Why do people engage in pointless discussions with obvious trolls?

[Rikafip]

Seriously though, I just can't wrap my head around that. I understand that newbies and shitposters are looking at any  topic to dump their opinion and move on, but why more experienced members can't resist indulging an obvious trolls who make low value topics out of pure boredom? Are people equally bored as those trolls so this comes as some kind of fun?

Two examples from the first page of Meta
I am Satoshi Nakamoto
Where is my merits?

I didn't say that I never commented on some troll topic, but I am working on that, as I know that's exactly what those trolls want and I don't wanna give them the pleasure of responding to their nonsense.

[1715331372]

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[OcTradism]

- Get post quota (most common reason)
- They have personal to each other for too long
- Fun and want to fight against trollers (it is not necessary)
The first reason is the most common.

Don't feed the troll. I never join such troll discussions. If you and others (no one joins with a single post, they will be tired to death and will stop).

[dkbit98]

Seriously though, I just can't wrap my head around that. I understand that newbies and shitposters are looking at any  topic to dump their opinion and move on, buy why more experienced members can't resist indulging an obvious trolls who make low value topics out of pure boredom? Are people equally bored as those trolls so this comes as some kind of fun?

Answer is: signature campaigns.

Some people can write whole novels of empty talk without any real meaning, but my solution is to report all this posts to moderators and ignore those members.

First topic you mention also don't belong to Meta.

[Rikafip]

They have personal to each other for too long

I understand that some members have long history and feuds that result in trolling each other from time to time, but I am more talking about members whose sole purpose is to troll, they make account only because of that, and people still get hooked.

Answer is: signature campaigns.

That's an obvious answer that first comes to mind, and it's true that this forum is specific in that regard as you have extra incentive to answer to any shitpost, unlike any other forum. But somehow I don't think that's the only reason (or even main reason for some) why people engage in that "activity".

Some people can write whole novels of empty talk without any real meaning, but my solution is to report all this posts to moderators and ignore those members.

I reported that "satoshi" topic, hopefully it gets deleted.  

Question I ask myself every time I want to answer to some nonsense topic: If I answer and consequently make  that troll happy as that's exactly what he wanted, am I any better than him?
In the end, if main reason why people still engage trolls is due signature campaign, maybe we should be more active in reporting such topics. When those start getting deleted more often, maybe people will realize that they are wasting their time.

edit: and satoshi topic is deleted, thnx mods!

[Harlot]

buy why more experienced members can't resist indulging an obvious trolls who make low value topics out of pure boredom? Are people equally bored as those trolls so this comes as some kind of fun?

I commented on that "I am Satoshi Nakamoto" troll thread as well and my main reason was I got triggered by his broken responses that people needed "his" money to prove that he is Satoshi Nakamoto. I simply responded to him that signing signatures are free as given by hilarious which I think is reasonable. And also that's my reason why I respond to such threads as these kinds of wrong arguments trigger me to reply to them.

[YOSHIE]

No, they don't take it seriously, those involved in the discussion know it's a "troll".

Only in this case a topic or post made by trolls have two assumptions.
1. Some of the members here can regard the post as trolling.
2. On the other hand, there are those who find the post a funny contribution and for fun.

In a topic or discussion trolls usually lead to "controversy" by saying nonsense a lot of leads to negativity, everyone knows that.
Precisely from that the discussion of most troll topics is full of ridiculous words, in fact they are smarter than the critics.

I also often reply to topics that are done by trolls, because each troll has two properties.
1. psychopathy: trolls are classified as human mad, emotional behavior, like breaking the rules, etc.
Here we have to face it gently and don't go against the grain, suppose we are talking to a crazy person.
2. sadism: this leads to bullying, ridicule, harsh words, etc.
Here we are only responding to the troll post, consciously what it says is not right, just follow the game.

In this case if someone understands real trolls, they like to engage in troll discussions, sloppy conversations are not too serious in thinking about posts or replies, reply, nag, finish.

[hilariousandco]

Many reasons:

Because it's fun.
Signature campaigns.
Some people might not realise it's a troll thread and think it's a genuine query.

Depending on the type of troll it's often-times best to just ignore them but some are more malicious or annoying that others and can be entertaining to either humour them or troll them back, but either way they should be decided on a case by base basis.

[TIDOVEE]

People do that just to fulfill the condition of their registered project usually at signature campaign, most especially when the project requires much post such as 20-25 post in a week. Some people are busier than what they signed for and would just want to meet up even when tired, they therefore just make any shit and submit. Many of them have never been banned temporarily before, so they don't know what it means. Reasons post requires diligence.

[Welsh]

Obviously, I'll agree that the listed things such as signature campaigns increase the engagement with lesser so serious threads, and trolls. The other reason, would be that people are generally attracted, and entertained by drama, its why soaps exist, and why they're like one of the most watched shows. Personally, I hate soaps, and therefore tend to avoid getting into discussions with trolls, however its not all bad. Reiterating hilarioudandco's response; Sometimes it can be fun, and entertaining. I think it depends on the severity of the troll thread, and what effect its having on the forum as a whole. A one off thread, can easily be ignored by those that aren't entertained by it, and anything that's a little more annoying, can be reported to the moderators, and they can take a look at whether it justifies an action.

I'm also sure, that a lot of users were not so quick to throw out the idea of that one example of the OP being Satoshi, and honestly I would agree that you shouldn't toss out anything that's unlikely. Of course, there was no evidence given, and it was quite obvious a troll attempt, but it did have some people genuinely researching, and considering whether they were in fact Satoshi.

