Trolling
"Trolling is trying to get a rise out of someone. Forcing them to respond to you, either through wise-crackery, posting incorrect information, asking blatantly stupid questions, or other foolishness. However, trolling statements are never true or are ever meant to be construed as such. Nearly all trolled statements are meant to be funny to some people, so it does have some social/entertainment value.
"Trolling" isn't simply "harmful statements". Intentionally insulting/libelous statements are "flaming".
Just as bad as trolling is "Feeding the Trolls". This is when people say stuff that they know will prompt someone to respond with a trolled reply and/or replying to comments that are blatantly from a troll. This is especially true when a troll first makes his comment/reply, and (usually many) people respond, either trying to correct the troll, or express anger at the statement. At that point, the trolling was successful and has been fed. When encouraged by success and feeding, trolls often return."
~Urban Dictionary definition.
Dont's
-When a known troll logs onto chat, act as if they are a regular member. Greet them, be polite. By simply going *sigh* or saying sarcastic things like "oh joy!" will only give the troll something to feed off of. If you simply don't say hello, they can always start off with "what, no hello?" and then some ungrateful things. Although you know you will probably be chatting with a troller who will probably say some hurtful things, you don't want to state the obvious. You never know, they might just want an actual chat.
-Like in the definition above, feeding trolls is a major don't. Basically, by feeding a troller, you aren't hurting their feelings. No matter what you may say, it will mostly not sink into the troll. By calling them whatever names, saying whatever to them, you're making the problem worse. If you are insulted or some insulting things have been said, never retaliate. Though it usually works not online, by saying this to a troll, it makes them happier and gives them a reason to troll.
-Never be a hypocrite. If you are telling a troll to be nice, and be mean to someone else, this is one more reason for them to yell and scream. Even if you're just joking around, the troll can say things like "I can't be so sure". It can be anything. Cursing, yelling, spamming, all that junk. If you want to do that, don't do it when the troll is around.
-Though it may seem strange, try not to enforce rules around a troll. You're not helping the situation when doing it. I mean, if you're yelling at a troll for some reason and that's not sinking into them, enforcing stuff won't really help.
-If you tell the troll that you are reporting them or going to do anything to them, they will like it. They will feel accomplished. A troll's main goal is to annoy others, so if you tell them that they're in trouble, how do you think they'll feel? Reporting/banning a troll is okay, just don't tell the troll. Warnings are okay, because if the troll ignores it, you have a reason to ban them, but if you do warn them, keep it simple like, "This is your warning." If you say "This if your warning or you'll be banned," the troller is more likely to ignore it then a little, "Hey, can you please stop? Thanks."
Do's
-Do be polite once they enter the chat! Once they get into 'troll-mode', you don't have to keep being polite. Instead, you can just agree with them or something, and secretly be reporting them.
-Main thing is to ignore the troller. Since they feed off of your anger, by ignoring them, you're not giving them anything to feed off of. If things get out of hand, remember, you can either secretly report/ban. When a troll gets offensive and you get hurt, do not show it. Though it may be hard, ignoring is the answer.
-Once you say something, it is practically carved into the troll's mind. Try not to say things you regret, or anything you'll do (while they are there).
-Like mentioned, just tell an admin if the break rules!
Why I Made This
Not naming names, but we have had some trollers, and not a lot of people were handling the situation well, so, ya. [:
Remember, I'm watching you.
Subject: Trolls/Trollers 
Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:03 am
