Being accused of trolling != trolling. It's entirely a matter of intent.

The word "troll" getting thrown around so much has less to do with people unfairly dismissing anything remotely resembling a sincere viewpoint than that actually no there are just lots of people who like to spout patently stupid, thoughtless, and intellectually dishonest shit for the thrill of being idiots and stroking their egos and get pissed off when peopel call them on this because they expect people to act like this is somehow a totally okay thing to do.

Also wrong.

My favorite trolls are the ones who are like "I'm not TROLLING I'm just ~stirring the pot~/~playing devils advocate~/~getting a reaction~/whatever other stupid shit that actually does just mean trolling".

That you prefer to pretend you're just a special special snowflake and that all those MEAN OL LIBRULS refuse to admit defeat in the face of your mighty and cunning intellect doesn't actually make it so any more than shitting on a toothbrush and trying to hand it to me is gonna work just because you tell yourself that you totally, sincerely believe that you have covered that thing in toothpaste.

I found it! Actually a video, shit memory. Made my day.

True, but the accusation is thrown around so often that the power has been taken out of it. It's no longer worth the effort of actual trolling if all you have to do to get the same results is express a dissenting opinion.

For instance, I have no desire to troll. Anything I post is for the sake of discussion, not reaction. However, because of my conservative stance and religion I'm considered a "troll" on a lot of message boards, particularly the ones dealing with the arts (CG graphics, music, etc.) and sciences (in my case programming, as I'm not active in many other forums).

So if I wanted to become a troll I wouldn't have to do anything different. Just keep being the rare dissenting voice in a lot of conversations.

Huh, I always figured trolling was more or less taking the guise of an actual 'concerned poster' and making opposed statements/claims without actually caring about the topic itself. If just for cheap laughs and attention craving.

Now, someone stated a very very interesting thing in the NPF Chat. When I proposed a situation in which a troll and someone with firm beliefs in a subject(my example was OWS) interacted. The aim was to see how many posts until it turned into a flame war. Answers? 2-4 post range. Sadly enough and it is my displeasure to announce that 2 would probably be the more accurate count on NPF.

My reasoning? People may or may not actually be trolling in a topic, but then again, they also might. I don't want or mean to plant paranoia and doubt in people's minds, but my initial point is, that people can just be that good. That people won't be able to tell either way. It isn't about making actual sense, it's about frustrating the opposition anyway.

Yeah, I know how it is. I had the same problem when I first started posting here. Don't worry, if anyone gives you trouble I got yer back.

Oh god yes. Cromartie High School is like, one of the best anime ever for short vignettes that are hilarious as hell. I love that show.

I think people who use starkly dissenting opinions in their trolling and people who use trolling to act on their starkly dissenting opinion should really be treated the same. It's just rude either way.

Celebrating the closing of an healthcare facility would probably count as being gratuitously provocative in most circles of human society.

If something would count as taunting in real life then it probably counts as trolling on the internet.