Profile: VPellen
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• • Legitimate concern doesn't equate to trolling.

  • Disclaimer: I am just a forum monkey. I am one of several moderators on the forums, but beyond that, I have no authority at MMORPG.com. I did not write the ROC, I merely uphold it to the best of my abilities. Be warned: In the following post, I speak as an individual, and NOT as a representitive of MMORPG.com or any of the people who work here. I am posting in this thread in the hopes of clearing up some confusion about the "trolling" rule.

    Now that that's settled.. the ROC defines trolling as:

    
    

    Posting excessive negative comments or baiting others to respond in a negative manner is considered trolling on the MMORPG.com forums.

    "Excessive negative comments" is further given the example:

    If there is one game that you did not enjoy, voicing your opinion is encouraged. Posting this opinion in every thread concerning that game to the point that it disrupts all other conversation is not tolerated.

    In the time I have moderated here (about 7 months give or take?) I can count on one hand the number of times I have had to perform moderation for "excessive negative comments". I believe one of those occasions was when a person created an account and made about 12 different threads in the space of an hour stating how much various games sucked, with little or no explanation as to why. In my personal experience, most moderation for trolling falls under the secondary definition: Baiting others to respond in a negative manner.

    The key factor here is intent. Let's go into some examples.

    Let's say there's a game called Stabgrindan Online. So we're on the Stabgrindan Online forums, and there's a thread named "What do you think of Stabgrindan Online?". Now I, given that I'm an opinionated fellow, decide to tell the forum goers that personally I don't care much for Stabgrindan Online because I find the task of killing wolves at a rate of 500 Paws Per Hour (or 2.08 wolves per minute) to be dull and repetitive. This is not trolling. This is stating my opinion.

    Now let's say instead of that thread, there's another thread titled "What level is your Clawslasher?". Suppose I go into THIS thread, and I start going off on a rant about how Stabgrindan Online sucks because they've been buffing Necroblasters when they should have been implementing Holyzerkers instead, because damn it, they promised those back in beta. This is STILL not trolling; It's actually topic hijacking.

    Okay, now a different thread. "Where can I level my Arrowslinger?" is the title of this one. People come in and start posting about leveling spots. One guy recommends leveling on Dugion Orks, whilst another person says that until level 47 you're probably fine sticking with Elite Kangawarriors. Now suppose I come in and say that Kangawarriors are a stupid leveling spot and that the guy who just recommended them is a moron who deserves to be jammed ass-first onto a fencepost. This is STILL not trolling, but is rather flaming.

    The most obvious cases of trolling I've seen tend to resemble pre-emptive flames. For example, if you were to take the sentence "Only mental rejects enjoy collecting frazzlebok legs.", then that'd constitute trolling. If somebody states a dislike of something, that's not necessarily trolling. If somebody disagrees with a person, that's not necessarily trolling either. Expression of negative opinion in and of itself is not trolling. It's less about what you say, and more about how you say it. Each case is different.

    The key trait of a troll is the intention to get a rise out of people. There is no easy way to signify intent. It depends on the poster. Sometimes it's blatantly obvious, but a lot of the time, it isn't. When it doubt, I advise you to simply report a post and let myself or one of the other moderators handle it, and if you must respond to it, keep your comments on the matter at hand, not on the people discussing it.

     

    Finally, since it's partially on topic, something to remember: Calling somebody a troll qualifies as a personal attack. It's a direct attack on the mentality and intent of a poster, and it serves no purpose beyond derailing a topic. In addition, a personal attack is still a personal attack regardless of if it is true or not. If I go and call somebody an idiot, it doesn't matter if he's an idiot or not, I'm still attacking him. If you're going to have a discussion, keep your points on the topic. And remember: there's no such thing as a "stupid opinion". Opinions don't think. Only people do.

    Have a good one, guys.

  • Posted: 7/09/08 1:43 AM
    Darkfall
• • So I did some investigating....

  • Flaming and Personal Attacks:
    

    MMORPG.com does not tolerate personal attacks on other posters. Please keep your arguments and posts on topic, and argue the ideas and topics of the thread instead of insulting other users.

  • Posted: 7/03/08 9:25 AM
    Darkfall
• • should of done it like this

  • Behave, please.

    If you don't like the topic of discussion here for whatever reason, then feel free to not post in the topic, but the rules of flaming and topic hijacking still apply. Keep the discussion on topic, and keep the discussions as discussions, not mudslinging sessions. I really don't like locking threads, but I will if I have to.

    Gunhamster can stay because he's adorable.

    Proceed.

  • Posted: 6/30/08 5:28 AM
    WAR (Warhammer Online)
• • Could someone help me find my balls , I just laughed them off!

  • Either discuss things civilly, or don't discuss them at all. Retaliation is just as much a violation of the rules as flaming is, and all it serves to do is derail topics. I can't remember where this thread started, but this is where it's ending.

    Thread locked down.

    In return, have some CDI Zelda.

  • Posted: 6/24/08 2:36 AM
    Star Wars Galaxies
• • scam or real?

  • It's a trap!

    I advise anybody who gave that link a click to change their passwords immediately. It's a phishing site.

  • Posted: 6/06/08 11:10 PM
    World of Warcraft