Re^3: Blocking users

[Argel]

On the contrary, people responding to a troll are just as much a part of the problem as the troll is!

As I indicated in Do Not Feed the Trolls!!!, responding to a troll is feeding it the attention it needs. Ignore the troll, and the fun goes away. Starving a troll is one of the most effective ways to get rid of it.

Updates: Some of you may also find tye's post about the difference between a flamer and a troll enlightening. It's very good and I encourage everyone to read it. Here's an excerpt that seems relevant to the current situation:

And if you are trying to only respond to a troll's reasonable postings [you are] encouraging more trolling behavior [by] giving them one more type of bait to drag around waiting for the next gullible fish.

[MidLifeXis]

Is every post from this point on by a particular user to be ignored, even if there is a complete turn-around in behavior? That seems to be the suggestion being made. "Discipline" without the potential of rewarding good behavior seems to me to be vindictive and at odds with a monastic ethos of self improvement.

I would agree that responding to obviously trollish posts is counterproductive and probably even detrimental to the overall health of the monastery, but I would also suggest that a 100% blackout is as well.

[Argel]

I updated my post a few times, so you probably missed the link and except from tye's post that I just added. If you read those it should be clear that a blackout is the only option. How else do you deal with a troll? Lock the account? He can just create a new one or post anonymously. Blocking an IP address or a range of IP addresses is also easy get around these days thanks to other proxy servers out there. And we risk affecting innocent bystanders with that approach.

So, I'm sorry, but he made the choice to troll. And considering how disruptive trolls are and how hard they are to defeat by any other measure the only realistic option we have is to ignore the troll.

Your concern is admirable, but also naive and misplaced. And if he wants to start behaving like a mature adult then he can make a fresh start with a new account.

[afoken]

Ignore the troll, and the fun goes away. Starving a troll is one of the most effective ways to get rid of it.

See also http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/06/suspension-ban-or-hellban.html

Alexander

[Your Mother]

Using deception to combat annoyance is a mistake. It makes your site and network look like garbage; fake random errors and dial-up load speeds. A user who has been accidentally or wrongfully punished cannot know what's going on and has no recourse or process of appeal. Anti-transparency; essentially lies. Terrible, juvenile choices.

[Argel]

It's also pointless, especially here, where someone can post anonymously or just create a new account. Here at PM, the best option we have is to ignore the troll. And I personally do not have a problem if Monks use some web magic to make that easier. For me, i will still see a node is there, just not the contents unless I drill down into the message. Specifically, this is the code I'm using in my display settings:

tr.pmnote-<monkid_goes_here> { display: none; }

[Anonymous Monk]

For anyone who promoted "hellban" or "invisban", see Anonymous Monk. For anyone who promoted actually banning not something called "banning" that doesn't actually ban, see "the internet" (and Anonymous Monk and Create a new user). And/or see your brain (that is, use it).