Charlemagne Allen Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) I have spent a great deal of time on Welcome Hubs and other places that attract silly people, so I thought it would be a good idea to document the general types of trolls that exist in SL. The traditional "spam a million *****es" people no longer really exist, so it's mainly people who harass and annoy everyone. 1. The Voice Troll: Talks a great deal on Voice and starts fights just to get a reaction. These people mainly hang out on London City and then get instantly banned. They may respond to being ignored by being more rude and annoying, so the best way to get ride of them is to mute them. Alternatively, if you feel amused, you can tp them to any other place with Voice (not a newbie infohub) and watch them get in a fight with others and then get banned. Very easy. 2. The Obvious Troll: This type goes for the most basic shock and are really quite boring. They usually have either disabled or racially-charged avatars and they spam loud noises. These people are really quite boring, so it's best just to mute and report them. They may also spam huge annoying particle effects but this is not as common. In any case, just mute them. 3. The Creep: The Creep IM's new players and makes sexually charged remarks or asks for private information. These are the most difficult trolls to deal with, since new people don't know how report them. They also set up multiple alts, which is hard to deal with. If you see a new account idling for more than a day in one place without moving, it's likely an alt or a bot of some kind. 4. The Gaslighter: The Gaslighter is in it for the long run. They don't do anything broadly offensive but will try to mess without others psychologically over time. One I met stood for hours at an infohub, insisting he was seeing what kind of losers stay on SL. Just don't engage them and you will be fine. 5. The Crazy Person: Actually mentally disturbed person who fixates on one thing and then just spams chat. Just don't engage at all. Let me know if there's anything I've missed or if you have any experiences with trolls. Edited May 20 by Charlemagne Allen 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scylla Rhiadra Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) Years ago there was a guy who used to hang out at a very popular chat place I spent a lot of time at. He was mostly pretty pleasant, and when he was, I quite liked him. But he clearly had "issues" of some sort, and on occasion he would become quite frenetic and filled local chat with attention-seeking inanities and sometimes offensive comments. Mostly he was tolerated by the community, largely because we all recognized that, as annoying and occasionally obnoxious as he could be, he was really just trying to find a way to fit in. I suspect too that he was pretty young, and that likely factored in too. Then one day, when he was in one of his attention-seeking spells, he went off the deep end and dressed his avi up as the most offensively racist caricature of a black man he could manage, and began to spout the worst crap to go along with it. Needless to say, everyone was repulsed. I tried to talk him down (because I'm stupid) and get him to stop, but clearly someone had (understandably) ARed him, and a Linden suddenly appeared above him. Seconds later he was gone, never to be heard from again. I suppose he probably fits into your 5th category, although he most often was not like this. I think that trolls can be . . . complicated. Edited May 20 by Scylla Rhiadra Typo 4 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 Yes, the 5th category can be sympathetic at first, but they usually end up burning all bridges. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc DeSantis Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 6 th the one who tries here, fails to gain traction at 'the other place' then tries again here to lure mayflies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 I keep voice off and avoid all those busy places that trolls hang out. Haven't had to deal with one in probably 10 yrs. 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 7 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said: I keep voice off and avoid all those busy places that trolls hang out. Haven't had to deal with one in probably 10 yrs. Yes, but it's the first thing that new people see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hexem Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said: I think that trolls can be . . . complicated. You don't say. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 2 hours ago, Charlemagne Allen said: I have spent a great deal of time on Welcome Hubs and other places that attract silly people, so I thought it would be a good idea to document the general types of trolls that exist in SL. The traditional "spam a million *****es" people no longer really exist, so it's mainly people who harass and annoy everyone. 