Aristotle, “On Trolling”
journals.cambridge.org
Aristotle, “On Trolling”
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Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#2Non-broken link http://crookedtimber.org/2016/05/07/aristotle-on-trolling/
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#3I was unaware that people trolled for any other reason than amusement. Is there an estimate of how frequently people troll for calculated (e.g. monetary) reasons?
So my take is that she says trolls act as a kind of solvent to the natural bonds of community, and she lists a few frequently used constructions. I suppose the only beneficial use of trolls and trolling is to destroy communities of little worth. If trolls successfully kill even one terrorist cell, can we really call them evil? (And I'm not trying to troll with that question, I'm serious!)
EDIT: I mean "let's blow up a school bus of infidel spawn" type terrorist, not the "I'd rather not repeal the 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendments to feel more secure" type 'terrorist'.
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#4I was unaware that people trolled for any other reason than amusement. Is there an estimate of how frequently people troll for calculated (e.g. monetary) reasons? So my take is that she says trolls act as a kind of solvent to the natural bonds of community, and she lists a few frequently used constructions. I suppose the only beneficial use of trolls and trolling is to destroy communities of little worth. If trolls s…
Trolling for factions: http://www.theweek.co.uk/64829/russias-troll-army-how-the-pr...
Trolling for profit: https://www.reddit.com/r/shills/comments/3uoxpl/internet_shi...
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#5Fwiw, "proper" trolling can be an art form. Done well, it can be a beautiful form of entertainment. Ken M's best (authentic) comments are a great example of this.
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#6> And this is how the troll generates strife. For what he indicates is known to be false or harmful or ignorant; but he does not say that thing, but rather something close.
Haha, that is naive, or perhaps incomplete. Actually the "worst" trolls simply tell some uncomfortable truth (which isn't false or ignorant, and he who respects truth wouldn't dare call it harmful).
That is to say, sometimes trolls disrupt communities that are formed around "group think", consisting of members who get together just to be around others who think the same way and avoid those who disagree with the shared ideas.
If you surround yourself with others who confirm your opinions, then anyone who busts in with a dose of reality is a "troll".
There are many forms of disruption, with many motivations, that all get lumped into the "troll" category.
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#7Fwiw, "proper" trolling can be an art form. Done well, it can be a beautiful form of entertainment. Ken M's best (authentic) comments are a great example of this.
I think you mean "a art".
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#8> And this is how the troll generates strife. For what he indicates is known to be false or harmful or ignorant; but he does not say that thing, but rather something close. Haha, that is naive, or perhaps incomplete. Actually the "worst" trolls simply tell some uncomfortable truth (which isn't false or ignorant, and he who respects truth wouldn't dare call it harmful). That is to say, sometimes trolls disrupt communi…
> Actually the "worst" trolls simply tell some uncomfortable truth (which isn't false or ignorant, and he who respects truth wouldn't dare call it harmful).
Did you get to the part about Socrates?
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#9I love the pseudo-ancient Greek diction. The phrasing, the vocabulary, and the abundance of nested clauses do really remind me of translations of Aristotle. The only way this could be better is if he replaced the references to modern things like Republicans, Democrats, etc. with Thracians, Spartans, and other ancient Greek stuff. At that point you could try to pass this off as actual Aristotle, which would itself be a brilliant act of trolling.
Re: Aristotle, “On Trolling”
#10> And this is how the troll generates strife. For what he indicates is known to be false or harmful or ignorant; but he does not say that thing, but rather something close. Haha, that is naive, or perhaps incomplete. Actually the "worst" trolls simply tell some uncomfortable truth (which isn't false or ignorant, and he who respects truth wouldn't dare call it harmful). That is to say, sometimes trolls disrupt communi…
Well played!
That said, as the article points out the classic troll succeeds, not by appearing as an outside attacker to unite the community, but by posting in such a way that gets the community fighting among itself in response to the troll.