But honestly, the forums seemed to have really gone downhill this year for some reason.

I'm not sure how it was before last year, but last year it was fine. There were a few "trolls" but they still posted in a somewhat intelligent way to promote discussion even if their opinion was controversial (e.g., FireDragoonX, Souldier).

This year, it seems like there's just an influx of people going nuts on the forums and with a higher degree of moderation (I've rarely ever seen deleted posts before 2 months ago) it seems like every two topics, half the posts get deleted.

That's not to say it's only first years, if anything it's second years as well who are starting to become more annoying on the boards but they've started this school year for whatever reason.

Communities die when the *******s leave. Jerks are so much fun!

I think souldier would make a good moderator lol. He is blunt and keep them ppl straight lol on the threads. But it will decrease the macinsiders poplulation to half lol many would run away.

Originally Posted by Entropy

I dunno about that.

Every forum needs a troll once it gets big enough. With the recent surge in numbers on MI over the past year or so, it's finally our turn.

I don't mind a mild amount of trolling, as without it, the site would only consist of random first-years asking questions about where their class is, how to get to Jackson Square, or random stuff about their program. All questions that could and (and are) easily answered by posting one sentence, providing a link, or directing someone to student services. Topics like "Would You Rather", "why am I more handsome than you", "are there any good-looking (male/female) profs at mac" are kind of weird and/or stupid, but at least they promote some sort of discussion. Or lighthearted flaming. This is okay though, because we know that the trolls are never actually offended.

So as much as I hate to admit it (and trolls, please don't take this the wrong way), we do sort of need them to keep our forums alive. Since they appeared, users have been able to respond to them in their own unique way and established their personalities. At the Social, I didn't know who any of the new posters were because almost no one stood out. Now, I can associate a username with a distinct posting style and be like, "Hey, you're that guy (or girl! Just for you, crazyfree) who ___".

I think a brief suspension (which is what the mods have been doing) is good enough for when things get a little too intense, but insta-banning all trolls would make MI a very dull place.

This man speaks the truth.

I miss the days when our trolls were trolls....when they had style and could single-handedly dismantle a thread...

FireDrag, we hardly knew ye.

As you know Macinsiders is being bombarded (bombardment, bombardment) with stupid posts. Therefore, I've come up with a how to be a good troll list. It contains all the facts you need to know for a job well done without being irritating and lame!

Qualifications follow:
1) Able to cause emotional abuse to the participants of an online forum.
2) Contribute nothing of value to the discussion forum
3) As a good troll, your goal is to abuse the members psychologically and provoke negative reactions out of them. Go big or don't go in at all. Have fun with it, when someone counter-attacks, get playful with them--nothing pisses off someone in a rage than when you joke around with them.
4) Argue repeatedly, using irrelevant facts, so that you disrupt the flow of the thread.
5) Expose the stupidity of new, unsuspecting members by trying to engage them in an argument when it is very well-known that you yourself do not believe your position.
6) View your troll activity as a form of art. Add sophistication and complexity as you progress.
7) But make sure Keep it fun and no threats/attacks

Desclamair: Troll at your own risk, we are not responsible if you get pwned

edit: agree with this definition for the most part ^ xD

I'm really bemused and irked by the standards of what's defined as "trolling" on macinsiders, as opposed to GaiaOnline, where I've been a member for like.. 6 years. Idk, I think there's a lot of misconception on the word "troll" here, if you spend more time on forums other than Macinsiders you'll see a much clearer definition.

I agree with Alchemist, topics that don't have anything to do with student life and mcmaster, like "would you rather" etc. at least keep the forum alive. We don't need to be talking about serious things all the time; after all, we're not all robots who have no life outside of school :\ Why not initiate some interesting, even if they're weird, conversations?

On other forums, or at least Gaia, posts like "why am I so handsome" would be taken with a grain of salt; maybe with some commentary just to humour the poster, but they wouldn't be considered trolling unless they were in the wrong forum.

Originally Posted by Entropy

Now, I can associate a username with a distinct posting style and be like, "Hey, you're that guy (or girl! Just for you, crazyfree) who ___".

^_^ This made me happy.


Also, I agree. The forum has been super entertaining lately, and I've found myself posting way more. To the point where for the first time since joining I'm actually considering going to a meet-up. I honestly think the trolls are funny. Does it go to far sometimes? Maybe. But I think most of us are adults who can handle it. If the troll really bugs you, just remember...they're doing it to get a reaction. It's funny to them.
Related: can anyone see new posts in the sex/love debate thread yet?

Originally Posted by Alchemist11

This year, it seems like there's just an influx of people going nuts on the forums and with a higher degree of moderation (I've rarely ever seen deleted posts before 2 months ago) it seems like every two topics, half the posts get deleted.

We actually had major issue with a troll about 8 months ago (maybe a year?), that resulted in them being permanently banned, and that included banning IP addresses and the like. Since then we have instituted some temporary bans, and have explained things via PM to re-offenders so we don't have to take such drastic measures again.

Moderators will also deem some things more offensive than others based on life experiences, miscellaneous job training etc.

For example, if I see anyone say "that's gay" I delete it, because that's derogatory slang and not conducive to our Code of Conduct (replace gay with a term for any other marginalized group and you'll see what I mean). When you've been told by gay friends over the years how much they hate that term, you tend to act on it as well. I also have a strong foundation in race studies, so I'm more apt to take down comments that can be easily misconstrued in regards to race/culture as well.

Also, even if certain comments aren't necessarily offensive on their own, if they are in response to or quote something that was, we take it down as well, which is sometimes why you'll see a chain of deleted posts.

This is seriously stupid, this thread http://www.macinsiders.com/showthrea...ove-34309.html could lead to a lot of interesting debate and discussion, but it's effectively unusable thanks to moderators deleting dozens of posts in the thread. I brought up this issue weeks ago, and it's about time it's addressed.

Seriously. I'm actually getting interested in the debate in a real way and I can't see recent posts.

Originally Posted by crazyfree

^_^ This made me happy.


Also, I agree. The forum has been super entertaining lately, and I've found myself posting way more. To the point where for the first time since joining I'm actually considering going to a meet-up. I honestly think the trolls are funny. Does it go to far sometimes? Maybe. But I think most of us are adults who can handle it. If the troll really bugs you, just remember...they're doing it to get a reaction. It's funny to them.
Related: can anyone see new posts in the sex/love debate thread yet?

don't expect to see the trolls at the MI meet-up.

Oh no worries lol. I'm more interested in the other ppl I've come to find interesting via the troll inspired discussions. Trolls would be mighty foo if they showed their faces

Originally Posted by lorend

We actually had major issue with a troll about 8 months ago (maybe a year?)

If we are talking about the same person, he seeemed to staunchly and naturally believe in what he was advocating for mostly? *AM*?

But these days when I browse the forums I am not really sure if the people are serious or just intentionally posting a certain way or content to tick people off. In the latter case that would be a successful "troll"?

I live under a bridge IRL