Board Trolls

[sprinterguy]

Any genuine trolls that besmirch this forum seem to disappear and get banned exceptionally quickly.

I don't think that there's any reasonably regular posters on this forum at the moment who exhibit "troll potential", although there have been a couple who certainly did fit the bill during my tenure on here.

Some members are quite young (I can't get my head around the fact that people who were born within the privatisation era are now in their teens!) and so will naturally focus on matters and routes that are local and familiar to them as they probably don't have the same breadth of experience as many older members would have. There's also always the risk amongst the rail enthusiast fraternity, probably more than in a number of other hobbies, of encountering those with the sorts of mental difficulties that means they project their views in a very distinctive and abrupt manner that could be construed as obnoxious. Cut them a bit of slack, up to a point, I say. The mods on this forum seem to be very effective at routing out the real trolls when they rear their ugly views.

 

[Badger]

I'm 21 and use the rails a lot, but am fairly ignorant about anything going on outside of the lines I use, I'll admit.

In fact my first time on a (mainline) train was to the Bullring not long after it opened. I thought New Street was fantastic. I believe that was very shortly before the franchise change as it was a Silverlink Central Train, I think.

The pic on the left <-- is the furthest I've ever gone, and only time into London; that's Milton Keynes I think... may even be Northampton. Oh dear.

 

[CC 72100]

Any genuine trolls that besmirch this forum seem to disappear and get banned exceptionally quickly.

I don't think that there's any reasonably regular posters on this forum at the moment who exhibit "troll potential", although there have been a couple who certainly did fit the bill during my tenure on here.

Some members are quite young (I can't get my head around the fact that people who were born within the privatisation era are now in their teens!) and so will naturally focus on matters and routes that are local and familiar to them as they probably don't have the same breadth of experience as many older members would have. There's also always the risk amongst the rail enthusiast fraternity, probably more than in a number of other hobbies, of encountering those with the sorts of mental difficulties that means they project their views in a very distinctive and abrupt manner that could be construed as obnoxious. Cut them a bit of slack, up to a point, I say. The mods on this forum seem to be very effective at routing out the real trolls when they rear their ugly views.

Good points. My personal approach that I take when I post is that if it's got nothing to do with me, if it's something I know nothing about or have no real opinion on then I don't post. For example, I can't really comment on some TOCs and routes given that I've never used them, whilst I do feel that it's ok for me to get involved with a debate about something that I've got personal experience on. In my very short time this appraoch has served me just fine.

I also think that this forum is really well moderated, and a lot friendlier than some of the other forums I've seen, where people get shot down quickly for saying the 'wrong' thing.

 

[Zamracene749]

Well, i've always been shy and socially quite awkward, compensated for to some extent by alcohol abuse which along with domestic issues led to terrible depression in later years. Cheers then....

So as has been said earlier, I do hope that I don't offend people cos I realise that I might not always be easiuly understood, in particular with some of my more (ahem) random replies at odd times in the morning. Big pinches of salt are available free to go with many of my opinions and I apologise wholeheartedly if I don't always make sense or come across as confrontational (i'm not).

This is an excellent helpful and friendly forum, (7 years membership should prove that) and I always look forward to reading the many and varied posts from fellow transport fans (i'll never quite understand those that hate buses though ).

Peace to all!

PS, some of the worst internet abuse i've ever seen has been on the many BVE forums over the last 12 years or so, was saddening to watch so much talent and work disappear over such nastiness.

 

[Flamingo]

One site I am a member of (ARRSE) has a policy of rarely banning people, the administrators just stick an avatar under their username
"O2 Thief, do not respond".

That way it's not interfering with "freedom of speech" and "yuman rites", but flags up to everyone that the poster concerned is a knob and should be ignored.

It's quite a good system, and works well.

 

[GNER 373]

Good points. My personal approach that I take when I post is that if it's got nothing to do with me, if it's something I know nothing about or have no real opinion on then I don't post. For example, I can't really comment on some TOCs and routes given that I've never used them, whilst I do feel that it's ok for me to get involved with a debate about something that I've got personal experience on. In my very short time this appraoch has served me just fine.

I also think that this forum is really well moderated, and a lot friendlier than some of the other forums I've seen, where people get shot down quickly for saying the 'wrong' thing.

