Is Countertrolling a Troll The Answer

[kphoger]

"Calrog"  for some reason to me sounds like a chain of local fried chicken places.  I have no idea how that pops into my head as an association when see that name.

It reminds me of Caldor, so I just think of being dragged shopping for clothes as a kid while enduring shitty elevator versions of Steely Dan blasting thru their PA.

I picture two things:  (1) a little green shrub and (2) a Balrog like the one that lived in the Mines of Moria.

[roadman65]

I remember Caldor. They couldn't compete with Walmart or Target. Bradlees were another in Caldors market that flopped. Of course Sears and JC Penney fell and Kmart died a slow miserable death.

Though Kmart fall was not due to Walmart. Just bad brass.

[SEWIGuy]

Let's take a moment to flash back to two infamous MTR personalities, Randy Hersh and Carl Rogers.

There's no doubt that Randy had some expertise in roadly matters. But in my view -- possibly because I was a target of his rants quite frequently -- any goodwill he may have generated by being a knowledgeable contributor was more than offset by his trolling, boorish behavior. He created new Usenet accounts faster than his old ones could be plonked. He knew he was trolling, and he did it provocatively and openly. After awhile, I quit engaging him and would plonk any new iteration that showed up.

As for Calrog, I'm not sure if he was a true believer, sly like a fox, or genuinely a true believer in the BS he spewed. He breathlessly announced every single picture he posted, and even hired PRWeb to send press releases for some of his updates. His entire site didn't contain as many photos as pics from just one of my trips. I don't know if he really believed that US routes are federal routes or if he just kept that schtick up after being called on it so many times.

The "Operation Silence The Troll" idea came from someone who felt it would be best to just ignore him; to not give him the attention he seemed to crave. I don't think it really worked. He kept on pimping his meager updates, but no one responded.

Those of you who were never on MTR in its prime missed out. Randy and Calrog made MMM and Dzlsabe look like rank amateurs.

I hung out on MTR and a few other usenet sites from the mid 90s to the mid 2000s, and it was like the wild west on all of them since there was no moderation.

[Max Rockatansky]

"Calrog"  for some reason to me sounds like a chain of local fried chicken places.  I have no idea how that pops into my head as an association when see that name.

It reminds me of Caldor, so I just think of being dragged shopping for clothes as a kid while enduring shitty elevator versions of Steely Dan blasting thru their PA.

I picture two things:  (1) a little green shrub and (2) a Balrog like the one that lived in the Mines of Moria.

Or that one that could have been several different characters in Street Fighter II depending on the region you lived at.

[Rothman]

I just remember a video of a twit standing in a gore and someone Photoshopping a CFI truck running him over.

[jakeroot]

I'm surprised that this topic is still alive.  It should have died already, but I give it a few more days for the ole padlock.

Why would it be locked? I don't believe any rules have been broken.

[Rothman]

Isn't there some rule against blabbing about one particular forum member?

[jakeroot]

Isn't there some rule against blabbing about one particular forum member?

I don't think he's a member anymore...

[kalvado]

Isn't there some rule against blabbing about one particular forum member?

I don't think he's a member anymore...

DSTaboo, though.

[zzcarp]

I know I'm coming back late to this party thread (having posted on Page 1), but I think the mods did the correct thing here. While I disagreed with many of MMM's opinions and suggestions, they did seem to be mostly in the realm of roadgeekery. In my opinion, he even made some good points (just not about the straightness of turnpikes). Dumb opinions need to be allowed too. Personally, I'm sure I've had at least 5 of them since breakfast. Just because you think someone is wrong doesn't mean they should be banned. Holding the ban hammer until an actual violation of the rules (having a duplicate account) seemed to be the correct thing.

I don't think having some grand rule about "being an a$$hole" is going to solve anything for the future. I assert few of us go to a post and say, "how can I be a jerk here today." But in discussions, people get heated, so mistakes will be made. But I think we should commend Scott and the other admins for the light touch in this situation.

[kphoger]

Just because you think someone is wrong doesn't mean they should be banned. Holding the ban hammer until an actual violation of the rules (having a duplicate account) seemed to be the correct thing.

I don't think any of us has suggested that he should have been banned for having bad opinions or ideas–rather because he was basically spamming the forum with a zillion posts per hour, and only in the Fictional and Off-topic boards to boot.

[kalvado]

Just because you think someone is wrong doesn't mean they should be banned. Holding the ban hammer until an actual violation of the rules (having a duplicate account) seemed to be the correct thing.

I don't think any of us has suggested that he should have been banned for having bad opinions or ideas–rather because he was basically spamming the forum with a zillion posts per hour, and only in the Fictional and Off-topic boards to boot.

I would say, he was misbehaving, and while that is hard to formalize - it is a very real concern. 

