Thread: Please don't feed the troll

It only encourages him/her.

I suspect we're dealing with a disgruntled Bhuzzer sockpuppet, but I could be wrong. No matter.

This is NOT a person with genuine questions and poor social skills, as many seem to be assuming. This is a person who is VERY familiar with the dance community, knows exactly where our hot buttons are, and is carefully pushing them one by one.

Engaging on the threads — even to post recipes, even OPENING the threads to read them and adding to the view count — encourages her (or him).


Please. Ignore.

I agree - this is a creepy game of bait and attack.

agreed

You're right, Lauren.
Thanks.
Rosette

It's not even creepy, it's just lame.

Agreed. I've been surprised at how many people seem willing to give this person a large benefit of the doubt.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

It only encourages him/her.

I suspect we're dealing with a disgruntled Bhuzzer sockpuppet, but I could be wrong. No matter.

This is NOT a person with genuine questions and poor social skills, as many seem to be assuming. This is a person who is VERY familiar with the dance community, knows exactly where our hot buttons are, and is carefully pushing them one by one.

Engaging on the threads — even to post recipes, even OPENING the threads to read them and adding to the view count — encourages her (or him).


Please. Ignore.

Yes, to everything Lauren said. Why hasn't Rosey banned him/her yet?

I was wondering the same thing, if there's a technicality, some line of rule that has deliberately not been crossed.

Does she know?

Originally Posted by isildriel

Does she know?

I personally have reported a few of it's posts. I refuse to take part in either baiting or engaging the poster in question though. The only thing that will make them go away on their own is if we them how little we care about their antics, or social experiment, or whatever the heck it is.

*bump*

don't post
don't respond
ignore, ignore, ignore!

(and in fact... go to Quick Links and pick Options. Then choose to edit your Ignore list. Add the troll to your ignore list for a fast path to increased serenity on bhuz.)

She banned [oiginal trollname] so it came back as [new trollname]

You can ban an IP address and someone can get a new one.

The only way to eradicate a troll is to bore it until it goes away.

Interesting information here about internet trolls:
"TROLL" defined

Lauren, respectfully requesting you edit your post to remove or make unsearchable the user names. Trolls love to search for their userids to find where they are being talked about.

~BUMP~

I pm'd Rosey with links to all of the recent relevant threads.

Originally Posted by tigerb

Interesting information here about internet trolls:
"TROLL" defined

Lauren, respectfully requesting you edit your post to remove or make unsearchable the user names. Trolls love to search for their userids to find where they are being talked about.

No problem

Originally Posted by tigerb

Interesting information here about internet trolls:
"TROLL" defined

Lauren, respectfully requesting you edit your post to remove or make unsearchable the user names. Trolls love to search for their userids to find where they are being talked about.

Thanks for this - wow.

So I definitely missed something (or maybe nothing worth missing anyway) this weekend. lol.

Oh THAT troll... k nevermind!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

It only encourages him/her.

I suspect we're dealing with a disgruntled Bhuzzer sockpuppet, but I could be wrong. No matter.

This is NOT a person with genuine questions and poor social skills, as many seem to be assuming. This is a person who is VERY familiar with the dance community, knows exactly where our hot buttons are, and is carefully pushing them one by one.

Engaging on the threads — even to post recipes, even OPENING the threads to read them and adding to the view count — encourages her (or him).


Please. Ignore.

Oh I totally agree.. and said this myself.

I had to go back and read some posts by this person because I didnt recognise the troll aspect at first. After reading I said to a few others that this is someone very familiar to this forum and perhaps a few other forums too..

I personally have my suspicians.. people reveal alot in their framing, structure and language even when doing their absolute best to pretend to be someone else.

It seemed so to me also. This was no newbie fan but the return of someone with grudge against Bhuz and Bhuzzers and contempt for such. Someone not in the ME and much nearer to home than many of you.I just wish she ( as I am sure it is) would get from the under the bridge and speak openly instead of this tack.
I am naughty in that I cannot help but bait a sad trolly-s*d such as this who need to get the chip off their shoulder and get a life!

Originally Posted by lizajuk

I am naughty in that I cannot help but bait a sad trolly-s*d such as this who need to get the chip off their shoulder and get a life!

But that's what trolls WANT. They WANT reaction. They want to waste your time and energy. They want to suck reactions and time an energy from the life you've got.

