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jrjones9933
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15 Jul 2017, 11:53 am

Concern Troll, from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/concern_troll

Quote:
(Internet slang) Someone who posts to an internet forum or newsgroup, claiming to share its goals while deliberately working against those goals, typically, by claiming "concern" about group plans to engage in productive activity, urging members instead to attempt some activity that would damage the group's credibility, or alternatively to give up on group projects entirely.


From their references, https://content.time.com/time/magazine/ ... 01,00.html

Quote:
Concern troll: Noun, derived from "internet troll." A more subtle beast than your standard troll, this species posts comments that appear to be sympathetic to the topic being discussed but who, in reality, wishes to sow doubt in the minds of readers. In a 2006 New Hampshire Congressional campaign, a Republican staffer resigned after reports that he had posted to liberal blogs claiming to be a Democrat who thought the party should give up on the race.


Trolling has gotten quite advanced. Any tips for detecting concern trolls?


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Drake
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15 Jul 2017, 1:25 pm

Calling someone a concern troll is something I normally see from SJWs and such. It's a way for them to keep the group think going, keep whatever narrative they're pushing going by dismissing any criticism of it as concern trolling.

But as for dealing with a genuine such troll, I guess you should put their ideas under scrutiny. If they are malevolent, their ideas won't hold up under scrutiny. I don't know if there's any value in trying to detect them from the start, I could see that turning into an ugly witch hunt rather than accomplishing anything productive. In general, I think if there's a healthy skepticism in a community, a concern troll isn't going to be able to exert any influence over it.



jrjones9933
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15 Jul 2017, 2:13 pm

I learned about Zero Knowledge Proofs yesterday. It has me wondering about that kind of test being useful here.

I take it you mean Crazy SJW. Ideas not holding up under scrutiny typically denotes craziness of some sort.


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LoveNotHate
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15 Jul 2017, 2:28 pm

Sounds like a typical politician.

They pretend to have concern, and then actively work against you.



jrjones9933
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15 Jul 2017, 3:21 pm

Gerrymandering has pushed primary candidates further into agent provocateur territory, for sure.


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TheSpectrum
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16 Jul 2017, 5:46 am

There's a few ways to spot really. Checking their post history is always the first thing I recommend.
See how they got involved with the community prior to your interaction or discovery of the user. If they've never made substantial cases for the side they claim to support or when they do it seems deliberately shallow or potentially flawed (straw man political sock puppet) there's a very good chance this they are one of these trolls or were setting up their account to be one that won't get moderated or banned.

Another way is to challenge them in the present. Ask what they support on a number of social issues or whatever issues tend to relate what they are feigning concern about. If they deflect, dodge, manipulate your words, move the goal posts, or simply ignore you...chances are again they're not there with the best of intentions. 2 people that genuinely share the same goal -even if they take different paths to achieve it- will mutually agree on something or at least express that it is possible they will eventually.

Also look at their credentials. Do they have proof they aren't being an alt account or catfish? Have they got actual proof they are not a concern troll? Have they done positive things in the real world that cement their position?

To be honest concern trolls are usually very 2 dimensional and they can be spotted a mile off. It's a very common phenomena on Twitter, conservative sites and liberal media. I'm just giving you tips to find what is the equivalent of a very messed up narcissist or paid troll with too much time on their hands.


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smudge
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16 Jul 2017, 7:00 am

Or one could just switch the computer off and go, "Well f*ck this" and go and interact with people who don't have a chip the size of Jupiter on their shoulder.


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jrjones9933
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16 Jul 2017, 10:19 am

I noticed the phenomenon by seeing people trying to sound like the voice of reason while the plain text of their words promotes divisiveness.


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TheSpectrum
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16 Jul 2017, 6:20 pm

smudge wrote:
Or one could just switch the computer off and go, "Well f*ck this" and go and interact with people who don't have a chip the size of Jupiter on their shoulder.

Best advice anyone can follow about trolls is ignore and report the trolls. You're right, f*ck it! Much better things to waste time on. Better people to be talking to. But! People tend to shell out that advice from a high horse, yet never follow it themselves.They just can't help themselves! It's human nature. To the point that most people who tend to advise this end up feeding the trolls, or whoever they believe are the trolls.

jrjones9933 wrote:
I noticed the phenomenon by seeing people trying to sound like the voice of reason while the plain text of their words promotes divisiveness.

While the "plain text" you speak of refers to one of my earlier posts in a dispute we had, and is a potentially passive aggressive retort....yes, you're not far off the mark. The common goal of a concern troll is to divide and conquer. I can think of worse things but it's still a problem.

EDIT: Apologies to the 2 I quoted. It has been a long day.


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jrjones9933
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16 Jul 2017, 8:51 pm

No worries


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22 Jul 2017, 11:32 am

TheSpectrum wrote:
There's a few ways to spot really. Checking their post history is always the first thing I recommend.
See how they got involved with the community prior to your interaction or discovery of the user. If they've never made substantial cases for the side they claim to support or when they do it seems deliberately shallow or potentially flawed (straw man political sock puppet) there's a very good chance this they are one of these trolls or were setting up their account to be one that won't get moderated or banned.

Another way is to challenge them in the present. Ask what they support on a number of social issues or whatever issues tend to relate what they are feigning concern about. If they deflect, dodge, manipulate your words, move the goal posts, or simply ignore you...chances are again they're not there with the best of intentions. 2 people that genuinely share the same goal -even if they take different paths to achieve it- will mutually agree on something or at least express that it is possible they will eventually.

Also look at their credentials. Do they have proof they aren't being an alt account or catfish? Have they got actual proof they are not a concern troll? Have they done positive things in the real world that cement their position?

To be honest concern trolls are usually very 2 dimensional and they can be spotted a mile off. It's a very common phenomena on Twitter, conservative sites and liberal media. I'm just giving you tips to find what is the equivalent of a very messed up narcissist or paid troll with too much time on their hands.


A skilled and determined concern troll will start a whole new account using a different IP address. He'll write a detailed false narrative of his life and keep it in a file to to access and draw false life experiences from. He'll alter his posting characteristics, grammar, vocabulary, and syntax as well to mask his identity from any previous account. From that he'll built a new posting history to **prove** he's a good guy. From there he'll press on with the actual task of concern trolling with a supporting posting history.

Best advice is not to give trolls an audience unless, like me, you find them at least mildly amusing and enjoy playing in the mud with them out of boredom. If you tell trolls how they've denigrated you and bemoan about thier behavior ad nauseam you are only giving them what they came for: Your butthurt

Banning trolls? Give me a break. No diligent troll worth the planking of the bridge he lives under will be deterred by a mere AP address block when it's easy enough to get around them. He'll just re-spawn himself and hit from a different angle as previously described, and if you are a bleeder he'll make you bleed again.

I'd write more but I've got goat steaks on the grill that I need to turn.
:jester:


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Misslizard
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22 Jul 2017, 12:00 pm

/\If it gets too humid under your bridge try some Damprid.
Hope you used Rosemary on the chevon,it really brings out the flavor.Then a nice arugula salad paired with a cold lager to polish it all off with.


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Raptor
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22 Jul 2017, 12:09 pm

Plenty cool and dry, especially with the A/C on...

Image


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Misslizard
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22 Jul 2017, 12:16 pm

/\Nice troll hole. :lol: You could catch fish if the goats get too wary.


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