I have wondered about this for awhile,but with ed posting so much I needed an answer. Why in the world would anyone come on this board that wanted to troll? What do they get out of it? Are they trying to ignite something (like ed is doing a good job of),do they feel superior to exmo's and think they might convince some to come back to church?

Are they so bored or have no life? Do they enjoy insulting people? Are they usually active mormons pretending to be searching for answers? I just can't wrap my mind around why anyone would spend so much time and emotion on something they really aren't even interested it.

Thanks for clarifying. I'm a little slow sometimes.

Didn't realize you couldn't say the word.

There are a few possible answers.

One is that they are just a grown up kid who likes poking a stick into an ant hill to watch the commotion. They like to stand back and say, wow! look what I did.

Some would think we are evil, and deserve to be roughed up a bit as a penalty for being such bad people.

Some have learned that getting negative attention is better than getting no attention.

And many other possible reasons.

to people around them. They love to hurt people, and don't care, because it is all about them. They are the show. They will make themselves look pious, sincere, righteous, persecuted, etc. while killing you. I knew one of these in TSCC. I have no sympathy for them.

The grammar is bad, the thought is unclear, the logic is circular and the ignorance is astounding.

The writing leads me to believe that they are either young or of lower-than-average intelligence or both.

The worst emotional attack in life is often not an attack at all. It is frequently simply being ignored. Nothing stings quite so sharp as apathy. No realization is quite so harsh as the knowledge that you may in fact, not really matter. It is the worst criticism, it is the cruelest treatment. Children throw tantrums to get attention, not because they want to be hit by the abusive parent, but because they are so desperately craving the acknowledgement. They need to know that they are important enough to simply be seen.

The trolls are after attention in any form they can get it. They lack the intelligence to gain admiration. They have no means of positive impression. So they do what every class clown in the history of the world has done, they resort to negative attention by pissing people off.

At least that way, someone acknowledges that they exist.

That's my take anyway.

(Edit, I need to stop posting from a phone, I make too many typos as I criticize someone else's writing).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2011 10:05PM by The Man in Black.

+1

Expelcially thuh. Pooosting frum a fone pahrt. See, I am a jeeenius, but phone makes me look stoopid. ;-)

>> The worst emotional attack in life is often not an attack at all. It is frequently simply being ignored. Nothing stings quite so sharp as apathy. No realization is quite so harsh as the knowledge that you may in fact, not really matter. It is the worst criticism, it is the cruelest treatment.

I once wrote a song about this once. The story goes like this. After a guy and a girl break up, she sees him but walks past him as if he were a stranger. It was more cruel to him than if she slept with his best friend or screamed at him.

Many reasons --all boils down to one reason

"Control"- by provoking a response in a select group of people.

Trolls have no desire to actually act out their questions. They seek to "CONTROL" the thread by pleading gentleness and their lack of understanding. Then throw out emotional thread themes that will cause people to react and then they say look at me - I am way smarter because I have gained "CONTROL" over those excited exmormons.

As you "love kids" You should treat trolls like little children throwing a tantrum. The best thing is to ignore them and when no one comes out to play, they go home

JB

Wow. Very interesting.I kind of figured the last dude was very lonely and very angry.
I am a very black and white person and I just don't get the whole concept of holier than thou attitudes. If the troll is lonely,unhappy,self righteous,etc. and they come on so strong to total strangers,I'd think they must have really serious mental or emotional problems. Most people want and need to be liked/loved. I would guess they are socially very immature.
Narcissist sounds right.
Will ed still be able to read posts and just not post himself? Or has he been relegated to outer darkness?

New exmos, or Mormons who are close to coming out of Mormonism sometimes come here with a head full of weird Mormon beliefs that clash with the flow of the board.

They aren't trying to invoke reactions, or attack people, they just are having some serious cognitive dissonance and this board is apparently here to help them get through it.

Sure, there are trolls who come around just for the laughs, but there are also people who genuinely need help. Besides, the term "troll" gets thrown around here way too often by people who should know better.

Of course, I have no idea what this ed fellow is doing, as I haven't kept up on the relevant postings.

They have no power in their life and causing aggravation gives them a feeling of power. The engage in name calling to make themselves feel superior.

I have to go with this one. Trolling makes you feel powerful. And afterall, power is the only thing TBMs can get from the church, power over the sheeple. If someone can't get that in a church assig --- calling, then why not as a troll?

I think it's more simple than that. Bored kid, nothing to do, rides in on a whirlwind, gets attention and likes it whether good or bad.

Just sayin'...

Ron

At first it can be confusing trying to determine who is a troll, and who is clumsy and has a ways to go.

A clumsy person who is still trying to wrap his head around a way to think without LDS programing will probably keep stepping in it without realizing it. Such person needs some patience.

A troll like the one in question drops in just enough real sounding questions to get some people on board with him needing some patience and support, then uses that little bit of good will to go stink up other threads with crap.

People who are questioning and wondering, but clumsy, will be seeking information, then have a hard time processing it. Someone who comes in and jumps into threads where they don't have a question at all, and spout off a bunch of judgmental crap aren't looking for answers, they are looking for a way demean people for not being mormon.

If you looked at the last guy, he had 20% questions, and 80% crapping all over other people's threads with self-righteous, mean spirited, judgments.

He used just enough curiosity to get some misguided patience, but really wanted to look down his nose at victims of child abuse, Gays, "Bitter people" etc. If that is the majority of what you do here, you are a troll. Any misguided attempts to overlook it, just in case they will leave the church, is letting legitimate people who are hurting and looking for answers get shit on. Just like the lady who got crapped all over on her thread about abuse.