The object of this post is to discuss the utter sadness of the forum trolls. A troll is nothing more than an inadequate individual who should be ignored. I hope to help with early recognition and thereby avoidance of getting involved in their foul game. Trolls, once acknowledged, can take up residence, and, like athlete's foot, can be difficult to alleviate. The troll posts a message, often in response to honest comments, questions and suggestions, that is intended to upset, disrupt or simply insult. Usually, it will fail, as the troll rarely bothers to match the tone or style of the poster, and usually a trolls immaturity, ignorance and arrogance shows. It is my belief that the majority of trolls are just sad, pathetic, people, living their lonely lives vicariously through trying to bring those they see as strong, successfully articulating and caring people down to their unnatural, inhumane and miserable level. It just totally amazes me the lengths that some people will go to just to try and get your attention even for the briefest of moments. It is almost comically pitiful when it is obvious a grown adult who has become like a child; poking a stick at a beehive, hoping that they will elicit some type of a reaction, and then proudly displaying it like a badge of courage that they eagerly forward to their little groups of common Internet junkies, because they are so impressed with themselves that they think they broke through some fictitious wall or actually got someones attention. I see it as nothing more than an someone trying to become and escapist from their sad and lonely daily life by disrupting a stable community; which gives them the illusion of power, and allows them to think they are strong, and in control. For trolls, any response is a type of 'recognition;' they are unable to fully understand and distinguish between irritation and admiration; their ego grows directly in proportion to the response, regardless of the form or content of that response. One of the saddest parts of this is that trolls will, rather astonishingly, dispute this, claiming that it's a game or joke; this merely confirms the diagnosis; how sad do you have to be to find such mind-numbingly trivial time wasting to be funny? You need to remember the most important thing about trolls; they are nothing more than cowards that cannot handle a truly intellectual conversation; they'll usually post just enough to get an argument going, then sit back and count the responses (Yes, that's what they do!). So you might want to know how can really recognize a real troll post from one that is from someone that wants to know, or understand something better? 1. No Imagination - Most are frighteningly obvious; sexist, blasphemous, or derogatory language. 2. Abstruse, pompous, in the Extreme - Some trolls preparation is so thorough, that while they waste time, they appear so ludicrous that they elicit sympathetic reactions. 3. False Identity - Because they are cowards, trolls virtually never do things that will lead someone to their own name, and often reveal their trolling drollness (and lack of imagination) in the chosen ID. 4. Cross posting - Any post that is cross posted to several other posts should be viewed as suspicious, particularly if unrelated or of opposing perspective. Why would someone do that? 5. Off-topic posting - Often genuine errors, but, if from an 'outsider' they deserve matter-of-fact response; if genuine, a brief apposite response is simply netiquette; if it's a troll post, you have denied it its reward. 6. Repetition of a question or statement is either a troll - or a pedant; either way, treatment as a troll is effective. 7. Missing The Point - Trolls rarely answer a direct question - they cannot, if asked to justify their twaddle - so they develop a fine line in missing the point. 8. Thick or Sad - Trolls are usually sad, lonely folk, with few social skills; they rarely make what most people would consider intelligent conversation. However, they frequently have an obsession with their IQ and feel the need to make themselves think it is higher. Too many good people have been banned simply because they fed the trolls! The best way to deal with these creatures, especially here in our community, is by not answering them, but just clicking on "report." If you are unsure if it is a troll, then just select the "personal reasons" otherwise there are other selections. Let the Forum's ninja decide!