I think it is okay to troll a bit when you are on topic. However if you go out of your way to insult the OP in a way unrelated to topic with the purpose of derailing the thread then that is just a form of bullying. In these cases the derailer should be punished with a silence. Lol my April fools thread was locked because a group of Frog haters decided to make it into a crap throwing session. Seems unfair a bunch of haters can decide whether a thread stays open or not.
Then ask your self what are typically the most common threads to be derailed? The useless crap, yeah there can be hater derailment but main cause is op either not coming up with a good topic or op having so little effort in the op no one cares. The threads success heavily relies on that first message. Always
They should but no always. If you haven't set out a thread with a good active topic while using a readable layout especially with a low effort thread then people can troll. That this post for example the effort is kinda na, but it's good enough to get a point across. Cheese has set I out so anyone can read it. Finally and most importantly, it's a unique topic which I've never seen before. Each of those is key to a threads success. Requiring very little work to maintain the thread from op after the first post
Sure blame the OP. You probably also think women who are assaulted are asking for it cause their skirts are too short. Remember derailing is not the same as trolling. You can argue the OP's point and still troll his thinking on a topic, but derailing is bringing up unrelated stuff or topics to change the whole focus of the thread. If the troll ignores the content but begins a character assault on the OP, the troll could be banned.
Also if you think a thread is badly written, there is always the option of closing it and not post anything. No reason to derail, I believe.
If people need to change the topic of the thread than people obviously didn't like the original topic. Hence the derailing
Most derails are originally started unintentionally, however trolls or someone who really disagrees with a certain comment usually takes it too far.
It's a forum board in a fantasy online war game so.....I wouldn't take it to serious whether it's your pathetic troll alt (cheese)or a wanna comedian (fraud) or just some lonely weird teen (Wolfie) so any topic is really subject to taken down by haters (me)
The way i see it is this: Locking a derailed thread is like a cop showing up to a beating in progress. But rather than arrest the people doing the beating, they arrest the person being beaten. Frankly, it is my opinion that no matter what the content of the OP is or who that person is, it should never be OK to punish a victim or blame them for the actions of others. I mean, can you imagine a bunch of guys showing up for court and looking at the judge and telling him that the reason they jumped the kid is because he talked weird or looks funny? You think the judge would be all "Oh, he didnt defend himself and he had the balls to walk down the street wearing an orange hat with a green bill? Oh yeah, he deserved a beating. You guys are free to go. Orange hat guy - stay off my streets and get outta my courthouse."