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asyndeta
26 December 2006 @ 05:08 pm
Happy Boxing Day?  
And now for something entirely un-Christmas-related....a snippet from My Older Brother Vs. The Internet.

Mother: *discussing a forum she visits* ...so yes, he was annoying. But eventually the mods banned him, they thought he was a troll.
Josh: What's a troll?
Naomi: Um...basically it's someone who hangs around online forums and Livejournal etc. and makes inflammatory comments just to start off fights.
Josh: *bewildered* Why do they bother?
Naomi: *shrug* They think it's fun.
Josh: ....so why do you call them trolls? We had a word for that before the Internet. It's 'dickhead'.
Naomi: But -
Josh: No, no buts. You're just validating their dickheadish behaviour by giving them a special word. 'The mods banned him because they thought he was a dickhead'. Isn't that easier for everyone to understand?
Naomi: ...you may have a point.

So I'm not calling them trolls any more. Happy holidays.

- Naomi
 
 
Current Mood: festive!
Current Music: Catatonia - 'Bulimic Beats'
 
6 comments | Leave a comment
 
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The Celestial Bureaucracy Complaints Office: Osaka Bewildered[info]eslington on December 26th, 2006 05:59 pm (UTC)
So now people are dickheading your forums?
[info]asyndeta on December 26th, 2006 06:02 pm (UTC)
Exactly! It even works as a verb.
angsty lemon uke: [davenport][info]wabisuke on December 26th, 2006 07:30 pm (UTC)
Haha. Reminds me of when I first heard the 'troll' term with its definition. Except I was too polite to call them dickheads.
[info]chibikat_wtf on December 26th, 2006 11:10 pm (UTC)
Ahahaha...your brother does indeed have a point. There've been some massive dickheading problems at a forum I frequent - maybe I'll introduce this newfangled concept to the mods?

Also: Happy Kwanzaa. I haven't spoken to you in forever.
powerfully crisp: Sess[info]everfirewind on December 26th, 2006 11:33 pm (UTC)
Happy Boxing Day!

I remember back when I first heard the term "troll" I was pretty confused. When I found out that it pretty much means "Internet dickhead" instead of "nasty creature who lives under a bridge and attempts to eat cute animals," a similar question rose in my mind: why not just call them dickheads (or, to use the term I prefer, fucktards)? No need to mince words and form perplexing analogies in the meantime.
[info]asyndeta on December 26th, 2006 11:42 pm (UTC)
I'll have to teach Josh 'fucktard', I think he'll like it. ♥ Still, banning a Harry Potter fan on grounds of being a dickhead/fucktard (dicktard?) does deny one the admittedly pretty stale 'troll in the dungeon' joke.