I think this is a fairly common misconception actually, that stems from the natural difficulty of determining intentions on here. Essentially, who is trolling and who isn’t? With it being so difficult, and such a new problem that currently lacks sound answers, it has become common to simply point at stupid sounding people and call them a troll.
The error of this is that the good trolls pick their battles very carefully. If they’ve been at it for any length of time, they’ve gotten into hundreds of discussions, and can quickly feel out which ones will be productive for them, and which ones won’t.
It’s the people they’re trying to manipulate that don’t have that skill yet that are reachable, because they’re not yet deeply into it. In many cases, they’re young teens that don’t actually want to be wrong, they’ve simply been misled. It’s fairly easy to tell, for a person with experience on that side of things, which is which though.
But simply bundling them all together based on position is more counterproductive, as it reinforces what they’re being fed. They’re not all the same, any more than we are.
I feel like there are lot of assumptions being made in general for this argument. In any case, I wish you well in your efforts, hopeless as I think they may be. It’d be nice if I’m wrong.
Not that specifically. I’m more concerned that for the one you convert, two go the other way. Obviously, it’s impossible to know the real number so it very well could be me being pessimistic and overcautious.
Yeah, it’s hard to define that one. Enter the paradox of tolerance (which is not a paradox, but I digress). Excluding them risks an echo chamber, welcoming them invites a general degradation of the space (see: literally every conservative space that devolves into rabid negativity). I think that it’s less about exclusion and more about a standard. Along the lines of “you can like Trump, but if you’re going to argue, do it in good faith or get out”. Stupid nuance, making things hard…
I think this is a fairly common misconception actually, that stems from the natural difficulty of determining intentions on here. Essentially, who is trolling and who isn’t? With it being so difficult, and such a new problem that currently lacks sound answers, it has become common to simply point at stupid sounding people and call them a troll.
The error of this is that the good trolls pick their battles very carefully. If they’ve been at it for any length of time, they’ve gotten into hundreds of discussions, and can quickly feel out which ones will be productive for them, and which ones won’t.
It’s the people they’re trying to manipulate that don’t have that skill yet that are reachable, because they’re not yet deeply into it. In many cases, they’re young teens that don’t actually want to be wrong, they’ve simply been misled. It’s fairly easy to tell, for a person with experience on that side of things, which is which though.
But simply bundling them all together based on position is more counterproductive, as it reinforces what they’re being fed. They’re not all the same, any more than we are.
I feel like there are lot of assumptions being made in general for this argument. In any case, I wish you well in your efforts, hopeless as I think they may be. It’d be nice if I’m wrong.
You really think it’s hopeless to get through to even one? Or would that just not be worth it?
edit: Just out of curiosity, what do you see the benefit of this space as, with keeping them all out?
Not that specifically. I’m more concerned that for the one you convert, two go the other way. Obviously, it’s impossible to know the real number so it very well could be me being pessimistic and overcautious.
Yeah, it’s hard to define that one. Enter the paradox of tolerance (which is not a paradox, but I digress). Excluding them risks an echo chamber, welcoming them invites a general degradation of the space (see: literally every conservative space that devolves into rabid negativity). I think that it’s less about exclusion and more about a standard. Along the lines of “you can like Trump, but if you’re going to argue, do it in good faith or get out”. Stupid nuance, making things hard…