shens and it took about 2 minutes of reasearch to verify it. It's hard to believe that the OP didn't understand what he was posting.

 

[PhineasJWhoopee]

Well I'm going to go out on a limb and say it may have something to do with the fact one thread was posting an actual article for discussion while the other thread was pure conjecture with nothing to support it? :hmm:

KT

Keith, I referenced an ARIS poll. Th the best of my knowledge, ARIS is a legitimate polling organization. Do you have information to the contrary? ARIS has reported "Most religious groups in USA have lost ground, survey finds" so they are not a shill group.

I've already commented on the "actual article". Another bit of misinformation in the article is that it says that "atheists and nonbelievers more than doubled in the eleven years between 1990 and 2001, from 14 million to 29 million: from 8% of the country to 14%."

Actually, 15% of Americans "say they have no religion". That's different than being a non-believer; you can believe in a higher power without identifying with a religion.

When reading articles like this, you really have to look at them with a critical eye.

 

[olds]

Do you REALLY think you have ANY chance of winning this argument?
You are not the first troll to post here.

 

[Crono]

What made that at troll thread was not the factual content, it was this comemnt, without even a hint of playfulness:

I think all of them post on the Anandtech forums.

That's what made it a trollish thread.

 

[esquared]

What made that at troll thread was not the factual content, it was this comemnt, without even a hint of playfulness:

I think all of them post on the Anandtech forums.

That's what made it a trollish thread.

Bingo. This thread is now locked.


esquared
Anandtech Administrator