So I'll give my half-assed answer. I thought trolling was when a person comes to a forum with no other plan than to derail conversations. IOW, they aren't engaging honestly.

What else is it?

No, I didn't say you're due to be banned nor did I suggest that you're generally badly behaved. Yesterday, you called a post bullshit and then when asked for a reason said you didn't even read it. I can't think of a more trollish thing to do than that. It seems disingenuous to me you wouldn't recognize that, but fine.

Today, you came up with some excuse which I said I don't care about and that you (posters in general) don't troll on the site or you get banned. Period. That's a statement of fact regarding the rules not a statement of my intention to do anything. But whatever, feel free to continue this with someone else. I've already said I'd leave moderating you to others (if that happens to be necessary). That's all I have to say about it.

Cool. Could one of the other moderators lay out a definition of trolling used by this site? I was told I'd be banned if I trolled anymore and I honestly don't know what that means.

I was told I'd be banned if I trolled anymore — frank

As above:

I said I don't care about and that you (posters in general) don't troll on the site or you get banned. Period. That's a statement of fact regarding the rules not a statement of my intention to do anything... I've already said I'd leave moderating you to others. — Baden

There's a fair amount that's unclear here.

The post I didn't read was your attempt to draw me into a debate that I wasn't interested in. I read enough of it to discern that.

You PM'd me to tell me you were warning me about trolling. You were then bizarrely belligerent toward me as if you trying to make me angry.

When I asked Hanover to enter the conversation you said that he wouldn't "save" me.

Since I'm not getting any clarification, I take it that the trolling charge was just part of the harassment.

As an ex admin, and ex mod, my axes are all well ground and my hatchets buried, along with the bodies. Trolls come in many flavours, but the essence, I would say, is to be a wind-up artist. The trick is to provoke the anger of the other, and then get all righteous about it. The best troll is adept at producing invisible flames.

Sometimes misunderstandings can be interpreted as trolling, so one has to look for a pattern of behaviour, rather than over-interpret a brief exchange. Sometimes trolls will make a big wind-up thing about what is and isn't trolling. Sometimes mods can behave like trolls.

Sometimes ex admin/mods indulge in a little light trolling by way of illustration.

Have you ever thought of writing a sequel to Alice in Wonderland?

I think there might be a sign in this of the difference between systemic and nonsystemic: people bring things into the light of day because they care and they think others care.

Under heavy systemic oppression people dont ask questions because there's no point. Disregard becomes internalized: I don't speak because I dont matter even to myself.

Trolling is deriving amusement, or perhaps in some cases rubles, from riling up an unsuspecting audience. Good hooks are anything that questions a person's morality, status, intelligence, consistency, and things of that nature. Good hooks are subtle and practically force a response. Bad hooks are pathetically obvious (think @Chester) and easily ignored.

:up:

People can troll by accident? Half consciously?

No.

The systemic oppression is so heavy here we haven't yet banned @NOS4A2 and @Chester. We may have to up our game.

That's just plain favoritism. :razz:

I think the problem is your surrealist turn of phrase. It can catch people out and they think it's something else.

Are you serious?

I'm sorry I was mean to frank everyone. When he said he was calling Hanover for help with a sad face emoji, it sounded like a joke and I responded with an lol. The idea of Hanover saving anyone sounds inherently amusing to me. But apparently my response was harassful oppression, so I apologize.

And I'm sure frank's PMs to me claiming he was concerned I was drunk were not an attempt to annoy me so he could claim he was being harassed. I need to see the good in people more.

It's not everyday somebody hands you an opportunity to show some character.

I think we just don't understand each other tbh. That's all there is to it.

Eh, the whole PM:

Baden: You're on a warning now for trolling.

frank: Ok.

Baden: Maybe just stay out of the thread seeing as you can't even handle reading posts.

Baden: As I'm sure you'll understand, it's pointless people responding to you as you may not even know what they said. Go play in the lounge or something.

frank: Gosh.

frank: Serious question: are you drinking right now?

Baden: No, it's not a serious question,frank. It's not any more serious than you pretending to read my post and then calling it bullshit. Go play in the lounge for a day or two. You can come back when you've grown up. This thread is on serious matter and I'm not going to let you troll it.

frank: Ok. Bye.

frank: @Hanover: Baden is harrassing me. :sad:

Baden: :lol: You don't get to troll my thread. Hanover can't (and is unlikely to try) to save you. Good try anyway.

An hour later:

Baden: Tell you what, you can post there if you want but do not respond to any of my posts. Talk to posters you want to engage with in an intellectually honest way only.

frank: Ok. Baden, you suggested that black citizens should take up arms to protect themselves from the police. I see gun shot wounds on the regular, so I found your comment to be incredibly offensive.

Yesterday I had two of them: one GSW to the abdomen and one to the chest. I honestly dont comprehend why you are the one taking up outrage here. It makes no sense at all to me except if you're intoxicated. So it was a serious question.

But I agree. You and I should just ignore one another here on out. We have nothing to gain through discussion.

7 hours later

Baden: I don't give a damn what you find offensive, you don't troll or you get banned. Period.

Baden: And by the way, fdrake said exactly the same thing I did about communities arming themselves and your response to him was "nice talking to you", so please don't continue with the disingenuousness. You were just being petty.

frank: I'm sorry. Be well, stay safe.

he was concerned I was drunk — Baden

To be fair, you are Irish, right?

:lol: It all makes sense now.

As I said, frank, I realize now you were genuinely concerned about my well-being in asking me if I was drunk as you were the time when you said you thought I sounded stressed and all the rest was just a misunderstanding on my part. And, of course, this thread is a genuine attempt to uncover the systemic oppression on this site. As I've indicated, I won't mod you anymore and actually I shouldn't mod anyone I interact with, so you have my apologies and please do keep fighting your good fight.

so you have my apologies — Baden

That
is some motherfuckin character.

:blush:

edit: translated from American: thank you. you're awesome.

Thank you, frank. :up:

I will do all I can to abide by the rules, and I recognize and respect your authority to police this forum as you see fit. But I can honestly say I have never nor do I intend to troll anyone. I just enjoy grappling over ideas with people who I assume can think. Perhaps there is a fine line.

@frank predator is the trolliest troll on here.

Whereas, @Frank Pray is a pillar of society.

Fortunately for you then, a lack of self-awareness doesn't violate the Term of Service.

According to the franchise, aliens from distant planets/galaxies just look like people but with weird mouths.