[skarais]

Many reasons:

Because it's fun.
Signature campaigns.
Some people might not realise it's a troll thread and think it's a genuine query.

Depending on the type of troll it's often-times best to just ignore them but some are more malicious or annoying that others and can be entertaining to either humour them or troll them back, but either way they should be decided on a case by base basis.

I think these 3 reason already represent many other reason why someone posting on a thread is considered a troll. Their trolling effort are sometime so vague and seem like genuine question that it invites several people to respond. In some case, I think arguing with them is really fun and generate more motivation and courage, but it's also often emotional. Troll are smart but have a stupid attitude and are full of bullshit so the two categories of trolls that Yoshie mentioned are enough to not feed them. I'm pretty sure they'll find this thread soon, and can't wait to put it on the ignore list.

[The Cryptovator]

I can't recall if I post on such a thread, if so then @hilariousandco is right. Sometimes we can't determine which is a real troll, and we engaged in the discussion. But often, I have been trying to report Low/Zero-value posts, and good to see that moderators handle them. Seems one of your mentioned topics has been deleted. So reporting them would be a good move.

[examplens]

people usually write here because they want to be a part of the Bitcoin community. Cryptocurrencies will become very important in our life and Bitcoin is the future of digital money. Here is a lot of opportunities to earn Bitcoin, like joining on the signature campaign, bounty programs, managing bounty... So probably everyone wants to earn Bitcoin.
I must say, it is a good project, thanks to the OP which create it. Also, thanks to the sir-creator of this forum.
I'm not sure what I wanted to say now, but I'll somehow accumulate enough characters in this post to be eligible as a good and constructive post. if anyone answers me here, I probably won't reply, because this post will be overwhelmed with more quality posts like this.

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Where is my merits?

Didn't check, but I think I posted in that thread.  Why?  Aw hell, I don't know--Meta has always been one of my favorite sections, but as of late it seems like there haven't been that many interesting threads, and if I remember correctly the OP of the above thread didn't come off as an obvious troll but an ignorant newbie (I haven't checked, so I'm going by memory).

Some trolls aren't so blatant, some are.  I put cryptohunter and the rest of his alts on ignore, because I don't think trolls should be fed.  But sometimes posters are just idiots and hey, if you've got nothing else to do why not get in a few barbs?

I'm concerned that there haven't been as many threads that have stimulated my interest lately--and by "lately" I mean probably all of 2020.  I used to have no problem finding a post I wanted to reply to or a thread that I found interesting, but it hasn't been like that for quite some time.  Maybe that's why I'm willing to lower my standards to the basement and reply to morons posting about merits and other assorted nonsense.

[iamsheikhadil]

I think the major reason is to meet post counts of signature campaigns lmao.

Sometimes I think, people make these troll accounts themselves (no one in particular) to reply and meet the post quota.

Sometimes just to give the troll a burn in behind.

And sometimes, engaging with them is fun lol. Sometimes we need entertainment as well!

[BitcoinFX]

This thread topic is pointless.

Beware of the Trolls !?

DEFCON 19: The Art of Trolling (w speaker) *NSFW*
- https://youtu.be/AHqGV5WjS4w

[Upgrade00]

In some situations, even if the OP is a low value topic, there can be some discussions within the thread which can be relevant and stir up more replies, so users engage that new line of discussion, which could be somewhat related to the original topic to not be completely off (it doesn't really have to be, as the OP was not a relevant topic).
It could also be to meet post count or the numerous other reasons already given here.

I'm not sure what I wanted to say now, but I'll somehow accumulate enough characters in this post to be eligible as a good and constructive post. if anyone answers me here, I probably won't reply, because this post will be overwhelmed with more quality posts like this.

Cheeky reply, I doubt there would be enough more quality replies to top this.

[LTU_btc]

There is multiple reasons why. One is signature campaigns obviously. But there is much more reasons. Some people don't realise that they are talking with troll, or they simply believe that can change troll's mind and prove that he is wrong. Though, most of us know that conflicts on internet lead nowhere and it's waste of time. But some simply can't ignore troll and want to feed him.
Also, I think that some simply have too much free time to waste it on pointless discussions. And some people who argue with troll can be called as keyboard warriors I think .

Vod keeps leaving false trust ratings and spreading lies. Perhaps the forum should enforce the rules on shitty trolling pieces of trash like Vod so we don’t have to engage in their pointless trash.

C'mon, do we need another OgNasty vs Vod topic???

[pugman]

Eh, its not a big deal. If you plan to stop the forum from conversations like this, I assure you, 92% of the forum would be dead. It is somewhat good that these topics still exist, it sparkles a little bit of discussion although not in the right way, at this point, it is kinda appreciated.

Yes, the spam is awful and dealing with it sucks, but the spam is what also causes the community to come together to collectively tell the trolls to go suck their grandma's tiddies. So don't worry, trolls will never stop, and plus why do you want to have a boring forum experience when you can talk shit to trolls and make them butthurt  .

[suchmoon]

Can we make this into a 100-page thread of philosophical deliberations on the topic of not feeding the trolls. That'll teach them

[Rikafip]

Thanks everyone for their view on the matter, answers were pretty much what I expected. Since I have no intention to drag this indefinitely just to hear more reiterations of what has been said already, I am locking this topic.