1. The Voice Troll: Talks a great deal on Voice and starts fights just to get a reaction. These people mainly hang out on London City and then get instantly banned. They may respond to being ignored by being more rude and annoying, so the best way to get ride of them is to mute them. Alternatively, if you feel amused, you can tp them to any other place with Voice (not a newbie infohub) and watch them get in a fight with others and then get banned. Very easy. 2. The Obvious Troll: This type goes for the most basic shock and are really quite boring. They usually have either disabled or racially-charged avatars and they spam loud noises. These people are really quite boring, so it's best just to mute and report them. They may also spam huge annoying particle effects but this is not as common. In any case, just mute them. 3. The Creep: The Creep IM's new players and makes sexually charged remarks or asks for private information. These are the most difficult trolls to deal with, since new people don't know how report them. They also set up multiple alts, which is hard to deal with. If you see a new account idling for more than a day in one place without moving, it's likely an alt or a bot of some kind. 4. The Gaslighter: The Gaslighter is in it for the long run. They don't do anything broadly offensive but will try to mess without others psychologically over time. One I met stood for hours at an infohub, insisting he was seeing what kind of losers stay on SL. Just don't engage them and you will be fine. 5. The Crazy Person: Actually mentally disturbed person who fixates on one thing and then just spams chat. Just don't engage at all. Let me know if there's anything I've missed or if you have any experiences with trolls. Excuse me, but where is the "Sexy Troll" on your list? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said: I keep voice off and avoid all those busy places that trolls hang out. Haven't had to deal with one in probably 10 yrs. I don't voice, everyone would accuse me of using a voice changer. Plus, it is completely unfair to use voice if one's voice is too sexy. People just can't resist. The prim-baby paternity suits alone.. ETA: Yes, I used voice with my closest SL family back in the day, but you don't mess with family.. Edited May 20 by Love Zhaoying 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Amore Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Charlemagne Allen said: Yes, but it's the first thing that new people see. The New Welcome Hub is not that bad from the time I spent there. Places like London City, Ahern, Social Island 10 have always been magnets for trolls and why I've always told new people to avoid them. YMMV Edited May 20 by Rowan Amore 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmi Zehetbauer Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Maybe a "Linden Troll" --- someone that hounds a Linden staff person that's in world for immediate help.. Seen it happen --- had a Linden come into my in world club to enjoy the live performer that was playing and saw a few comments chat asking him for help with issues. After a bit he PMed me saying he was getting PMs too about the same thing and was about to leave. I PMed him back he should be able to enjoy the tunes on his break and I said in chat in the club to let him enjoy the tunes and send their issues via a support ticket. He got to enjoy most of the performer singing without much bother after that. He PMed me later that he did the back-end server stuff and not the front-end customer support. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 3 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said: Excuse me, but where is the "Sexy Troll" on your list? These are the silly people. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 1 hour ago, Kimmi Zehetbauer said: Maybe a "Linden Troll" --- someone that hounds a Linden staff person that's in world for immediate help.. Seen it happen --- had a Linden come into my in world club to enjoy the live performer that was playing and saw a few comments chat asking him for help with issues. After a bit he PMed me saying he was getting PMs too about the same thing and was about to leave. I PMed him back he should be able to enjoy the tunes on his break and I said in chat in the club to let him enjoy the tunes and send their issues via a support ticket. He got to enjoy most of the performer singing without much bother after that. He PMed me later that he did the back-end server stuff and not the front-end customer support. That’s depressing. Also, good reason to have a personal account. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephone Emerald Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 There are trolls specific to mental health support groups. Some act like they're some kind of expert, always commenting and giving general advice. They get upset when others ignore them or tell them to let others speak more. Some purposefully try to upset people and could even go so far as to tell people to off themselves. Moderators have to boot these ASAP. Some might be mentally unwell, but they dominate the chat and refuse to follow the rules. These might also get booted, depending on how persistent and self-absorbed they are. Do other groups have specific kinds of trolls as well? I'm imagining the kink and Gorean communities would. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 1 minute ago, Persephone Emerald said: There are trolls specific to mental health support groups. Some act like they're some kind of expert, always commenting and giving general advice. They get upset when others ignore them or tell them to let others speak more. Some purposefully try to upset people and could even go so far as to tell people to off themselves. Moderators have to boot these ASAP. Some might be mentally unwell, but they dominate the chat and refuse to follow the rules. These might also get booted, depending on how persistent and self-absorbed they are. Do other groups have specific kinds of trolls as well? I'm imagining the kink and Gorean communities would. We get the "Mental Health" trolls here on the Forum a lot! And no, I'm not referring to @Luna Bliss. