Can We Actually Report This?

So, after a while debating with myself about this, I thought I'd open this up to the moderators and the public in general. Roland/Mods, if you feel this is better for PMs then by all means, delete the thread and I'll happily discuss this in private, but it's not my intention to give offense.

I'd like to talk about...trolls.

Not blatant trolls. GitP doesn't have a lot of those. But there's plenty of posters that show up in threads or forums that people have an emotional attachment to and proceed to wreck them beyond belief in a fashion that is not technically against the CoC. They passive-aggressively condescend and put down other posters and they get away with it, and arguments against them that start reasonable get frustrated, get angry, and then get infractions. In some cases that I will only name on request, these people have been permitted to cause strife in the community for months or even years before getting banned or are else still posting, likely because no one feels like they can correct them and everyone's iffy on if they can report this behavior to a moderator.

I like GitP. I want to keep posting here with a community that, by and large, I like. But what do I do about the baiting/trolling/mind-boggling, reality-warping insanity of some of these posters who stay within the CoC and yet openly invite attack and argument? Can ya throw us a bone or a suggestion, folks?

I know that probably it's not the answer you're looking for, but... report them.
Instead of reporting a single post (that doesn't contain, by itself, any clear violation of the rules), send a PM to a Mod, explaining the behavior of a particular poster in a thread, linking to the posts that you consider "wreking" or flame-baiting and that you feel were made with the intention of trolling.

At that point, the Mod will read the thread, and judge the thing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Killer Angel

I know that probably it's not the answer you're looking for, but... report them.
Instead of reporting a single post (that doesn't contain, by itself, any clear violation of the rules), send a PM to a Mod, explaining the behavior of a particular poster in a thread, linking to the posts that you consider "wreking" and that you feel were made with the intention of trolling.

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Aye, but then we get to the cases where the poster isn't necessarily 'trolling' in the sense that they're trying to get a rise out of you, but in the sense that they're just naturally hostile, aggressive, mind-bogglingly attached to their own opinion or attached to a wildly divergent worldview. Can I report someone who's disrupting my thread not to be a jerk but because they're simply crazy?

I have no idea what the mods actually think about it, but in the past I've started reporting people for a pattern: if someone's individual posts don't quite seem to be breaking the rules, but the combination of a bunch of posts hints and a trolliness or pattern of belligerence, then I'll report the posts I think fit in this pattern and explain what I think they're a part of.
I should point out, though, that mere aggression and stubbornness isn't against the rules, and I'm not sure it should be.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lord_Gareth

Aye, but then we get to the cases where the poster isn't necessarily 'trolling' in the sense that they're trying to get a rise out of you, but in the sense that they're just naturally hostile, aggressive, mind-bogglingly attached to their own opinion or attached to a wildly divergent worldview. Can I report someone who's disrupting my thread not to be a jerk but because they're simply crazy?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Serpentine

I should point out, though, that mere aggression and stubbornness isn't against the rules, and I'm not sure it should be.

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Rules cover a wide array of situations. You can certainly report something that doesn’t add nothing to a discussion, and flaming contains many hostile behaviors.
Some things are not mentioned, but the good fact is: if something is against the spirit of the rules, although isn’t explicitly covered, you cannot escape an infraction, lawyering your way around holes in the rules. If the Mods recognize a negative trend from a particular poster, and recognize the will to ruin the debate, they’ll nudge it… for a starter.

Yeah. "If in doubt, report" seems to be the policy of choice.

*wanders off, muttering "report, don't respond" over and over and over...*

If you think somebody is being a troll, but the evidence of it is spread across several posts in several different threads, then you have some work to do in order to make your case. You need to give all the evidence to the mod squad so they can make an informed decision.

You could, of course, report one post and say, "Seriously, guys, this dude has a habit of this crap. Make him stop!" I think it's clear that sort of report won't get you too far.

So... you need to write up a long report. You need to do the research that shows a history - whether the history is just general in nature, a history of aggression about one topic, or towards one poster, or whatever. The more information you can give the mods, the better they can deal with the problem.

Sheriff: The above is all pretty good advice. First, yes, report anything you find problematic. You can report a single post and give a description about a greater problem, you can report a few posts and mention their relationship, or you can put together a list of links to problems across threads and PM it. Second, we have a very broad definition of Flaming and Trolling, so odds are the conduct you describe does violate the Forum Rules. Passive-aggressive flaming is still flaming and the Forum Rules recognize that.

However, it is possible that someone is simply aggressive in tone or of a contrary position or even worldview. Having a pushy, know-it-all style of discussion or having an contrary worldview to the majority here isn't against the Forum Rules. Posters need to govern themselves accordingly. Posters are responsible for what they post at all times.

Much of this is likely contextual, so report anything you deem to be a problem.