Why Engage With Clownish Trolls?

UNCMSinLS

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I checked in from my business computer last night but didn't sign onto the board. I got to see all the "wisdom" being shared by those I typically ignore. Calla, Ram, and Zen were basking in their typical fact-free trolling endeavors and baking their usual shit pies for all to enjoy. The time I spent reviewing their work completely affirmed my decision to ignore them. Why some of you engage with these "conservatives" is beyond me. I'm left with the conclusion that some folks just like shouting into the void.
 
If the last few years have taught us anything, it's that you can't make trolls (or their influence) disappear by simply refusing to engage with them.
In general, no, because in a large group there will always be someone who takes a troll seriously. But on a small message board like this, it's totally possible to make them either disappear or get no actual response.

It's just that there are some folks just as determined to always respond to any and all absolute bullshit as the folks who initially spread it.
 
In general, no, because in a large group there will always be someone who takes a troll seriously. But on a small message board like this, it's totally possible to make them either disappear or get no actual response.

It's just that there are some folks just as determined to always respond to any and all absolute bullshit as the folks who initially spread it.

Totally agree.
 
In general, no, because in a large group there will always be someone who takes a troll seriously. But on a small message board like this, it's totally possible to make them either disappear or get no actual response.

It's just that there are some folks just as determined to always respond to any and all absolute bullshit as the folks who initially spread it.
The inability of humans to ignore stupid shit on the internet is the fundamental theory behind most social media companies.
 
The way I look at it is that this a political message board, and I don't mind being exposed to a conservative point of view. Even if it is uninformed stupid shit, I feel that I receive some benefit by knowing what is oozing out of the right wing fever swamp. It saves me the trouble of going to Fox, Breightbart, Oan,and Newsmax to read about what the folks on earth 2 are being fed.
 
A couple of things.....

"Fact" is often subjective in politics. There are facts, of course. Three to four years ago, it likely would have been considered a fact, among most Dems, that Biden was mentally fit enough to be in the White House, even though we found out after the fact that he very likely wasn't. Until recently, I believed that there was an organic attempt on Trump's life in 2024. In the last couple of days I've learned that it all may have been scripted. Who knew??

Trolling often just means that someone is taking a position that others can't fathom they'd take. It's too outrageous. Voting for Trump was one of the things that Dems just couldn't imagine that ANY sane person would do. Wasn't it Ann Coulter that was laughed off the Bill Maher's stage when she said, in 2015, that Trump was the front runner to be the Republican nominee for president?

Some of the opinions I see here are baffling. I shake my head and wonder how anyone can actually believe it. But, I've learned that it's generally a bad idea to question whether or not someone authentically believes what they claim, even if it appears ridiculous to me.
 
I tend to agree with the OP.
But I can also understand why some would want to at least see what they’re on about - Zen and ‘em. Even if you don’t engage them… trying to reason with the unreasonable. Doing that really is beating your head against a wall.
Perhaps it’s just the old “know thine enemy” deal.

But I can’t go there. The super ignore feature is where it’s at for me so I concur with OP.
 
The way I look at it is that this a political message board, and I don't mind being exposed to a conservative point of view. Even if it is uninformed stupid shit, I feel that I receive some benefit by knowing what is oozing out of the right wing fever swamp. It saves me the trouble of going to Fox, Breightbart, Oan,and Newsmax to read about what the folks on earth 2 are being fed.
I tend to agree with this, but reading the nonsense isn’t the issue. Responding (seriously) to it is the problem.
 
Inspecting so many train wrecks does make me sad for my railroad line in these times. It is hard to understand how so many have derailed and crashed in recent years when we only had a "normal" number of disasters in the previous 200+ years.
 
In general, no, because in a large group there will always be someone who takes a troll seriously. But on a small message board like this, it's totally possible to make them either disappear or get no actual response.

It's just that there are some folks just as determined to always respond to any and all absolute bullshit as the folks who initially spread it.
I understand that opinion, but personally I disagree. As much as certain posters on this board annoy me with bad faith arguments - and I voice that annoyance frequently - this board will not necessarily be better off if we run off everyone with a contrary opinion. If there are no reasonable Trump defenders left, we'll have to settle for unreasonable ones.

There definitely are times where responding is pointless and only fuels the fire, though.
 
I've had until I'm tired off it on every other board so *I didn't put it here but my signature line on every other board I post on is "I'm not here to make things better. I'm here to observe and pass judgment."

Iow, I don't care if I'm part of the problem and I don't particularly have a better nature to appeal to. We're all stuck with this one.
 
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I understand that opinion, but personally I disagree. As much as certain posters on this board annoy me with bad faith arguments - and I voice that annoyance frequently - this board will not necessarily be better off if we run off everyone with a contrary opinion. If there are no reasonable Trump defenders left, we'll have to settle for unreasonable ones.

There definitely are times where responding is pointless and only fuels the fire, though.
I'm not sure that we aren't already at that point.
 
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