Too many replies to trolls

February 28 2004

Over the last few months the number of troll postings has increased, but the
main problem is that each troll posting gets multiple replies, most with very
little new or interesting to say (which is exactly the trap the trolls want
responders to fall into to). For me this is making reading the posts and
gaining any useful information impossible. Now I prefer to wait for PJ's
articles and not bother reading posts; if someone finds anything useful then PJ
will cover it pretty soon anyway. For "live" updates on the case I
find the Yahoo SCOX board much better with its recommendation system and the
need for every poster to have an ID so you can filter the trolls out. PJ, how
about it adding this feature to Groklaw? I'm sure other people are wishing the
same thing? Or what about adding some guidance on the "Post a
Comment" page which reminds posters not to respond to trolls (big bold
letters please)?

04:16 PM EST

by PJ

February 28 2004

I agree that the trolls are a new phenomenon, and I believe it is a paid
campaign. It could have something to do with the fact that someone might
like to write another article again about Linux "kooks" and
"extremists" and
maybe that Groklaw is not to be take seriously, because it has a point of view
or whatever. Like Forbes has no point of view, hah!

Therefore, I would request that everyone not even answer trolls. That way
there won't be long strings of answers to them, making any real conversation
difficult. Just ignore them please. It will also make it much quicker and
easier for me to find them and deal with it.

07:04 PM EST

Proposed solution

February 29 2004

Since many trolls rely on FUD which has been repeated and responded to many times, I would suggest creating a standard FUD FAQ that could be pointed out in any response to troll posts. A single response post could then link to the FAQ and point out the specific entry numbers refuting the FUD points in detail, without spending unnecessary time repeating well-known facts. This would save everyone time, and reduce positive feedback returned to the troll poster. This has the added benefit that new visitors to the site will have an early introduction to a single information source that answers many common questions.

You could even make a game out of it by simply keeping count of how many times each FUD point was raised in posts, and compiling a top 10 (or top 25) list based on frequency. Then publish the updated top 10 list each week or month. Contributions to the FAQ could be submitted by Groklaw readers, with final editorial control exercised by PJ or her designees.

For starters, there are a few FAQ lists already published on the net (but which may not have much visibility). One is this [ http://www.1779.net/scofaq/scofaq.html ] FAQ by Scott McKellar. Another is this [ http://www.linux.ca/clic/educate.shtml ] FAQ by the Canadian Linux Interests Coalition. A lot of answers could be culled from material already posted on Groklaw.

01:35 AM EST

Proposed solution

by PJ

February 29 2004

If everyone just ignores them, I'll just delete them when I see them. Thus no
thread.

12:48 PM EST