For a very very long time, I simply responded to these people and kept them in their place where necessary. This took a lot of my time, looks bad to a random onlooker and generally wastes everyone's time reading the pointless to and fro crap.
For a while I've been trying a new approach to dealing with such people. It's been working very effectively. At first it felt a bit wrong to do this, however the benefits so so SO far outweigh the potential cost that I'm formalising it here and now.
Trolling
The art of dragging a lure behind a boat with the intent to imitate a species upon which the target fish typically preys. Sometimes the lure is made of plastic/rubber, and other times it's made of a dead, or even live fish with hooks embedded in its body in strategic places.
Here are a couple of pictures that I found on the net of trolling. The first is the view from the boat whilst trolling. The second is the theoretical view from the water behind the boat as the target species strikes.
Fred Trolling
I've actually done a LOT of trolling over the years, mostly on the high seas around New Zealand but also on the internet where morally warranted. Here are a couple of pictures of me engaging in the spoils of trolling.
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Trolling Policy
Trolling for fish is a great sport with a wonderful-tasting result should you be successful. Trolling on the internet tends only to upset people, whether they deserve it or not. Few if any people on this site deserve to be trolled. Therefore trolls, once identified, will immediately have their free-posting privileges revoked. Such privileges can be regained only through long-term good behaviour under the new conditions imposed. Trolls can still post on the forum, however their posts come through me first. This saves you from wasting your time, which is important where "you" includes hardware and PC-side software developers. It saves me from wasting my time, because, although I do have to read the drivel, I don't have to respond and enter into the tit for tat game that they so desire. It's win-win.
What will earn you a lock down like this?
- Excess off-topic in the technical parts of the forum will earn it.
- Soliciting a negative emotional response purely for amusement will earn it. (any forum section)
- Repeatedly disobeying my requests to adhere to the very-minimal rules will earn it.
- Anything that warrants your post being removed will earn it.
- Trying to use this forum as a means of evangelism and/or recruiting will earn it.
Some have tried to describe this as censorship, however that's not really what it is. It's simply a softer alternative to an outright ban, with an option to come back.
So, if you want to avoid joining the ranks of the trolls here, on DIYEFI.org, please don't be ugly like this:
Regards,
Fred.