And for pity's sake, don't quote their trolling posts when you respond in a thread. You make my job that much harder when I go through and have to clean up the troll poop because it does no good for me to get rid of the troll posts only to find that I've missed the quoted handful of poop in your innocent post, which in turn serves to keep the poopy posts flowing. Just report it. That's all. We may not always take action immediately because it's not always action-worthy right off the bat, but at least we know where to keep an eye. We don't live inside the forum and we do actually have to sleep. If it's night-time in America, that's when trolls come out. If you're asking yourself what constitutes trolling, allow me to explain because I want to be really clear on this: Don't make the mistake of conflating aggressive ass-hatterie with freedom of speech. They are not one and the same. Cults of personality will not be suffered here in any sort of de facto status over the de jour management. Here, in this forum, the Rule of Law is play nice or play elsewhere. It really is as simple as that. That is the meter by which things are measured. I don't care if you're just starting out as a writer or if you're Stephen Effing King. I don't care what your views or opinions are. I don't care what crusade you're on or what axe you have to grind. I don't care if you lean Left or Right, Tory or Labour, Republican or Democrat, Religious or Atheist, Omnivore, Herbivore, Carnivore, Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bi, Trans, Ace, whatever. None of that matters because none of that should matter. Raving Radicals on the LEFT, I'm talking to you. Raving Reactionaries on the RIGHT, I'm talking to you. Garden Variety Trolls, dropping matches just to watch the fire, I am most certainly talking to you. If you can't play nice, you can't play here. If you can, then grab a cup of coffee, find a comfy chair, and make yourself at home. I feel personally honored that I get to manage a forum where the community is vibrant, creative, interconnected, entertaining, lively, and from which I learn something new every single day. I've been doing this for as long as I have because I really, really love this place. If you're here to mess with that, then you're here to mess with me, and I will be the Ellen Ripley to your xenomorph. Ellen. Never. Loses.
Just to chime in with a "So say we all!": We mods have discussed this and we agree. This isn't just @Wreybies; it's everyone involved in the management of the forum. Just to restate what should be obvious: 1) If someone is being an ass for no good reason, report them and let us deal with it. Please do not go all vigilante on them. That just makes things worse. 2) It may help to pause a moment before you post a response to an ass just to think over your post, and ask yourself if you'd be proud of it tomorrow, or next week. Would your mother approve? (That's not a joke; I mean it.) If yes, post away. If no, grit your teeth if you must, but don't post it. 2) If it's at all possible to take the high road, take it.
Yes, yes, and double yes to all that @minstrel has said. Keep your hands clean of the matter. If you didn't start it, for goodness sake, don't post something that we end up having to also issue a warning on. That's not a good feeling for anyone. Not for you, not for us, no one.
(Discovery Channel Voice--- You all know the one) When startled, the common "conflating aggressive ass-hat," or "troll" as they are known in the common tongue, will become frightened and violent. They can survive for years upon a diet of Mountain Dew and Doritos. However, the one resource they cannot live without is attention. When the common troll is starved for attention, they will act much akin to a Pomeranian backed into a corner. A lot of bark, with very little logic behind it. If starved for long enough, the average troll will actually abandon it's territory and search for a new home- sometimes even leaving with an entire pack of less dominant trolls. All seriousness, glad the administration behind writingforums actively works on making the site a more welcoming place. For that, I thank you.
[THREAD MERGER FROM THIS POST ON] - Wreybies Just out of curiosity, what's the record for someone who isn't a spambot earning that cool, limited edition strikethrough font on their username? edit for spelling
The record in question is not held by the member above, believe it or not. That record is held by someone who was infamous in writing forum circles for being a destroyer of communities. He single-handedly caused a community melt-down in our sister site in 2008-ish. I had just joined both forums (this one and the other), and not days later the other forum began its quick descent into a digital Z.A. Fast forward to just about a year ago. He joined here, I recognized the name, he did not know that I knew who he was. I greeted him via PM, as though high-fiving an old friend, confirming his identity, and when he thought he had his in, I showed him the door. Not a single post.
As I recall, I once spent a few days trying to get that site to reset my password for here. I'm not always all that bright. I really hope that the two sites looked more similar back then; if not, I'm really not all that bright.