QUOTE(Peter Damian @ Thu 24th January 2008, 8:43am)
QUOTE(Achromatic @ Wed 23rd January 2008, 10:10pm)
Heading for? Economics Guy is already angling in this direction for the entire thread:
And why has he posted a 'trolling' notice at the top of Wales' talk page? He seems concerned that this is unrelated to Wikipedia. But this Wales' talk page, and Wales is not just Wikipedia. And why is complaining about this disturbing imagery called 'trolling'?
I have never been sure of the meaning of 'Trolling' but doesn't it have connotations of bad faith? I am a concerned parent and fully condone those who have been upset by this, and have commented on Wales' page likewise. Why are they, and by implication me and my family, being called 'trolls', i.e. deceivers and liars? Very angry, once again.
[edit] oh I see the trolling template has just been removed. Well done that person.
The word Troll has a long history in UseNet, as I am sure you are well aware, there it simply means someone deliberately making provocative statements to provoke a response.
However, in WikiLand, it has taken on a more sinister overtone. To be labelled a troll seems to mean that:
* You have an agenda to destroy Wikipedia
* Whatever you say is a lie, regardless of what you said
* You are irredeemable
* Any apparently reasonable action you take is a smoke screen to allow for vandalism in the future.
* You will take every opportunity to stalk an editor in real life
* In real life you are an axe-wielding
child molester* murderer
The implication is that you are therefore fair game for vilification and banning.
You get labelled a troll by using a user's talk page. (I was going to say "make critical statements" but in the paranoid world of WP, conciliatory gestures are always misconstrued). Anyone who attempts to use reasoned discussion to resolve issues, rather than jumping to the obvious conclusion that you are a troll, is therefore a troll-enabler. A troll-enabler is slightly worse than a troll.
See MONGO for the most obvious exponent of the Troll-Manoeuvre. He even documents some of his logic here
User:MONGO/Comments* Not necessarily an issue for all Wikipedians