In defense of posting in those threads, they are pulling in huge viewing numbers, and even though there are a lot of posters, there are also a lot of lurkers. I agree that it is useless to try to argue with a troll, and it only enflames and prolongs the situation to post off-topic material, but if no one posts anything calm and corrective, aren't less informed readers (and we do have a lot of beginners and students without regular teachers here) being cheated out of the other side of the debate? As I said in the "catsuit gone" thread, I'm really sorry that some of the responses (particularly CA's) were deleted from Bhuz for good, and others have made useful points that (will have) deserved to stay in other threads, too. There's something about letting these threads roil uselessly--and then get yanked off the site--that, to a newbie, must feel like we're treating those topics like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named Voldemorts, instead of low-level rabble that can be maturely discussed.

From Rosette's Post #27 in the "Turkish/Persian" thread:
"How about this... There's a recipe for disaster and it's being cooked up right now by a rival belly-dancing forum...."

Seriously? A RIVAL belly-dance forum? I thought there were just other forums I read occasionally and didn't participate in. I didn't realize I was joining the belly-dancing equivalent of a Mafia crime family by registering here. Are we going to have a rumble where we're tied to wrist-to-wrist and jab at each other with knives while we dance like in the "Beat It" video now?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

From Rosette's Post #27 in the "Turkish/Persian" thread:
"How about this... There's a recipe for disaster and it's being cooked up right now by a rival belly-dancing forum...."

Seriously? A RIVAL belly-dance forum? I thought there were just other forums I read occasionally and didn't participate in. I didn't realize I was joining the belly-dancing equivalent of a Mafia crime family by registering here. Are we going to have a rumble where we're tied to wrist-to-wrist and jab at each other with knives while we dance like in the "Beat It" video now?

So I hopped over to the Arabic Arts Forum a few minutes ago, only to find a message saying I have been banned forever. ??? I'm not sure I ever posted on there -- actually I don't think my membership was ever approved, but you could still read lyrics threads.

Is this all part of a big drama I'm not aware of?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Ibut if no one posts anything calm and corrective, aren't less informed readers (and we do have a lot of beginners and students without regular teachers here) being cheated out of the other side of the debate?

This is a very good point that hadn't occurred to me.

Although I think the reason those threads pull high numbers is because people who are 'in the know' are checking them again and again to see what new drama is unfolding there. I don't think they have any special draw for newbies.

Rather than engaging, I'd rather post a simple ,r:; and then start a separate thread to discuss the topic seriously. Hopefully noobs would find both threads and get both points of view. Of course, some trolls will find the new thread and post there. Many trolls seem to ONLY be interested in their own mischief, though, and don't appear much on threads they don't start (until being ignored causes them to throw a final temper tantrum all over the board in a desperate bid for attention before they flounce).

I kind of agree with Tourbeau on this. When the troll threads aren't filled with recipes, something educational usually comes out of them. Perhaps if a troll starts a topic which could actually be a good one, we can continue with calmly discussing the actual topic, while giving the ig to the troll. If we continue on in our normal fashion, the troll has not gotten what it wants. Even the posting of recipes is giving in to the troll - it's whole purpose is to upset us and the recipe posting is proof that it has.

I have to say, I've learned a lot from the Turkish/Persian thread.

Originally Posted by aziyade

So I hopped over to the Arabic Arts Forum a few minutes ago, only to find a message saying I have been banned forever. ??? I'm not sure I ever posted on there -- actually I don't think my membership was ever approved, but you could still read lyrics threads.

Is this all part of a big drama I'm not aware of?

What are you talking about Aziyade? And why are you involving a forum that has NOTHING to do with this troll? I am a member of that forum and until you have proof that ANYONE or any member of AAF has EVER been on Bhuz trolling then I suggest that you not involve them in this. Arabic Arts Forum is neither a bellydance forum nor a "rival" forum. And it's a private forum.
There are some people on THIS thread who love to make false accusations and insidious insinuations and I have sat by for months and let them rant. But I'm sick of it and won't stand by any longer and keep quiet.

The gay male dancers thread just dissolved into the ether. Looks like Rosey has had enough.

Yay Rosey.

Originally Posted by jessedan

What are you talking about Aziyade? And why are you involving a forum that has NOTHING to do with this troll? I am a member of that forum and until you have proof that ANYONE or any member of AAF has EVER been on Bhuz trolling then I suggest that you not involve them in this. Arabic Arts Forum is neither a bellydance forum nor a "rival" forum. And it's a private forum.
There are some people on THIS thread who love to make false accusations and insidious insinuations and I have sat by for months and let them rant. But I'm sick of it and won't stand by any longer and keep quiet.

I confess, when the post about rival forum came up, it occurred to me that perhaps Fififan meant the Arabic Arts Forum (or alternately, tribe.net). This doesn't mean that Fififan actually IS a member of AAF, but possibly s/he wants us to think so.

Fififan could be trying to scr@w with both forums with that off-hand comment, you know. Being a troll and all.