Trolling by non-Apple users

[James_C]

I believe its important to have good quality debates on Macrumors, Apple is not prefect and everyone is entitled to have an opinion. These forums would get boring very quickly if all everyone did was write gushing praise about everything that Apple does.

That having being said it is clear there are a minority of users, who do almost nothing else but delberately write inflammatory posts. I overreacted to one thread recently and made a comment that was picked up by the moderators. Looking back I agree that what I posted was not appropriate, even though I still believe in what I said. It looks like my post has been removed now, not that I have a problem with that. Looking back at that OP's post history it's clear that the vast majority of his/her posts are very Apple negative.

I think in future I will avoid overreacting to what I feel are trolling posts and report to the moderators instead. Hopefully the Mods will take action and these way we can remove the worst offenders from Macrumors.

 

[Arran]

Put uncivil members on ignore and continue the conversation. In a real life group discussion, that would be the equivalent of dissolving the group and re-convening somewhere else. Happens all the time.

Maybe the loudmouths will get tired of being shunned and figure out how to have grown-up conversations? Who knows? It's up to them. I'm not degrading my behavior - and wasting my time - just so they can 'play'.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hopefully the Mods will take action and these way we can remove the worst offenders from Macrumors

I've mentioned it earlier in the thread, but please keep hammering on that report button to bring attention to posts you think violate the rules.

I think sometimes people assume moderators have noticed a problematic post, when in all likelihood, we have not.

 

[Feenician]

Put uncivil members on ignore and continue the conversation. In a real life group discussion, that would be the equivalent of dissolving the group and re-convening somewhere else. Happens all the time.

Maybe the loudmouths will get tired of being shunned and figure out how to have grown-up conversations? Who knows? It's up to them. I'm not degrading my behavior - and wasting my time - just so they can 'play'.

Used sparingly and judiciously (i.e. not just self censoring anything or anyone you may disagree with - it’s important to hear other viewpoints still) I’ve found it a bit more serene. Occasionally I hit the “view ignored content” link, either out of curiousity or out of a need to see the context of a reply to ignored posts/posters, and on not one single occasion have I found that I’ve been ignoring anything of worth to me.

 

[I7guy]

Used sparingly and judiciously (i.e. not just self censoring anything or anyone you may disagree with - it’s important to hear other viewpoints still) I’ve found it a bit more serene. Occasionally I hit the “view ignored content” link, either out of curiousity or out of a need to see the context of a reply to ignored posts/posters, and on not one single occasion have I found that I’ve been ignoring anything of worth to me.

Not everybody wants civil discourse, of course there are those where the discourse, even though on opposite sides, is extremely polite. There are those who want to throw out barbs or trolling like remarks just because. Like "tim cook sucks", "the fruit company". Or bordering on insults like "your reading comprehension", "your lack of understanding".

I do not think owning an iphone is a pre-req for a negative opinion, but stop with the trolling or pseudo-trolling.

I don't put anybody on ignore, because my thinking, is I'm responding to the internet, not one person.

 

[Feenician]

I don't put anybody on ignore, because my thinking, is I'm responding to the internet, not one person.

There’s definitely merit to that. Breaking the point (such as it is) rather than the poster. More power to you for having the patience but I just find it aggravating.

To be clear I’m just talking about blocking the kind of poster who is just “one note”. Who isn’t there for discussion or debate, but is just there to unerringly hammer on the same thing over and over. I’m sure you can think of a dozen of them off the top of your head. There’s no way I’m going to be informed, entertained or enlightened by them, only annoyed, so on the ignore list they go!

 

[CPTmom2wp]

I am pretty much a free speech absolutist and find free expression, no matter how offensive, to be preferable to censorship. The annoying thing about the trolls, however, is that they waste precious time and space with meaningless name calling and insults that do not express an opinion on the topic at hand. I really enjoy some of the humorous, sarcastic comments to the trolls as well, so would hate to see those moderated out. In other words, the moderators are doing a difficult job keeping this forum a place where we can agree, disagree, rant, laugh or share information without being disagreeable.

 

[throAU]

Put uncivil members on ignore and continue the conversation. In a real life group discussion, that would be the equivalent of dissolving the group and re-convening somewhere else. Happens all the time.

Maybe the loudmouths will get tired of being shunned and figure out how to have grown-up conversations? Who knows? It's up to them. I'm not degrading my behavior - and wasting my time - just so they can 'play'.

Best advice. If you don't like a poster, put them on ignore and move on.

Simple. There's no need for more moderation or censorship of posts you don't like. You can filter them out yourself.

 

[cube]

If you ignore them they are free too roam spewing their propaganda and advertising.

