- Joined
- Sep 9, 2004
- Posts
- 30,159
- Reaction score
- 32
- Location
- Where No Birds Fly
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- Adelaide/Sturt/Wingfield
- Banned
- #1
Love it
OF all the denizens of the mystical realms beyond our physical existence, it has always been the trolls that seem to have copped the bad press.
It's about time someone spoke up on their behalf, or maybe even formed a Troll Pride action group.
Although trolldom has generally been subjected to all sorts of abuse, repression and attacks, yours truly has always had a bit of a soft spot for trolls. Perhaps it's the Scandinavian heritage. When (Not) Defrag was growing up, trolls were something I associated with relatives in the far, cold north.
Christmas or birthday presents from relatives in the land of Ikea and Abba often consisted of little troll dolls and figurines, or posters of creatures so ugly you couldn't help but love them.
In those posters, they were always prancing around pristine nordic lake scenery, picking flowers, collecting mushrooms or giving each other hugs.
It was probably when I read Lord of the Rings that I realised that trolls weren't widely considered just another class of wholesome Scandinavian, like Abba with an ugly makeover. To my shock and bewilderment, I discovered that Bilbo and friends (who weren't exactly creatures of stunning beauty themselves) considered trolls brutish, evil creatures that cared about nothing but the chance to crunch a hobbit's bones in their slavering jaws.
But I bore with it, knowing secretly in my heart that this was just hobbitist and elvist propaganda designed to ensure that trolls remained outcasts. That might have been that, had I not discovered later that these gentle folk were actively hunted, shunned and persecuted even in this day and age.
Indeed, they're not just persecuted. I'm talking full-fledged pogroms by otherwise fair-minded folk to find and eliminate all trollkind. The trolls' crime is that of spreading diversity and alternative viewpoints in online communities.
It all started when I first began observing, and then participating in, the diverse communities that have sprung around internet forums and discussion boards.
These might seem like oases of tolerance, where like-minded people can gather and share their passions and interests, meet new friends and form complex communities spanning continents, but in reality they are hotbeds of hatred against trolls. At first, it was the odd remark here and there. People posting comments, usually right after one contradicting or arguing with them, saying things like "get out of here, troll" or "we don't like trolls around there". Then there were graphics posted in the threads, advising forum members: "Do not feed the trolls".
Whole manifestos were published against trolls and circulated in cyberspace. Trolls were troublemakers, these diatribes said, and out to do nothing but spread disruption, cause fights, set forum members against each other, and destroy virtual society as we know it.
But stand back, netizens, and consider just what these so-called trolls have done. Just how heinous are their crimes?
Sure, it might appear they are just sowing dissent for the sake of it, but what board couldn't do with a shake-up now and then? Okay, most of us latch on to boards because we're looking for like-minded people who share our interests and agree with our views.
Just how healthy is that? What is the use of a discussion forum where everyone agrees and where the odd original post is followed by replies all along the lines of "I agree" or a smiley emoticon.
Trolls serve a useful purpose because they challenge the board members' minds. Just what is wrong with logging on to a Star Trek board and telling everyone they're mistaken and the world of Star Trek is indeed a giant crock of extraterrestrial manure?
Then there's the sheer entertainment value a troll can bring to a board. Polite discourses with your online pals are all very well, but too often they degenerate to the point where they make an afternoon sewing bee look lively and raucous.
Trolls add spark to bring such boards alive. By igniting flame wars, initiating offensive threads and starting heated debates, they are doing nothing more than bringing some thrill and excitement to otherwise dull internet backwaters. After all, what would you rather read? A 10-page thread on why the latest Big Brother inmate is a cool guy, or a fully fledged nuclear-level flame war threatening to bring an entire forum to its knees?
No, trolls aren't the demons of the net or evil incarnate. They're just the mischief makers, the electronic equivalent of Loki, the Norse god of troublemaking, without whom cyber-life would be just that little bit greyer.