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimmi Zehetbauer Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 8 minutes ago, Charlemagne Allen said: That’s depressing. Also, good reason to have a personal account. I think most of the staff does. I know in other MMOs if a "GM" makes an appearance they usually get hounded like mad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Persephone Emerald Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Just now, Love Zhaoying said: We get the "Mental Health" trolls here on the Forum a lot! And no, I'm not referring to @Luna Bliss. There was that one guy who wanted to open a "roleplay" clinic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Love Zhaoying Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 2 minutes ago, Persephone Emerald said: There was that one guy who wanted to open a "roleplay" clinic. "..some could benefit from it" "but you said its RolePlay" "it is.." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rat Luv Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 5 hours ago, Charlemagne Allen said: 2. The Obvious Troll: This type goes for the most basic shock and are really quite boring. They usually have either disabled or racially-charged avatars and they spam loud noises. These people are really quite boring, so it's best just to mute and report them. They may also spam huge annoying particle effects but this is not as common. In any case, just mute them. These are the types I encountered the most Someone was always leaving full bright red and blue prims in the public sandbox, which made this horrible loud alarm noise...🙉 And flooding the sandbox with cubes of Mario and Bill Cosby, and some other guy with a beard? I remember one day sitting on the roof at a store called Pixeldolls while a group of griefers were orbiting everyone who came in...I could see shoppers whizzing past me into the sky with their legs and arms flapping Well...I suppose it was quite annoying, but it was also a bit funny to watch... 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Huntsman Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 I usually just troll people if they are absolute jerks to me. Then I just go full ham. Lol. Other than that, being an ex SL troll. Yeah these ones are pretty lame now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 14 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said: There are trolls specific to mental health support groups. Some act like they're some kind of expert, always commenting and giving general advice. They get upset when others ignore them or tell them to let others speak more. Some purposefully try to upset people and could even go so far as to tell people to off themselves. Moderators have to boot these ASAP. Some might be mentally unwell, but they dominate the chat and refuse to follow the rules. These might also get booted, depending on how persistent and self-absorbed they are. Do other groups have specific kinds of trolls as well? I'm imagining the kink and Gorean communities would. That's interesting. Also super sad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brodiac90 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 The kid community griefer troll is a thing. People will specifically target places where child avatars meet like dance classes and schools etc and then do rude or obscene things and record it for streams. Or they'll do politically charged things and feign ignorance. "What do you mean I can't bring my AK47 into a school full of child avatars?!" It's all about getting a reaction and is extremely sad and lame. And before anyone mentions it, because I'm sure someone will..... yes, people using child avis to grief on adult land is also a thing. It's been mentioned about a million times already and it's as equally as sad. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlemagne Allen Posted May 21 Author Share Posted May 21 11 minutes ago, brodiac90 said: The kid community griefer troll is a thing. People will specifically target places where child avatars meet like dance classes and schools etc and then do rude or obscene things and record it for streams. Or they'll do politically charged things and feign ignorance. "What do you mean I can't bring my AK47 into a school full of child avatars?!" It's all about getting a reaction and is extremely sad and lame. And before anyone mentions it, because I'm sure someone will..... yes, people using child avis to grief on adult land is also a thing. It's been mentioned about a million times already and it's as equally as sad. Seriously, they all want to be BritBong or DanielInSL, and it's depressing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aethelwine Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 There is perhaps another type of Troll that are funny and make themselves the target of their humour. I used to have a gallery of art I had bought in SL. One day when I was there moving pictures around a couple arrived dressed in Second world war Nazi costumes. In my conversation with them it became apparent they meant no harm and were actually quite funny and well observed. They talked about their collection of art picked up in Europe and then they spotted the culprit pilot trainer and had a lot of fun with that. I had been close to banning them on sight because of their appearance, but gave them a chance and had an enjoyable and memorable experience. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belindacarson Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 What never ceases to amaze me, is when somebody cries that someone is a "troll" because they have a different opinion to them. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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