[Max Rockatansky]

Just because you think someone is wrong doesn't mean they should be banned. Holding the ban hammer until an actual violation of the rules (having a duplicate account) seemed to be the correct thing.

I don't think any of us has suggested that he should have been banned for having bad opinions or ideas–rather because he was basically spamming the forum with a zillion posts per hour, and only in the Fictional and Off-topic boards to boot.

The only time I can recall the topic with MMM being disciplined/banned ever coming up was when he was on a roll wrecking legitimate threads.  To me personally that's a way more serious problem than someone using sock account to come back to the forum.  MMM did largely stop derailing legitimate threads for awhile and stuck to his own swim lane.  Towards the end he started getting back into habits of old and turned everyone working against him when the Off Topic board was overrun. . 

[Scott5114]

For someone who is all "I'm done with the forum and not trolling anymore" he sure is having a lot of posts deleted from the "Registration Problems" section that nobody can see when they're logged in.

[Roadgeekteen]

For someone who is all "I'm done with the forum and not trolling anymore" he sure is having a lot of posts deleted from the "Registration Problems" section that nobody can see when they're logged in.

Damn, missed seeing those posts when they were still up.

[Max Rockatansky]

I take it this is why the IP ban range was put in?

[Roadgeekteen]

I take it this is why the IP ban range was put in?

You can use a VPN

[Max Rockatansky]

I take it this is why the IP ban range was put in?

You can use a VPN

You misunderstand what I mean:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33060.0

I was in the same scenario until I messaged SSOWorld and he explained what happened.

[Roadgeekteen]

I take it this is why the IP ban range was put in?

You can use a VPN

You misunderstand what I mean:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33060.0

I was in the same scenario until I messaged SSOWorld and he explained what happened.

Yeah, I saw that thread afterwards. Still, the IP ban range seems ineffective if you can just set your location to Japan if you want to.

[Max Rockatansky]

I take it this is why the IP ban range was put in?

You can use a VPN

You misunderstand what I mean:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=33060.0

I was in the same scenario until I messaged SSOWorld and he explained what happened.

Yeah, I saw that thread afterwards. Still, the IP ban range seems ineffective if you can just set your location to Japan if you want to.

Certainly worked on me for a couple minutes.  Either way, seems like Mr. Nut Rate is making himself obvious when he tries to re-register.

[JoePCool14]

I'm inclined to let it go for a bit longer since we are having an interesting discussion about what we can do better as moderators.

That's appreciated. I think the general consensus is that trolls like this should be dealt with sooner in order to stop the forum from turning into one person's stomping ground that ruins it for everyone else. The question is how to ban someone who technically isn't breaking rules, and how long do you give that person the chance to redeem themselves if they want to?

Change the rules. "You can be banned if you're excessively annoying." Suspend them for a week and tell them it's their last chance.

Yes. This is what I want. We're not Twitter, we're not obligated to allow everyone to join. We want to be open to all, but if you harm the overall forum, you're out.

Many of us seem to miss the guy as he was more than entertaining to say the least.  It would appear that being we haven't let the matter go, many who have argued with the 23 year old hated to see this happen.

Count me as one person who does NOT miss MultiDozenMiler.  It was all but impossible to keep up with the conversation on here.  I'd take a couple of days off from the forum, come back, and each of his threads would have five pages of new replies.  *groan*  Now it's back to a more manageable state.

This right here. I couldn't keep up with anything.

[kphoger]

We're not Twitter, we're not obligated to allow everyone to join. We want to be open to all, but if you harm the overall forum, you're out.

As long as there is a system of warnings in place first, yes.  Bans shouldn't be capricious, but rather the result of a member's refusal to heed the less drastic moderator actions that he had already been subject to.  And a ban shouldn't be the decision of one moderator alone, which I just kind of assume it isn't.

[kphoger]

You sure you want to post exactly which gun was smoking?

[hotdogPi]

You sure you want to post exactly which gun was smoking?

Okay, removed. (I believe he's aware already because of the emails he sent me, but just in case, I removed it.)

And a ban shouldn't be the decision of one moderator alone, which I just kind of assume it isn't.

Scott5114 said he had to confirm with the other mods even after the smoking gun was found.

[kalvado]

We're not Twitter, we're not obligated to allow everyone to join. We want to be open to all, but if you harm the overall forum, you're out.

As long as there is a system of warnings in place first, yes.  Bans shouldn't be capricious, but rather the result of a member's refusal to heed the less drastic moderator actions that he had already been subject to.  And a ban shouldn't be the decision of one moderator alone, which I just kind of assume it isn't.

Honestly speaking, it depends. There were definitely situations elsewhere when I banned someone without any warning single-handedly. Peni$ 3n1@rgement offer, for example, is a good reason for that.