Mom0/pH0x banned, all posts purged to protect a troll.

Rearden Metal · Mar 19, 2010

Yes, it has happened again.

Why does it make sense to keep banning Optional777's detractors (who tend to be constructive, well-liked ET contributors), instead of just eliminating the troll itself? I realize this isn't my message board, and that if I don't like it I can just post somewhere else or whatever, but I need to first try reasoning with those who keep repeating this irrational purging of good posters to protect a very bad one.

Axeman- Loved and respected by all, banned for retaliating against Optional777. Banned once, and never came back.

Hapaboy- Banned for retaliating against Optional777. Hardly ever posts here anymore.

TraderNik- Banned for retaliating against Optional777. Hardly ever posts here anymore.

Mom0/pH0x- Banned today for retaliating against Optional777. All posts purged as if they never existed.

Yes, these guys were pretty aggressive with their personal insults against the troll, but notice how well they all got along with everyone else. Perhaps these banned members were never the real problem here?

Why is a filthy pedophile anti-Semitic troll worth protecting so aggressively??? Am I the next one to bite the dust, and will that actually help solve anything?

trader#21 · Mar 19, 2010

sad to hear that TraderNik was once banned

Rearden Metal · Mar 19, 2010

Quote from killthesunshine:

if there banned how can they "hardly ever post here anymore" anymore ?

Ask Marketsurfer or Cold. Dying on ET is like killing Kenny on South Park. Problem is that the better posters take it as a serious personal insult, and don't always come back.

killthesunshine · Mar 19, 2010

Quote from Rearden Metal:

Ask Marketsurfer or Cold. Dying on ET is like killing Kenny on South Park. Problem is that the better posters take it as a serious personal insult, and don't always come back.

if you know 777 so well then you must realize this is just the kind of attention he seeks, you play right into his hand :eek:

killthesunshine · Mar 19, 2010

ps Momo banned, LOL that's precious

obviously 777 triumphs again, gotta hand it to him he's got nine lives+

Rearden Metal · Mar 19, 2010

Quote from killthesunshine:

if you know 777 so well then you must realize this is just the kind of attention he seeks, you play right into his hand :eek:

You're right.

But starting this thread seemed necessary, in an effort to help the mods reconsider their god-awful policy of banning people who get along perfectly well with everyone else but the town leper.

They want to keep the LoZZZer disease around? Fine. But the best course of action right now would be a full and immediate reinstatement of momo/ph0x and his posts, while implementing a new policy of decriminalizing retaliation against Optional777, as long as one keeps his harsher insults confined to just the troll and no one else.

byteme · Mar 19, 2010

Quote from Rearden Metal:

Yes, these guys were pretty aggressive with their personal insults against the troll, but notice how well they all got along with everyone else.

That's simply not true. I'm not sure you can really speak on behalf of "everyone" else. I saw nothing but childish behavior from Mom0/pH0x whose modus operandi seemed to be dominated by ad hominen attacks against anyone who disagreed with him. I have to assume he/she is just a teenager. His recent perpetual immature stalking of Optional777 and hypocrisy were pretty pathetic.

Similarly, it takes a very short time of observation to understand what kind of character Optional777 is. He has you right where he wants you: creating new threads about him on an almost daily basis. You are his puppets. Way to feed his ego.

Rearden Metal · Mar 19, 2010

Quote from byteme:

Similarly, it takes a very short time of observation to understand what kind of character Optional777 is. He has you right where he wants you: creating new threads about him on an almost daily basis. You are his puppets. Way to feed his ego.

Hey, I wrote the book on that four years ago:

A team of dedicated troll zoologists has spent the past five years observing the troll in its natural habitat. Here are their findings:

Trolling 101:

If you happen to play poker, understand that professional trolls utilize a very similar strategy: Tight-aggressive

Tight: Don't give the victim an inch! Never admit the possibility of ever having been wrong. Never say anything which can be remotely useful or helpful to anyone. Never provide the prey with a single word he may wish to hear. Give nothing!

Aggressive: Focus! Your goal is not conversation or debate, but the exact opposite- nihilism. Mercy is merely a handicap of the weak. You are a disease with only one goal in mind: writing whatever it takes to piss off the victim. Contradict yourself all the time, repeat the victim's words verbatim like a bratty child, take the high road and repeatedly request that the victim stay on topic, post in every single thread and then accuse the victim of 'stalking' when he shows up in one of them, make ridiculous statements- but do it assertively and repeatedly, but most importantly:

Laugh when nothing is funny!
Laugh at the victim constantly, use smiley faces, and pretend to completely miss every single point he tries to make. Remember, looking like a complete idiot yourself is unavoidable if you wish to troll at the professional level.

Another key troll tactic is the practice of winning by losing. While the victim is trying to put forward solid and convincing facts to prove his position, the troll's only goal is to infuriate its prey. The troll takes (what it knows to be) a badly flawed, wholly illogical argument, and then vigorously defends it while mocking and insulting its prey. The troll looks like a complete idiot, but this is all part of the plan. The victim becomes noticeably angry by trying to repeatedly explain the flaws of the troll's argument. Provoking this anger was the troll's one and only goal from the very beginning.

Another important trolling tip I learned by observing LoZZZer's work: The lioness does not indiscriminately launch an attack on every animal she wishes to eat. She stalks her prey, determining which specific individual antelope is weak, tired and slow. The expert troll must use this very approach, as not every post is worth trolling. ZTroll specifically waits for someone to discuss a topic which is of great personal importance to the prey. With an innate sense of unyielding discipline- a product of millions of years of painstaking troll evolution, ZTroll crouches in the brush, patiently waiting for an emotional, dedicated post. A post where the prey feels so strongly about a certain topic, he can't restrain his emotional enthusiasm when arguing his point. Any post of this sort in P&R is guaranteed to spark a LoZZZer trolling effort. The predator will then deftly pounce upon its prey, pretending to laugh hysterically at the victim's strong willed, passionate assertions while distorting them in straw-man fashion. Eye on the prize, the creature will then tightly lock its fangs around the prey's neck, clinging tightly to the jugular while deftly wringing the life from its prey until the victim cracks- i.e., becomes highly frustrated and visibly redfaced. This in turn provides the troll with its well earned nourishment, as well as the creature's only source of sexual gratification: Furious anger and anguish. Thus, the circle of life continues.

killthesunshine · Mar 19, 2010

how do you fight fire? with fire

ChaosNSX · Mar 19, 2010

Just wanted to drop in and say hi to Rearden.

Hope you are doing well buddy, and remember don't tap the aquarium to much

Take care

Quote from Rearden Metal:

Ask Marketsurfer or Cold. Dying on ET is like killing Kenny on South Park. Problem is that the better posters take it as a serious personal insult, and don't always come back.