Geesh.....If this doesn't sum up Lil' TommyTomTomForNews, I don't know what does!
*See* *Also* Marshall Kirk & Hunter Madsen. On Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 2:12 PM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > ** ** > > Categories of abuse**** > > ** ** > > Trolls use a wide variety of strategies, some of which are unique to the > Internet, including these:**** > > ** ** > > Making outrageous comments designed to distract or frustrate. This is > a Saul Alinsky-style tactic employed to stir emotion and angry reactions.* > *** > > Posing as a conservative and making comments that discredit the > movement. After claiming to be a member of the movement, such as a tea > party organization, the troll then proceeds to post long, incoherent > diatribes to appear either racist or insane. In some cases, these “Trojan > Horse Trolls” have been known to make posts that advocate or incite to the > use of violence in an apparent attempt to provide evidence to leftist > critics and government sources that the right is comprised of “radical > extremists.”**** > > Dominating discussions. Trolls may attempt to throw a discussion off > course and frustrate participants whose purpose is to engage in a serious > and respectful exchange of views.**** > > Posting prewritten responses. Many trolls appear to have been supplied > with a list or database of pre-planned “talking points” designed as > generalized and deceptive responses to honest arguments. When trolls post > prewritten responses, their words typically feel strangely plastic and > rehearsed.**** > > Making false associations. In this technique, the position of honest > posters is characterized in derogatory terms. For example, a troll may call > advocates of Federal Reserve reform or abolition “conspiracy theorists” or > “lunatics.” Or, by suggesting certain political arguments are “racist” or > otherwise outside the accepted confines of serious political discourse, > trolls attempt to dissuade readers from examining the evidence objectively. > **** > > Exhibiting false moderation. By pretending to be the “voice of reason” > **** > > in an argument with obvious well-defined sides, trolls attempt to move > readers to relegate the argument to a “gray area,” such that holding or > seriously considering the argument is a leap away from reasoned judgment.* > *** > > Raising straw-man arguments. Here a troll will accuse his opposition > of subscribing to a certain point of view, even if the argument is > irrelevant and never actually raised.**** > > ** ** > > Professional trolls**** > > ** ** > > WND moderators have developed criteria for helping to identify a > professional troll:**** > > ** ** > > The person’s posts are usually short and snarky, with reasonably > correct spelling, grammar and punctuation, suggesting both intelligence and > education.**** > > The posts are on the edge of acceptability, with little or no > profanity or vulgar language that would get the post flagged immediately.* > *** > > The person has a high ratio of posts to the number of days on the > site, suggesting he’s posting comments nearly full time and is getting paid > to troll.**** > > The person posts politely on progressive websites but nastily on > conservative websites, using the same username and IP address.**** > > The person’s posts are consistently belittling, rather than > intelligent objections and points.**** > > The person’s posts address a broad spectrum of topics rather than > focusing on one or two subjects of particular interest. The consistency is > in the support of leftist policies and positions taken by the Obama > administration.**** > > ** ** > > Once the person is blacklisted, the WND moderators do not receive a > complaint. Instead, the person quietly returns to post on WND forums in a > different incarnation, perhaps using a different username, IP address or > email.**** > > ** ** > > WND moderators have concluded the purpose of a troll is not to > intelligently discuss various issues but to minimize the importance of > dissenting opinions by ridiculing serious participants expressing political > views the troll finds objectionable.**** > > ** ** > > Sometimes trolls appear to needle serious participants with the goal of > inciting irrational retorts that can embarrass them, perhaps even to the > point of being reported to employers or to the government.**** > > ** ** > > WND moderators frequently experience waves of troll attacks that they > suspect occur in response to a “call to arms” from a progressive website or > blog.**** > > ** ** > > Pajama bandits**** > > ** ** > > A person identified as “AMA” posted a comment on the website Above Top > Secret that apparently offers insight into how professional trolls operate. > **** > > ** ** > > I was a paid Internet troll**** > > ** ** > > For almost five years, I was a paid Internet troll. Yes, I admit.**** > > ** ** > > But first let me state that I never performed my job here on ATS, > though I believe I have occasionally seen a handful on here who were using > a script similar to what I was assigned.**** > > ** ** > > I cannot and will not name names, but after an internship at a firm > with government and political party (Republican) contracts, I was offered > the position of “Online Communications Associate” at another company by > someone from the original firm for which I interned. My contract completed > one year ago, and I have since moved on.**** > > ** ** > > Utilizing six artificial personas, I was active in social networks and > bulletin boards. But since I came to love and respect this site, as I > stated, I never performed my functions here. Each week, I and presumably > several others, were provided with information to use in our online > postings. At first the information was comprised of fully conceived > scripts, but as I became more and more experienced, it eventually became > simple bullet or talking points.**** > > ** ** > > At first I needed to provide links to my postings, but when the > company name changed (never knew the real names of any people there), that > requirement stopped.**** > > ** ** > > The pay wasn’t very good, but since I was working from my apartment, I > suppose it wasn’t bad, and I was able to do several other writing > assignments on the side.**** > > ** ** > > AMA**** > > ** ** > > WND will maintain an open posting policy on its forums, but will continue > identifying and removing trolls who abuse the privilege.**** > > ** ** > > WND staff member Janet Falkenstein contributed to this article.**** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > ** ** > > Read more at**** > > http://www.wnd.com/2012/11/leftist-trolls-in-ongoing-war-with-wnd/#...**** > > > __._,_.___ > > > > > > > __,_._,___ > > > -- > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "PoliticalForum" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
