Re: I Actually Saw a Live Pith...

Phil Nicholls (pnich@globalone.net)
Sun, 23 Jul 1995 00:02:34 GMT

danny@cs.su.oz.au (Daniel Yee) wrote:

>Phil Nicholls <pnich@globalone.net> wrote:
>>Trolls are a fact of life on the internet and a consequence of the
>>increased access people have to it.

>>IF you want to respond to a troll, do so by email. Responding
>>publically only encourages them. They are seeking attention and the
>>best way to get them to go away is to not give it to them.

>I think there is some confusion here about what a troll is. For an
>example of a troll, see the "Prime numbers and African Artifact"
>thread. A good troll is something which will afford amusement to many
>people; they are quite hard to produce. (The above mentioned troll
>didn't catch anyone here much, but the sci.math people had some fun
>with it.)

>To call what BARD does trolling is a complete misuse of the term. He is
>ignorant, boring, unoriginal, offensive, and he lacks a sense of humour.

>Danny Yee.

Point well taken. BARD is from the "I say 'fuck' you get your yucks"
school of posting, which is typical of his age group. The expansion
of internet access is a two-edged sword. With more people gain access
to the internet the frequency of non-productive intrusives increases.
It just annoys me when children use sci newsgroups to conduct
flamefests. I wish netcom and aol would teach their users some
manners.

Phil Nicholls (pnich@globalone.net)

"To ask a question you must first know most of the answer."
- Robert Sheckley