Hail the trolls, we say.
-------------------------------
I wonder who Roland is on BF
OF all the denizens of the mystical realms beyond our physical existence, it has always been the trolls that seem to have copped the bad press.
It's about time someone spoke up on their behalf, or maybe even formed a Troll Pride action group.
Although trolldom has generally been subjected to all sorts of abuse, repression and attacks, yours truly has always had a bit of a soft spot for trolls. Perhaps it's the Scandinavian heritage. When (Not) Defrag was growing up, trolls were something I associated with relatives in the far, cold north.
Christmas or birthday presents from relatives in the land of Ikea and Abba often consisted of little troll dolls and figurines, or posters of creatures so ugly you couldn't help but love them.
In those posters, they were always prancing around pristine nordic lake scenery, picking flowers, collecting mushrooms or giving each other hugs.
It was probably when I read Lord of the Rings that I realised that trolls weren't widely considered just another class of wholesome Scandinavian, like Abba with an ugly makeover. To my shock and bewilderment, I discovered that Bilbo and friends (who weren't exactly creatures of stunning beauty themselves) considered trolls brutish, evil creatures that cared about nothing but the chance to crunch a hobbit's bones in their slavering jaws.
But I bore with it, knowing secretly in my heart that this was just hobbitist and elvist propaganda designed to ensure that trolls remained outcasts. That might have been that, had I not discovered later that these gentle folk were actively hunted, shunned and persecuted even in this day and age.
Indeed, they're not just persecuted. I'm talking full-fledged pogroms by otherwise fair-minded folk to find and eliminate all trollkind. The trolls' crime is that of spreading diversity and alternative viewpoints in online communities.
It all started when I first began observing, and then participating in, the diverse communities that have sprung around internet forums and discussion boards.
These might seem like oases of tolerance, where like-minded people can gather and share their passions and interests, meet new friends and form complex communities spanning continents, but in reality they are hotbeds of hatred against trolls. At first, it was the odd remark here and there. People posting comments, usually right after one contradicting or arguing with them, saying things like "get out of here, troll" or "we don't like trolls around there". Then there were graphics posted in the threads, advising forum members: "Do not feed the trolls".
Whole manifestos were published against trolls and circulated in cyberspace. Trolls were troublemakers, these diatribes said, and out to do nothing but spread disruption, cause fights, set forum members against each other, and destroy virtual society as we know it.
But stand back, netizens, and consider just what these so-called trolls have done. Just how heinous are their crimes?
Sure, it might appear they are just sowing dissent for the sake of it, but what board couldn't do with a shake-up now and then? Okay, most of us latch on to boards because we're looking for like-minded people who share our interests and agree with our views.
Just how healthy is that? What is the use of a discussion forum where everyone agrees and where the odd original post is followed by replies all along the lines of "I agree" or a smiley emoticon.
Trolls serve a useful purpose because they challenge the board members' minds. Just what is wrong with logging on to a Star Trek board and telling everyone they're mistaken and the world of Star Trek is indeed a giant crock of extraterrestrial manure?
Then there's the sheer entertainment value a troll can bring to a board. Polite discourses with your online pals are all very well, but too often they degenerate to the point where they make an afternoon sewing bee look lively and raucous.
Trolls add spark to bring such boards alive. By igniting flame wars, initiating offensive threads and starting heated debates, they are doing nothing more than bringing some thrill and excitement to otherwise dull internet backwaters. After all, what would you rather read? A 10-page thread on why the latest Big Brother inmate is a cool guy, or a fully fledged nuclear-level flame war threatening to bring an entire forum to its knees?
No, trolls aren't the demons of the net or evil incarnate. They're just the mischief makers, the electronic equivalent of Loki, the Norse god of troublemaking, without whom cyber-life would be just that little bit greyer.
Hail the trolls, we say.
-------------------------------
I wonder who Roland is on BF
