Calling Troll On New Posters

[anthony]

because 'a stressor' (adjustment disorder) could be a stressor that matches criterion A (PTSD).

Absolutely... now I got your drift with what you outlined. I think adjustment disorder is under utilised in mental health... physicians jump to anxiety, depression and such, when AD outlines similar PTSD patterns, just not the severity, and covers adequately relationship breakdowns, cheating spouses, and the long list of traumatic life events possible not befitting PTSD.

I wish they would use it more...

 

[StellaBlue]

My preference (this is not a request to change site/moderation policy) is that when someone uses the term PTSD inaccurately, members consider the upsetting impact of 'de-labeling' someone and avoid giving undue emphasis to the inaccurate terminology.

My experience on this forum (and granted, I've only been here a year), is that people aren't 'de-labeled' or directly questioned about Criterion A unless they directly state something like "I have PTSD from breaking up with my boyfriend" or "I have PTSD from a bad acid trip" and then go on to argue with anyone who disagrees. I don't think I've ever disclosed on this forum the details of my trauma(s) and I've never been questioned about either details or even whether or not they qualify under Criterion A. But again, I'm not going to come on here and play "my trauma is soooo bad" games - I come here to know that I am not alone and to seek (and hopefully provide) some insight and advice.

I think another category of folks that get labeled as "trolls" are those that come on asking for advice and then shoot down everything offered - either they've tried it or they know it won't work or their situation is so unique (special snowflake syndrome) that no one could even begin to understand. I'm not sure these folks are necessarily trolls - I think they're either looking for sympathy rather than empathy or they don't have effective interpersonal skills to ask for what they want.

And then there are the folks who may or may not have PTSD but also have other mental health issues that inhibits their ability to connect well with others on the forum.

I think the number of actual 'trolls' (folks without PTSD who are intentionally baiting others for their own jollies) is probably pretty rare - then again, I tend to be a little naïve at times.

 

[anthony]

then again, I tend to be a little naïve at times

Aren't we all? :facepalm:

 

[StellaBlue]

Aren't we all? :facepalm:

Of the many terms I could find to describe you, I don't think naïve is one of them :)

 

[ihateusernames]

While I'm hoping you don't mean my posts

I don't remember now whether you were part of that specific line of discussion. My mind is not associating your posts with it. My understanding, while being lazy and not going back to actually read them, is that it was a hypothetical discussion for changing the site to avoid trolling and disruptive new members. I personally don't believe there is a solution or that anything needs to be changed. Short of requiring a referral from a doctor there's no way to keep just anybody from coming. I understand what you're saying and I remember your response to my own introductory post. It was very supportive and not accusatory or doubtful at all. I can tell from that what you're getting at.

If its any help to you @BlueOrange I also get that threatening vibe too. Difficult. I find when people get emotional and worked up or that they think their opinion is absolutely correct I start to feel threatened

I guess I do feel it is like you don't belong if you don't agree and fit the category. But then I have problems with feeling that I belong anywhere, so as soon as people start talking like that I think it applies to me.

I have a tendency to feel the same way. I feel like everything is an argument and arguments, conflict period, makes me feel threatened. You guys are not the only ones. I also feel like everything is a direct attack against me. It's frustrating. I used to act on that feeling. Either by hiding or getting really defensive. Maybe that's the same thing some of the more inflammatory new folks are doing. Now I'm fairly decent at stepping back and changing my approach and my assumptions and trying to see what was actually meant. Fairly decent, anyway. It doesn't always happen...

this reads as every other political discussion of people with differing point of view

You're right, except for the curious lack of name calling and conspiracy theories. Where are those??

 

[ms spock]

I think the number of actual 'trolls' (folks without PTSD who are intentionally baiting others for their own jollies) is probably pretty rare

Oh there are groups of people and individuals that do this - on one forum I was on people would report back forums that they got closed down, were banned from, had heated debates in, managed to inflame most of the site. (They were regularly banned from that forum and were, in the end, the reason for the demise of that forum - still a great loss in my mind.) Those type of people get shut down pretty quickly here - the challenge for those type of people on a forum like this would be to see how long they could do low level inflaming before they got chucked out. It is a hobby for them. They would regularly boast about how they set moderators on one forum against another moderator on the same forum. They are really pretty sad individuals. I didn't realise for a long time how damaging that those people are for a forum. I thought because we knew what they did it would not effect us, and I was very wrong about that.