Well said and mirrors my thoughts exactly!

 

[ainsworth74]

One site I am a member of (ARRSE) has a policy of rarely banning people, the administrators just stick an avatar under their username
"O2 Thief, do not respond".

Some of the people that get that tag can be quite amusing though!

 

[Lampshade]

...or Preston () doesn't have a leg to stand on in my opinion, especially looking ahead to circa 2020.

Oi hock:

 

[table38]

Is there an equivalent of Godwin's Law for arguments that descent into a discussion of the relative merits of the Daily Mail and Margaret Thatcher?

 

[Badger]

If there isn't, there should be. "For any given conversation, over time, the likelyhood of the phrase 'Daily Mail reading bigots' appearing approaches 1."

 

[Anon Mouse]

If there isn't, their should be. "For any given conversation, over time, the likelyhood of the phrase 'Daily Mail reading bigots' appearing approaches 1."

Oi! was that directed at me?

 

[ANorthernGuard]

That's because Xbox kicks ps3's bum...

Everytime lol

 

[Flamingo]

Some of the people that get that tag can be quite amusing though!

True, which is why banning them outright would be a pity

 

[Yew]

One site I am a member of (ARRSE) has a policy of rarely banning people, the administrators just stick an avatar under their username
"O2 Thief, do not respond".

That way it's not interfering with "freedom of speech" and "yuman rites", but flags up to everyone that the poster concerned is a knob and should be ignored.

It's quite a good system, and works well.

They should definitely think of a different acronym...

 

[AndyLandy]

The best thing to do with trolls is to ignore them. Don't reply to their posts, ideally put them on your ignore list so you don't have to put up with their yapping. If nobody gives them a response, they'll eventually give up and go away.

 

[DarloRich]

how do you put people on your ignore list?

 

[bb21]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/profile.php?do=ignorelist

 

[table38]

Then they'll become Bored Trolls

See what I did there?

 

[Nym]

Yes, and it fits with part of your avatar signature...

 

[tbtc]

I think we should have twenty coach 377/5s on HS4 from Holyhead to Cardiff

What? Off topic? Sorry

 

[LE Greys]

Is there an equivalent of Godwin's Law for arguments that descent into a discussion of the relative merits of the Daily Mail and Margaret Thatcher?

Shouldn't that be a [please insert whoever designed the Pacer]'s law for whenever someone starts complaining about them?

 

[table38]

Shouldn't that be a [please insert whoever designed the Pacer]'s law for whenever someone starts complaining about them?

Sounds like Thatcher did us a favour by "destroying British industry" so we can ride around in nice comfy German and Canadian trains

</troll>

 

[Tomonthetrain]

Shouldn't that be a [please insert whoever designed the Pacer]'s law for whenever someone starts complaining about them?

Pacers are the best thing since sliced bread!

 

[Nym]

They transport people round cheaply and relatively safely, whats wrong with that? The're just used on the wrong lines.

 

[185]

The real trolls on here I feel are those who blindly believe the spin and publicity that many of the major train companies belch out daily, they fail to accept that many of companies have often been caught out lying by the DfT, passenger groups, the press and BBC. Those trolls will try stop intelligent debate by resorting to personal attacks on other forum users despite genuine wrongdoing by the TOCs is being reported.

One of those trolls actually accused me of being a troll. What a troll

 

[Nym]

Theres a fun one at the moment who's name is formed of the first name of a regular QI pannelist and the last name of the usual presenter, just sits thinking he's right all of the time, is fun to feed sometimes, but eventually one gives up because it seems he doesn't actually read anything.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

. . . . is fun to feed sometimes, . . . .

Maybe.

But the rest of us just have to wait for the noise to die down and then trawl through all the quips and rebuttals looking for any real news or comment. That is not fun!
(And I say that even after putting him in my 'ignore' list !)
These bursts of nonsense leave a lot of mess in the forum. I'd rather we all just ignored him.

 

[Nym]

I will be shortly, he's ceasing to be fun now.

 

[DarloRich]

is he a troll or some other description that i dont understand?

 

[LE Greys]

is he a troll or some other description that i dont understand?

A bit enthusiastic about his ideas, perhaps.