Why We Need Trolls (opens in new tab)

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1 pointsmrvc15y ago4 comments

4 comments

4 comments · 2 top-level

mooism215y ago· 2 in thread

It does hurt people. It means that people who want to discuss something calmly and rationally can't, because the troll keeps derailing the conversation.

mrvcOP15y ago

Do trolls really derail a conversation or encourage it along? Particularly on sites like Reddit, i've found them to be vilified, yet the way they can instantly cause a change of perspective to counter groupthink is vastly under appreciated. They're useful, else they wouldn't have existed for so long.

mooism215y ago

Trolling is the art of winding people up. Offering a different perspective is not trolling. Offering the same different perspective repeatedly and refusing to take it to a thread where it's already been discussed to death is an example of trolling; it derails and does not encourage.

Trolls exist because some people enjoy winding people up. Being useful isn't a motive.

tobylane15y ago

You're welcome :P

As long as the people who don't see it all as a joke are sufficiently contained, then yes, it adds breadth to a conversations of comments. Someone mentions Hitler, someone else is reminded of something clever the Germans do.

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