Getting accused of being a troll?

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I find that if I try and learn about computing or get computing help then I'm never-endingly accused of being a troll. I'm just trying to learn but it's only ok for other people to do this. So far I've identified the following etiquette amongst technical nts / geeks:

Research before asking / prove that you've researched
Don't say you don't know anything, not knowing is not allowed
Not allowed to ask about noobish things like how to configure a firewall, god knows what happens if anyone is asking about how to get to the windows control panel.

I've recently been added to a forum blacklist for spammers as well Stop Forum Spam these people have suspicously removed their removal service and have blocked anyone in the database from sending them an email, so now my personal email is listed on the web with no way to take it off, thanks! Now I'm the one getting the spam.

Adamantus, you're just on the wrong forums. You need to find one that caters to users at your level. There are literally THOUSANDS of computer user forums at ALL levels. Generally speaking, forums filled with long time power users don't like noobies on their forums for the simple reason that they've heard all the noobie questions far too many times already, and are tired of answering them.

If you are a noobie, some of the best forums to go to are hosted by MSN, AOL, Yahoo, and the like. Go to sites that cater to noobie users in general, and search their forums. You're more likely to find higher tolerance for noobie questions in forums hosted by sites like them.

Who's your ISP? Start with their site.

Hope this helps.

BTW: You may want to add to your "etiquette list" to PM as few people as possible, and never PM anyone you've not spoken to yet in threads. PM'ing too many folks with questions can get you banned and blacklisted. Posting the same questions multiple times can get you banned. And, of course, losing your temper and letting it show in your posts too often can get you banned on ANY forum.

Sorry to hear you've been listed on Stop Forum Spam. SFS is very valuable service for many forums and web sites all over the internet. I personally use their lists (along with some others) in a security software on my own sites, that has stopped spamming AND hacking totally. It has been a godsend. BUT, as with any service like it, it's not perfect. All of them sometimes catch addresses and IP's that needn't be on their lists. The alternative however, of not having these "honeypot" lists, is leaving our sites open to all sorts of mayhem. Your best bet, if it is only your address that's listed, and not your IP, is to open a new email account, and shut down the old one, if possible.

Well, if these people put you on their list, and are too cowardly to put up an e-mail account to ask questions, then that should tell you everything you need to know. If you are going to accuse someone of being a coward, the least you can do is put a name and a face out there. It's kind of like those NY Jets employees who accused Brett Favre of not hiring them or whatever because they wouldn't have sex with him, but then don't want to release their names and pictures "to protect their identities" as if that makes sense. So yeah, these are the wrong forums. I'm not sure what the right forum would be, as most people on forums are cowards. As a group, people on the Internet are cowards, but most of them are an integral part of a forum, and usually forums where people get to argue over things like computers and sports. This is a help forum, so there is a lot less of that here.

Yeah, unfortunately that's pretty typical behaviour on many forums or newsgroups.

In addition to what the others have said, there are some good blogs around too where people have posted "howto" instructions for configuring or setting things up.
Google is your friend, as ever, and you can find some detailed "ready-rolled" information without needing to get involved with forums and the risk of being flamed by idiots - who always seem to forget that they weren't born knowing this stuff: they had to learn it too.

one that has a computer is also expected to know how to use an incredibly simple service like google. Most simple things you can find through a simple search.

Second reason: Many veteran computer forum users also fix computer problems for people who seem to be very incompetent in finding information. This may bother them and is seen generally as being a n00b. Knowing how to find information and looking through manuals and help files is expected. It's a simple matter of helping even though it might not seem like it.


Knowing at least a little bit of a subject is expected... say if you've assembled your own computer, then you're expected to be able to follow instructions given in a manual.



those things are most likely described in the manual that came with windows or the firewall, plus the information is incredibly easy to find through a search engine

Suffice to say, those behaviours are even stronger in hacker communities, as you are expected to know certain things, as they don't want to do grunt work for a n00b except for pointing you in the general direction. It's like those movies where a character learns martial arts by doing something not related to fighting, but the task teaches a lesson anyway.... Repeadetly searching though Google can teach you to find your own information for instance.