Then there are other individuals, for whatever reason like to go between forums and see what mischief they can inflame - and they will sit around for awhile before they go for the jugular and then they get away with a lot more because by then they have become regulars, and I don't know how you deal with those types of people. It is beyond me.

Then there are people who have emotional issues and wherever they go they fight with people - I don't know how conscious they are of these things - it would be hard to judge but you won't get through to them. They just move on. And they have patterns of behaviours that experienced moderators can spot pretty quickly from what I have heard. (My partner is a long term moderator who has to ban people regularly on a large Australian forum.)

Then there are people that have their own flame lists where everyone flames everyone else and occasionally they go to another forum, the subject of forum is not important, and cause havoc there. So that is like a co ordinated attack on a forum just to see what happens - I guess like someone poking a hive of bees with a stick.

Being a troll is a thing for some people, a hobby for other people and an identity to be proud of for some people. There are troll communities out there.

So they are out there and you can't take them personally but it is important to get them off your site ASAP.

 

[ms spock]

I think though that this thread shows that you can have all types of opinions and ideas and expressing them won't get you banned, and that is why such a site as this is so good.

 

[StellaBlue]

Oh there are groups of people and individuals that do this

I really am naive...I had no idea. Wow.

 

[Kintsugi]

Oh there are groups of people and individuals that do this - on one forum I was on people would report back forums that they got closed down, were banned from, had heated debates in, managed to inflame most of the site. (They were regularly banned from that forum and were, in the end, the reason for the demise of that forum - still a great loss in my mind.) Those type of people get shut down pretty quickly here - the challenge for those type of people on a forum like this would be to see how long they could do low level inflaming before they got chucked out. It is a hobby for them. They would regularly boast about how they set moderators on one forum against another moderator on the same forum. They are really pretty sad individuals.

Wow, Spock, you used to use /b/?! :hilarious:

No, but I'm all seriousness, this is totally a thing. The Internet is a vast playground. We're lucky to be so well moderated. So well moderated, in fact, it sometimes feels like we are not part of the Internet... And then the trolls come, and you remember you really do live in the Matrix. :P

I think this is a valuable discussion, and it is particularly interesting to hear perspectives from new members. I feel like I've been here long enough to be a little more jaded about this stuff than I necessarily need to be, and new members remind me that I was new here once, too. At the same time, having been here a few years, I relax about contention more easily, because the community has never gone to shit, despite the best efforts of those who would like to cause chaos, and that is pretty amazing.

Should we be more compassionate/understanding/helpful/make a greater effort? Hmm... To me, members are usually all of those things with new members, and I find at a certain point, assimilating into the supportive yet direct (and yet extremely diverse) culture here can be a major stepping stone for new members (and this was SO me) to take greater agency in their own journey to heal.

 

[ihateusernames]

Unfortunately everything she's said is true.

the challenge for those type of people on a forum like this would be to see how long they could do low level inflaming before they got chucked out. It is a hobby for them. They would regularly boast about how they set moderators on one forum against another moderator on the same forum.

If you want a good example of this- hang around "mommy boards." Happens all the time. Then they create new profiles and start all over or they'll do this for a while until they can't contain themselves and then jump out saying "I was so-and-so, and I'm baaack suckers!!".

 

[Weemie]

i think there's a difference between someone who is deliberately trolling vs. someone who has anger issues and difficulty communicating.

haven't got much of a leg to stand in in terms of this community since i'm new but trolls are the same everywhere tbh. either way if it's repeated destructive behaviour it has to be curbed. i got no issues with this.

i can be a loose cannon too and having a forum like this full of ptsd and mentally ill people is bound to cause some drama and friction; we're sometimes all adrenaline and reaction, no thought. at least i know i am. but there has to be a limit, for stability.

 

[The Albatross]

Trolls, mobys and sock puppets... yeah they're out there and likely have been some here but sticking to moderated sites helps a lot... there are some safeguards.

Frankly, the burden of communication on the forum and in "real life" is always mine. Like lightraze says... I can be reactive and at times unable to stop the reactivity to a topic or a personality. When I can do this on a mental health forum (unconditional compassion and empathy) I'll consider myself "graduated". How well or how poorly I do this is my personal responsibility. I do not expect or want to treated with kid gloves. It is not the way the world works. It is not someone else's responsibility to intuit my needs or mode of communication... it is my own personal responsibility to learn how to express myself and respond in a manner consistent with my character (or lack at times there of).