Seriously, guys, let's stopping saying it, and start DOING it, DNFTFT!

[don't call me shirley]

Every time some little fucking puke comes to SDMB, or now here, and starts trolling around, the same thing happens. Someone says "DNFTT," everyone has a little chuckle, and a little conversation about how saying "DNFTT" is actually FTT, and then everyone goes on feeding the fucking troll. The latest example is the leander thread.

So who will join me in the resolve to actually stop feeding leander? I mean zero. Zilch. No matter what he says, no matter how much you want to respond to him, don't. Let's give it a try. If there is an ignore feature at this place, let's all use it for him.

[sub:3pebt96b]Yes, I am aware of the irony of starting this thread. Hopefully the good that will come of it will overshadow teh stoopid.[/sub:3pebt96b]

[leander]

You're a superstar, that is what you are.

[What Exit?]

(My opinion as a poster) Couldn't you beat leander up in the thread already dedicated to him. Why start another one for the same basic purpose? WTF made you think this was a good idea?

How do we decide who is a troll? Is it a poll? Can anyone just declare it and start a threat like this and hope for a pile-on? Has DNFTT actually ever worked or does it just make things worse? I don't know leander really except I know he was a shit to Q.E.D. in a thread here and back on the Dope. I do know he started a public apology thread to Q.E.D. before you started this one. I do know that is you talk reasonably to him he appears to reasonable and if you go after him he gives back with interest. Some people do that without being trolls.

Yeah, I think this was a really dumb idea for a thread and I hope as a poster we never see another one like it.

Jim

[Liberal]

So who will join me in the resolve to actually stop feeding leander?

It's not that we're feeding him; it's that he's eating us. We have to endure it until someone who both cares about the board and has the power does something about it.

[Hentor the Barbarian]

Shoot - I was hoping this thread was going to be in support of what I've said a few times now about debating about what we can say when we get around to debating.

But it's not. At all.

Have fun!

[don't call me shirley]

(My opinion as a poster) Couldn't you beat leander up in the thread already dedicated to him. Why start another one for the same basic purpose?

This thread is about leander. Please start a new thread if you want to beat up on me.

WTF made you think this was a good idea?

This is a joke, right? This is a setup? What started this whole thing was QED asking two people to start a new thread. That resulted in (I believe) two new threads being started, one of which you locked and told people to start another new thread. So another new thread was started. Now you're bitching at me for starting a new thread.

Maybe I'm not supposed to understand it.

How do we decide who is a troll? Is it a poll?

Haven't we been through this question enough at SDMB? How about we make it an informal poll. If you think someone is a troll, stop responding to him. If enough people agree that he is a troll, the whole thing will work itself out. If only a couple people think so, no harm done.

Can anyone just declare it and start a threat like this and hope for a pile-on?

I have not threatened anybody and I have no idea why you would say that I have.

Has DNFTT actually ever worked

Not to my knowledge. Hence the title of my OP.

I don't know leander really except I know he was a shit to Q.E.D. in a thread here and back on the Dope. I do know he started a public apology thread to Q.E.D. before you started this one.

I don't know anything about him either, I never ran across him at the SDMB that I can remember, but then I have a horrible memory for who posted what. I didn't see the apology thread until after I had posted this one, but I saw it right after and almost deleted this thread. But then I remembered the way he's been talking to Liberal and decided to leave it up.

[5er]

I don't care about feeding trolls, I really don't. But what pisses me off is when people feed the goddamn squirrels and seagulls. Now I've got a yard full of squirrels getting ready to eat the plums that haven't even had a chance to grow (I can see the anticipation in their eyes) because my neighbor has a feeder full of squirrel food. And for God's sake, you don't have to feed seagulls, people! They eat garbage, okay? Quit making it easy for them already! I've got enough birdshit on my truck as it is.

As for trolls, as long as they don't eat the fruit from my plum trees or shit on my truck, whatever.

[Exy]

Okay, maybe you guys weren't aware, but "DNFTT" has never once worked in all of history.

I'm just sayin'.

Plus I couldn't give less of a crap about Leander so whatevs.

[Zuul]

That's not true! It totally worked in that episode of the Simpsons where all of the advertising came alive and the only way to stop them was to ignore them.

Are you telling me they lied?

[What Exit?]

Can anyone just declare it and start a threat like this and hope for a pile-on?