It has become another Internet trend, to the point now where legit posters are regularly called it.

Don't even worry about it, there's a lot of forums out there with an elitist attitude, lots of egos. Those calling you troll may be trolls themselves looking to get a rise out of you.

I think "troll" is over rated. I see it being misused a lot online now. If you don't agree with someone, you are a troll. If someone didn't like your answer, you are a troll. If you have spelling issues you are a troll. If you have a totally different opinion than lot of people, you are a troll. If someone didn't like what you posted, you are a troll and of course if you fail to use the search function, you are a troll.

I used to be called a troll a lot too. It happens. You gotta just let the jerks be jerks and move on. I gotta say though; doing research can be EXTREMELY helpful.
Everyone has to start somewhere; these people were not born playing on a computer. It's stupid they aren't helping you out.
Computer geeks can be obnoxious at times. After all, they have the computer to hid behind; I doubt they'd call you anything to your face. Plus the computer geeks I know think that they're better than everyone else because they can hack into websites or whatever.

PS I'm not that kinda geek, and the only online thing I do other than this is World of WarCraft. I got the same crap as you did though, ony in different situations.

It is very sad when people confuse a post count with acheivement and seek to dominate a forum which is supposed to be about self help and mutual advancement.

It is even sadder, when rather than saying I disagree with you and coming up with a logical argument one is accused of trolling.

Hmm, it didn't happen on a forum for self-help and mutual advancement (nor here) but I have been accused of trolling and spamming because of my post count.

Mostly, though, I'm just pretty hyperactive about posting.

I get accused of being a troll often, usually for asking someone for evidence that supports their claims, or for merely disagreeing with another person's opinion.

And yes, noobish questions are annoying to those of us who either learned things through trial-and-error without the help of others (and we expect others to do the same), or when a noob seems to be asking questions solely to disagree with every valid answer they receive.

I think most people - including AS people - of course generally see outright provocation (both poking with sharp stick type of thing as well as baiting) as obvious "Trolling". Then there's saying disagreable and unpleasant / unwelcome things and claiming such wasn't done with any malice - which if it is actually disingenuous is also clearly trolling - but it can be tricky to judge.

Unfortunately it can all be very subjective and end up being a matter of perception rather than clear definition. I guess that's the whole reason why we have arbiters, referees, moderators etc.

The way I see it is that Aspies in NT surroundings aren't necessarily able to simply passively "navigate" the way NT's are able to - and all sorts of misunderstandings can result.

A decent metaphor I think is to picture NT's crossing a room with a table in the middle by going round the table - but an Aspie comes along, stops and says "hey I need to go there but this table is in the way". Instead of simply suggesting go around the table, NT's seem more prone to see the Aspie's behaviour as either simply really really dumb or lazy or arrogant and/or beligerant. If they DON'T take it badly straight away and instead do just make the suggestion to go round - and the Aspie says Oh of course I didn't see that as a possibility - thankyou - then NT's seem quite prone to taking THAT as being disingenuous.

I personally often get told off for not searching first before asking about things. To me it seems pointless to search when there's logically a VERY good chance that with a forum being the dynamic entity it is, some user or other is very likely to be able to point me quickly and easily in the right direction or just tell me what I want to know. I do so for others all the time. I'm honestly NOT being lazy by not using a search - it's simply just not to me the best way to find what I want - but people often seem to REALLY BELIEVE that am in fact being lazy.

I'm not suggesting my "attitude" to searching is "Aspie" - merely that one person's motives / motivations can evidently very clearly be taken as and believed to be something entirely different to what they are.

I've never actually been referred to as a troll. I've been referred to as "the person who keeps posting things that nobody's interested in" before but that's the closest thing.

I've been called a troll before. Maybe I should start posting this for every time I get called one:



And go "I wish I could be one but shame they're only toys. Do any of the costumes exist?"

Or if anyone mentioned anything being under the bridge I can go "No I'm in my apartment."

Just mock them for their misuse of the word. I bet that will piss them off.

Or if it happens here, report them to the mods. They may never mess with you again.