Irrelevant threads

Bryan, Mike and others of the same inclination

Whilst I share your views in many ways, I think Bob has a point about "simply" ignoring the head bickerer

I tried to reason with our friend quite a while ago (a bit like Roel did recently - but nowhere near as eloquently!), but it got me nowhere - I just got included in the list of targets. So I decided ignoring was the best option and it seems to work - for me at least! I think NCV has decided on a similar policy despite being provoked much more than me.

So how about we all try it for a week or two and see what occurs?

Tim

That's a great idea 😊

For the sake of clarity and completeness what I actually said was -

Bob, you are not getting it. You and Alan as much as us are the targets here. It is what trolls do. The target is discussion and the site itself. The troll concerned will hop from path to path within the site leaving a trail behind them. This particular troll has a long history of precisely this. In a post that has now been removed, he boasts that he can't be tracked. Look at his stage name.
Dprev needs to build participant numbers. What do you think happens when a new arrival to a thread bumps into the kind of posts we are talking about? Our new arrival sees nobody seems to care. Do you think they will stick around? You can't ignore posts like those we are seeing if you want the site to retain credibility as a photo site. I'm in favour of free speech. But not every avenue of media has to allow everything to be published. This is a photo discussion site. You are not providing free speech, you are condoning harassment. Gentlemen, we are fighting for your site.

My feedback tells me they see a bunch of people provoking and arguing with each other. It isn't just a single member doing all the provoking here.

If you look through the various forums and threads you will see there have been other members who have started troll threads and then insulted other members when they disagreed with them. Trying to lay the blame for the bickering that goes on here on just a single member and no-one else is just plain silly and certainly won't help grow this forum.

Exactly. He is going crazy because I ignore his provocations. With Trolls it just needs some patience and willpower, and in the meantime we can laugh at the Troll getting angrier and angrier, rather than get angry ourselves.

Eventually they will get the message.

"We have seen other members who have started troll posts" I'd take that as another admission that this is what you do Dan. How it gets done is pretty cute as well. It isn't all bickering. Take your helpful response to Fireplace 33 this week. You aren't a moderator.
I also note Dan that you made no attempt to answer my points. You simply claim that other people have done the same.
This isn't a free speech issue. Bob and Alan, you are providing a playground for people like Dan. Free speech is being exploited as an opening for a game that is played for the fun of it. There are no points of importance being thrashed out here that are issues of free speech. It's like the buzz many hackers get from hacking or the thrill of vandalism. It's you Bob and Alan that are under attack.

That is your opinion but I disagree.

I have posted on several occasions that DonaldB has started a few of what I see as troll threads and then gone on to insult members who did not agree with his views.

Attempting to blame all the provoking and bickering on just a single member and no-one else is imo just plain silly and ignoring the multiple issues affecting the participation on this site.

Thank you for the compliment. I just try to be reasonable.
And actually, I seldom react when I feel insulted or misunderstood myself.
I know that trolls must better not be fed.

However, I do feel the urge to react if innocent participants seem to be targeted.
Then I shift into "protecting the herd" mode. We do not want people chased away from a hobby they cherish.

I do not agree with all you wrote here. Nobody is ganging up to bully a certain individual, I for one just pointedly ignore him. Some us are trying to deal with a person who is trying to provoke us. Others are tired of the bickering that occurs when people react to the provocations, fouling up even the the most uncontroversial threads.

I agree that going down the slippery slope of banning members can end very badly as it continues to do at DPR, rendering the forum bland and conformist. But I do not think that accusing people who use this forum responsibly of bullying is not correct or a good move for the future of this forum. Some of are just tired of the tiresome behaviour of a certain person.

You did a good job of smoothing things over in your thread 😊

So be it Bob. It's your site.
I don't think you understand trolling at all. Those who have done it for years have learnt to cover their tracks and confuse with a sprinkling of reasonable posts. Your resident troll has a lot of experience.

I assume you mean starting from now because only 28.5 hours ago you posted earlier this thread -

dprevived.com/t/irrelevant-threads/5978/post/79812/

Let's hope you mean what you say about ignoring danhasleftforum 😊

Are we dealing with a troll, or somebody with mental heath issues? I am not sure. When even the picture threads which even on DPR were a haven of tranquillity and good manners, start getting provocative, nasty posts, something is going very badly wrong with this forum.

You're proving my earlier points 👍 🙂