# Pertaining to the matter of trolls



## AcutancePhotography (Jun 21, 2015)

<in my best John F. Kennedy imitation>

These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this forum the role of leader in freedom's cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom from trolls. That is our conviction for ourselves-that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral and no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man or woman unless it is a troll. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine. …

I believe that this web community should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this year is out, of not responding to trolls and troll like posts.

No single forum policy in this period will be more impressive to our members, or more important to the long-term operations of this website; and none will be so difficult to accomplish.

Now this is a choice which this community must make, and I am confident that under the leadership of the moderators, that you will consider the matter carefully.


It is a most important decision that we make as a forum. But all of you have lived through the last few threads and have seen the significance of trolling and the disruption it causes, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be.

We choose to ignore trolls and do the other things, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.

;D

But seriously, if you don't respond to a troll thread, it will age out. If you respond to a troll thread, it gets refreshed and stays on the page. 

Trolls are like stray dogs. Once you start feeding them, you can't expect them to go away.


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## beforeEos Camaras (Jun 21, 2015)

very true and I am guilty of taking the troll`s jab esp. Dilbert's from now on I will stop trying to feed the trolls


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## gary samples (Jun 21, 2015)

can't believe how many troll's the 5ds/r brought out I knew it was a winner just by that a lone ;D
I'm for free speech but I really don't see why it needs to be the wild wild west with no sheriff in town !
all this did have it's good side though I've been taking troll inventory 
it's going to be lonely around here when I get done with the Ignore button .


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## IglooEater (Jun 21, 2015)

Good initiative AccutancePhotography, but I think it will take a very long time for the trolls to leave considering the way they've been fed here in the past...


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## Eldar (Jun 21, 2015)

I think the idea of stopping the food, replies that is, will be most effective. Who wants to initiate a discussion where the only response you get is your own echo ...


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## martti (Jun 21, 2015)

On the Amazon site there are two ways which turn a troll's postings invisible.
The first one is 'downvote' which means that a posting that has received many downvotes, I think it is ten, leaves only a note that the members of this forum think that this posting does not add to the conversation. Will you see it anyhow?

The second one is your own choice: You just check a box to hide the postings of a person you do not like.

What happens is that people play a ridiculous game with the downvotes –some of them even having multiple personalities and accounts– just to hide an opinion that they do not like. 
This I do not like whereas an 'ignore' button would come in handy.

I skip the discussions where I see multiple concentric quotes of quotes.


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## kirispupis (Jun 21, 2015)

This is a noble initiative, but there are two sad facts about trolls.

[list type=decimal]
[*]While there are some very good photographers on this forum, the truth is a large percentage of those who participate on a forum about camera gear are more concerned with equipment specs than actual photography. Look through the photos on most threads and the good shots will be hard to find. Trolls feed very well in this environment.
[*]It's not in the forum owner's best interest to eliminate trolls. While there are a few forums that quickly ban any trolls, most larger forums do not except for the worst of individuals (profanity, threats, etc). The long threads that trolls create mean more traffic for them and hence more $
[/list]

If _you_ don't like the trolls, the simplest thing to do is to avoid them. If you want to know how good camera x is against camera y, wait for the reviews and sample images to come out and make your own call. You can also rent the camera or if you are 97% sure, buy it from a store that accepts returns. One thing these trolls do not realize is they have absolutely no influence over either the camera companies or professional photographers. These people have the brains to make their own decisions.


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## wsmith96 (Jun 21, 2015)

Eldar said:


> I think the idea of stopping the food, replies that is, will be most effective. Who wants to initiate a discussion where the only response you get is your own echo ...



+1


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## privatebydesign (Jun 21, 2015)

kirispupis said:


> [list type=decimal]
> [*]
> [*]It's not in the forum owner's best interest to eliminate trolls. While there are a few forums that quickly ban any trolls, most larger forums do not except for the worst of individuals (profanity, threats, etc). The long threads that trolls create mean more traffic for them and hence more $
> [/list]



In the short term that is true, in the longer term what happens is the interesting people just stop posting, then stop visiting. The forum then becomes yet another tiresome place that few bother to visit.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Jun 21, 2015)

If you want to ignore a poster, just add him to your ignore list.

Click on:

profile /summary/modify profile/ buddies/ignore list / edit ignore list and add the user name. You can also add buddies (Don't know what that does), or even add boards to be ignored.


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## Sporgon (Jun 21, 2015)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> If you want to ignore a poster, just add him to your ignore list.
> 
> Click on:
> 
> profile /summary/modify profile/ buddies/ignore list / edit ignore list and add the user name. You can also add buddies (Don't know what that does), or even add boards to be ignored.



Thanks for explaining that Mt, someone has now just become my first ever 'ignore'. Let's see how it goes.


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## Don Haines (Jun 21, 2015)

Yes, it is a technical forum, but look at the image galleries.... They are filled with example after example of inspiring pictures and lots of helpful hints.... very few trolls there, just helpful people.

BTW, the best photography advice I have ever gotten about photographing small birds came from Jon Rista... and it was to get a small hunting blind and a chair and set it up near where your target frequents...


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