But I guess people should also be paid to combat them.

 

[Skeptical.me]

I can't believe this thread is still going...

 

[maflynn]

If you ignore them they are free too roam spewing their propaganda and advertising.

By arguing with them, you only inflame the situation and cause more work for the moderation staff to clean up. If you see someone trolling its best to report the post and not engage them.

 

[decafjava]

By arguing with them, you only inflame the situation and cause more work for the moderation staff to clean up. If you see someone trolling its best to report the post and not engage them.

With all due respect to you and the other mods, it doesn't seem to do much good. There are maybe a handful (I mean literally 5 max but one in particular) posters who fit the profile who I have reported but nothing seems to get done.

 

[S.B.G]

With all due respect to you and the other mods, it doesn't seem to do much good. There are maybe a handful (I mean literally 5 max but one in particular) posters who fit the profile who I have reported but nothing seems to get done.

What I would do is send the admins a contact message and provide those 5 user names to them with a brief explanation about what each of them does and perhaps they can do a deeper dive into their behavior. Plus you'll have a back and forth dialog with them so you'll know what they are doing behind the scenes a little bit.

 

[decafjava]

What I would do is send the admins a contact message and provide those 5 user names to them with a brief explanation about what each of them does and perhaps they can do a deeper dive into their behavior. Plus you'll have a back and forth dialog with them so you'll know what they are doing behind the scenes a little bit.

Ok, that makes sense rather than just reporting posts. something I'll have to do at home on my own time (blush).

 

[S.B.G]

Ok, that makes sense rather than just reporting posts. something I'll have to do at home on my own time (blush).

Keep reporting the posts that you think are a violation, too. That helps add to the data they will look at with a contact message.

 

[throAU]

If you ignore them they are free too roam spewing their propaganda and advertising.

But I guess people should also be paid to combat them.

And how does that affect you? And who says it is "propaganda"? That's your opinion. Other opinions may differ.

Again. If a user irritates you for whatever reason, place on ignore and move on. If others feel the same way, they will do the same thing and the problem will fix itself without any need for moderation; you and others won't see the posts and get annoyed, and the troll (if that is indeed what they are) won't get any bites and give up and go fish somewhere else...

If a post violates rules, fair enough moderation is required. But if it is just an opinion YOU DON'T LIKE, then put on the big boy (or girl) pants and use the ignore button. That's what it's for.

Or, man up and prove them wrong. With facts that have actual backing. In a civil manner.

 

[Absrnd]

And how does that affect you? And who says it is "propaganda"? That's your opinion. Other opinions may differ.

Again. If a user irritates you for whatever reason, place on ignore and move on. If others feel the same way, they will do the same thing and the problem will fix itself without any need for moderation; you and others won't see the posts and get annoyed, and the troll (if that is indeed what they are) won't get any bites and give up and go fish somewhere else...

If a post violates rules, fair enough moderation is required. But if it is just an opinion YOU DON'T LIKE, then put on the big boy (or girl) pants and use the ignore button. That's what it's for.

Or, man up and prove them wrong. With facts that have actual backing. In a civil manner.

It is not as easy as that, a lot of the times the troll(s) will derail the whole thread, and it gets stuck in unending discussion about who is right or wrong.
and you can't have a normal conversation anymore.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

I can't believe this thread is still going...

Congratulations, you are now trolling. Clearly people have an issue here, so just because you don't share their views, it doesn't mean there isn't a problem.

 

[cube]

It is not as easy as that, a lot of the times the troll(s) will derail the whole thread, and it gets stuck in unending discussion about who is right or wrong.
and you can't have a normal conversation anymore.

Some are very aggressive and offensive too.

 

[Sackofnickels]

When you say someone is trolling what do you mean? Are we talking about people just arguing and instigating others to argue, or are we talking about people having other points of view about various products?

I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that many people use more than one type of device or platform. Some are not opposed to trying a different OS or brand.

For me personally I am an all Apple household, except I do use a Garmin watch, an ASUS router, and a Sonos speaker that I prefer over Apple's offerings. Does that disqualify me from posting here? I am curious about Android, ask a lot of questions, and sometimes play devils advocate and have defended the other brands I use. For example the thread the OP cited at the beginning of this thread didn't seem all that bad to me. I felt many posters asked valid questions about the reasons for switching. Asking the OP whether they tried a newer version of a particular phone is a valid question.

I am guilty of complaining about PRSI being full of posters that never visit any other topics. They come to a Mac based site but never post anything about Macs. I bet some don't even own any Apple products. All they do is post to PRSI, that's it. I guess this site has a little something for everyone and we need to share.

