"What KaW needs is better trolls, there hasn't been any good trolls for almost a year." - Anonymous So here is a guide on how to troll. INTRODUCTION: The object of this post is to bring together a definitive thread to cover the phenomena of the KaW's Troll. To many a troll is nothing more than an annoying method of defeating the killfile whereas to the heavily killfiled, trolling can be a virtual Godsend. What I want this thread to focus on is how to create entertaining trolls. I have drawn on the expertise of the writer's of some of KaW's finest and best remembered trolls. [Only KaW Veterans will know who I'm taking about]. Trolls are for fun. The object of recreational trolling is to sit back and laugh at all those gullible idiots that will believe *anything*. What is a Troll: Wikipedia Gives a definition: To utter a posting on KaW's Forum designed to attract predictable responses or flames. In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[3] Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies"; which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling";, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it. The following extract is from a broader expansion of the defining comments given above: A troll is not a grumpy monster that lives beneath a bridge accosting passers-by, but rather a provocative posting to a newsgroup intended to produce a large volume of frivolous responses. The content of a "troll posting generally falls into several areas. It may consist of an apparently foolish contradiction of common knowledge, a deliberately offensive insult to the readers of a newsgroup, or a broad request for trivial follow-up postings. Reasons why people troll: People post such messages to get attention, to disrupt Kingdoms at War peace, and simply to make trouble. Design Issues: A troll is no different to any other KaW posting. That needs to be stressed. Any thread that you decide to write should be written with a view to it actually being read by large numbers of people. Simply X-posting to large numbers of irrelevant thread is not creative trolling - it is just spam and should be avoided. The experienced troller spends time carefully choosing the right subject and delivering it to the right people. With trolls, delivery is just as important as the subject. Start the troll in a reasonable and erudite manner. You have to engage your readers' interest and draw them in. Never give too much away at the start - although a brief abstract with hints of what's to come can work wonders. Construct your troll in a manner to make it readable. Use short paragraphs and lots of space. Keep line length below eighty characters. Use a liberal amount of emphasis and even the occasional illustration. A good rule of thumb is that as your troll becomes more and more ludicrous put extra effort into the presentation - this keeps the mug punter confused. Let confusion and chaos be your goal. Know Your Audience: Remember that you have two audiences. The people who are going to get the maximum enjoyment out of your post are other trollers. You need to keep in contact with them through both your troll itself and the way you direct its effect. It is trollers that you are trying to entertain so be creative - trollers don't just want a laugh from you they want to see good trolls so that they can also learn how to improve their own in the never ending search for the perfect troll. The other audience is of course the little players that your are attacking. Get to know them. Every game has its smartarse who will expose your troll if given half a chance. Research your targets and learn what their arguments are. Then avoid those arguments like the plague. Drag them off-topic - the further off-topic the better. Remember, you are trying to waste their time. Never take sides - remember that your goal is not to win an argument, rather it is to provoke a futile one that runs forever. If, for example you were attacking a Fast Food loving thread then you should talk about how we should tax unhealthy food. You want to try to ensure that you have the broadest possible range of opinions as this is the easiest way to sow confusion. The more confusion the less the likelihood of your troll being exposed for what it is. It can also be shown that the inclusion of just one totally off-topic thread can have dramatic effects. Troll Hall of Fame: Note: Trolling is against ToU
Trolling; against KaWs RoC, but makes a trolling guide for KaWs forum anyway. Sounds legit. :roll: Oh, you forgot the must have need to be an attention whore.
I wonder if how can you predict if a thread is a troll..... For those who aren't a troll professional...
It's not hard. It's about the OP, most trollers make it obvious. But those who are good, know how to hide there troll. But spotting it doesn't require any skill.
What if someone who isn't known in kaw forums post his/her first thread as a troll which is great? Or is it just that we look at everything seriously?...