Everyone knows what a forum troll is.  You know, those (usually) level 1 alts that come into your thread, talk bad about players, guilds, etc., and usually can walk away unscathed, hiding behind their alt and never revealing their true identity.  Forum trolls can annoy even the most mature WoW players, by telling painful truths, poking fun at events in the past, or even flat-out lying about certain things.

Forum Trolls & Me

Forum trolls absolutely crack me up.  I usually prowl the Stormscale realm forums while at work if I’m not busy, and I usually have at least a couple of active threads of my own, either for guild recruitment (I am always recruiting), advertising this blog or Moonkin.info, or anything else.

For some reason, I have a personal group of trolls who seem absolutely dedicated to post in every thread I make, comment on my guilds progression, or bash my members or tell me that my guild is falling apart.  Throughout my time hanging around on the forums, I don’t think I can say I’ve ever let a troll get the best of me by lashing out immaturely, or ever actually gotten angry IRL because of what a troll has said.  I mean, its a game.  I pay to enjoy it, not to let it get me angry.

Why would people troll you?

There are a million reasons why you could have trolls who seem to only make you want to suffer.  These could be people that used to be in your guild, people you kicked out of a PuG, maybe someone you forgot to reply a whisper to one day.  Who knows.  The fact of the matter is that there are people out there who want to get a reaction from you regardless of what it takes, and they generally have nothing to lose since they are posting from alts.

I really don’t know why people troll me, nor do I care.  I generally assume that the number of trolls I have in a thread of mine has a direct correalation with my effect on the server.  Some people say I have no life because I run a blog about my character — I run the site because I like talking about the game, and it makes me money, to boot.  People have already began bashing this blog on the forums — they say there are many better sites that can provide strats and tips and that I’m just wasting my time; was Google the first search engine to ever be launched?

Your Responsibility with Forum Trolls

If you are reading this blog, I am generally assuming you are a GM, Raid Leader, Officer or your guild.  Even if you’re not, the same rules should apply, as even just a regular raider should represent his guild properly.  Here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Don’t let the troll get the best of you – While a forum troll usually has nothing to lose, no e-reputation to harm, guilds to misrepresent, you DO.  Responding to a troll usually takes caution, because you do have things at stake, and there are many other people reading the thread.  If trolled, play it smoothly, I’ll give more tips down the page.
• You are better than the troll – Provided that you ever haven’t been stupid on the forums and aren’t generally hated on your server, you are automatically better than the troll, since you actually have the balls to post on your main character.  Most people on the forums hate trolls just as much as you do, so responding to trolls maturely or ignoring them altogether should gain you the support of your fellow players.  Don’t stoop to their level (no pun intended).
• Everyone is watching – Even if no one else is writing in your thread except you and your troll, there are many people reading the thread.  Don’t respond bashing another guild, or give any indication that what the troll has said has affected you in any way.  That is what they are looking for, and responding with emotion or “butt-hurt” is an instant win for the troll, even if they were trolling with a lie.  Pretend you were having the argument in /2, everyone is reading, except this time, what you say is permanent (for the most part).

Macbook’s Tips on How to Respond to Trolls

1. Completely ignore the troll. For the most part, I’d venture a guess that most forum trolls are under the age of 18, with short attention spans.  If you ignore them long enough, you can bet 20 Abyss Crystals that they will eventually get bored of your thread and leave.
2. Respond Sarcastically. If you are going to respond sarcastically, do it with class.  If a troll calls you bad, you can sometimes reply simply saying, “Yeah, its true, I’m a baddie McBadster”, or something along those lines.
3. Respond truthfully. In my opinion, only people skilled in dealing with trolls should do this.  I think one time a troll made fun of my guild because we didn’t have enough for Ulduar one night, so we 20-manned Naxx25 instead.  I coolly responded that we did, in fact, enjoy running Tier 7 content, while managing to clear up to Yogg in Ulduar 25, all in 3 nights of raiding.
4. Respond jovially. Joke around with the troll, have fun.  After all, its a game, why should you get annoying or bothered by anything?  The fact that the troll is taking time to comment on your thread is already indication enough that he cares, don’t reward his waste of time by caring back.

Conclusion

I think I’ve covered most everything on this post, but definitely enjoy the screenshots below and inside the post.  I find trolling funny and usually failed attempts at eliciting anger from me, but I am a very laid back in real life, and laid back in game, as well.  Greatness inspires envy, and while I’m not suggesting that I am “great” at WoW, there will always be people that feel like attacking you for certain things.  Keep that in mind, and enjoy the game

Macbook

Forum Trolling Screenshots

[View with PicLens]

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