I wonder if the intent here to keep the comments limited to only people who enjoy and use Apple products? Is this an attempt to take other brands and OS's out of the conversation because this is an Apple based website? Or more to the point, are we suggesting other points of view be reported and censored because you don't like what they are saying about your Apple products?

 

[Sciomar]

And how does that affect you? And who says it is "propaganda"? That's your opinion. Other opinions may differ.

Again. If a user irritates you for whatever reason, place on ignore and move on. If others feel the same way, they will do the same thing and the problem will fix itself without any need for moderation; you and others won't see the posts and get annoyed, and the troll (if that is indeed what they are) won't get any bites and give up and go fish somewhere else...

If a post violates rules, fair enough moderation is required. But if it is just an opinion YOU DON'T LIKE, then put on the big boy (or girl) pants and use the ignore button. That's what it's for.

Or, man up and prove them wrong. With facts that have actual backing. In a civil manner.

Ignoring isn't enough for some here, some posters want to act just like the trolls they're against. They are probably heavily medicated for social anxiety. It's so easy to ignore individual posters, just scroll down. Moderators should be there to stop the spam posts/accounts and hate speech, not curb childish bickering because it doesn't support your narrative. I too don't understand why non-Apple users come to this site and spend so much time posting useless comments but it's a free world (isn't it?) and sometimes they do bring about additional points to debate.

 

[cube]

Ignoring would be a solution just for you, not for other users who fall for internet propaganda.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

When you say someone is trolling what do you mean? Are we talking about people just arguing and instigating others to argue, or are we talking about people having other points of view about various products?

I think a lot of the confusion stems from the fact that many people use more than one type of device or platform. Some are not opposed to trying a different OS or brand.

For me personally I am an all Apple household, except I do use a Garmin watch, an ASUS router, and a Sonos speaker that I prefer over Apple's offerings. Does that disqualify me from posting here? I am curious about Android, ask a lot of questions, and sometimes play devils advocate and have defended the other brands I use. For example the thread the OP cited at the beginning of this thread didn't seem all that bad to me. I felt many posters asked valid questions about the reasons for switching. Asking the OP whether they tried a newer version of a particular phone is a valid question.

I am guilty of complaining about PRSI being full of posters that never visit any other topics. They come to a Mac based site but never post anything about Macs. I bet some don't even own any Apple products. All they do is post to PRSI, that's it. I guess this site has a little something for everyone and we need to share.

I wonder if the intent here to keep the comments limited to only people who enjoy and use Apple products? Is this an attempt to take other brands and OS's out of the conversation because this is an Apple based website? Or more to the point, are we suggesting other points of view be reported and censored because you don't like what they are saying about your Apple products?

No, we are not talking about putting forward other points of view (or rather, that should not be cause for a verbal declaration of hostilities).

Rather, trolling is deliberately baiting others, seeking to annoy, insult, inflame, infuriate, needle, and yes, offend.

Stating that one prefers - or does not dislike - Android, (and sometimes offering reasons in support of your statement), is not trolling, and neither is arguing that Apple may have lost its sense of design, and its vision along with its soul as it has increased market share and shareholder profit.

However, to write that someone is clearly a complete idiot because they prefer Android to Apple (or vice versa) to my mind, is trolling.

Personally, I think some of the sting - or effectiveness of the insult - derives from the fact that, nowadays, many people (especially youngsters) seem to derive some of their sense of identity from the brand of the devices they use, and invest emotionally in these brands and devices as a consequence, and therefore, any attack on the brand is viewed as an assault on their sense of self and sense of identity.

 

[cube]

It is also very bad when a troll presents itself as a professional purveyor of truth and try to discredit others.

 

[Sackofnickels]

No, we are not talking about putting forward other points of view (or rather, that should not be cause for a verbal declaration of hostilities).

Rather, trolling is deliberately baiting others, seeking to annoy, insult, inflame, infuriate, and yes, offend.

Stating that one prefers - or does not dislike - Android, (and sometimes offering reasons in support of your statement), is not trolling, and neither is arguing that Apple may have lost its sense of design, and its vision along with its soul as it has increased market share and shareholder profit.

However, to write that someone is clearly a complete idiot because they prefer Android, to Apple (or vice versa) to my mind, is trolling.

Personally, I think some of the sting - or effectiveness of the insult - derives from the fact that, nowadays, many people (especially youngsters) seem to derive some of their sense of identity from the band of the devices they use, and invest emotionally in these bands and devices as a consequence, and therefore, any attack on the brand is viewed as an assault on their sense of self and sense of identity.

Well said. I agree.