I have not threatened anybody and I have no idea why you would say that I have.

You know what I hate. I hate that spellcheck does not catch when I stupidly type threat instead of thread. That is what I hate.

[5er]

Okay, maybe you guys weren't aware, but "DNFTT" has never once worked in all of history.

I don't feed the seagulls and they still crap on my truck. But the squirrels..they touch ONE PLUM this summer and their entire IP is banned from my backyard.

[LurkMeister]

Just be glad they're not Canada geese.

[XJETGIRLX]

You're assuming two things that I don't think you can assume:

1) everyone is operating under the same definition of "troll"
2) trolls are a bad thing

I think history has proven that you cannot count on either of these things being true.

[5er]

I suppose even squirrels and seagulls can be killed and eaten if you're desperate enough.

[silenus]

You're assuming two things that I don't think you can assume:

1) everyone is operating under the same definition of "troll"
2) trolls are a bad thing

I think history has proven that you cannot count on either of these things being true.

Trolls

[ivan astikov]

Can't we just rent a billy goat?

[What Exit?]

Trolls

Or Trolls or Trolls or Trolls

[Hellestal]

Every time some little fucking puke comes to SDMB, or now here, and starts trolling around, the same thing happens. Someone says "DNFTT," everyone has a little chuckle, and a little conversation about how saying "DNFTT" is actually FTT, and then everyone goes on feeding the fucking troll.

That's how it works. That's how it will always work.

Deliberately malicious trolls need to be banned by the moderators because otherwise, trolls will always be fed. There are no exceptions. No matter how many times you recommend that people not encourage that behavior with attention, somebody is always, always going to respond to the bait.

There are a lot of reasons for that. Some people haven't been following previous discussions carefully and don't realize a troll is a troll. Some people are tone-deaf and can't recognize when another poster is deliberately writing inflammatory crap to get a rise out of people. And then there are others who actually enjoy feeding trolls, because it amuses them to do so. It's like a game with two middle-schoolers who both think they're winning because they're both cheating. They think they're playing each other, pushing each other's buttons, one side with the trolling and the other with the mockery of the trolling. Both sides are satisfied because they're both getting the ego boost that they want from their "manipulation" of the other person. It's ridiculous, but it's a self-feeding cycle that will perpetuate itself no matter how many times you tell people "DNFTT".

The only solution is good moderation. You can ignore threads started by trolls, because there's no point being upset by those threads anyway. Just don't read them. And when a troll starts hijacking other peoples' thread, the ban hammer needs to come down but quick. If the moderators allow deliberate hijackings, then they're simply not doing their jobs. But if the whole purpose of the original thread is trolling, then what are you gonna do? A train that's already off the tracks can't run off the tracks again. Just stop with the rubbernecking already and go read something else.

[Exy]

That's how it works. That's how it will always work.

Deliberately malicious trolls need to be banned by the moderators because otherwise, trolls will always be fed. There are no exceptions. No matter how many times you recommend that people not encourage that behavior with attention, somebody is always, always going to respond to the bait.

Right. Saying "DNFTT" borders on insanity. We have far too much evidence of how it actually works in reality to sit around and repeat this silly mantra and pretend that it is some sort of useful response. Personally I'd extend it to people like lekatt, who is not literally a troll I guess but has the same effect -- it's like the internet's version of Gresham's law -- stupid discussions drive out good ones.

I'm basically glad of the fact that people here are rejecting the heavy-handed, dumb moderation that was typical of the SDMB but let's not take that to the moronic extreme of pretending that "DNFTT" will somehow work here even though it never worked anywhere else.

[ivan astikov]

How about leaving poisoned tidbits lying around for them? Is that forbidden?

[jali]

Trolls

Or Trolls or Trolls or Trolls

There are good trolls in the world I'm sure. Is it fair to judge all trolls as the same? ::cue music::
I've said (more than once, in my angst-filled pre-teen days), "but I didn't ask to be born".
Do troll babies ask to be born?
Think of the troll children.
Feed a troll.
No ivan astikov. No more poisoning! Jeesh!

[Claptree]

I keep hearing the "Trolls!" as sounded by the Medieval Madness pinball game when starting Troll Madness. It's quite annoying, but in searching for a way to play it for you, I did learn that Tina Fey did voice work on that game.