When A Troll Is Not A Troll
by Johneboy1970, HSM guest contributor
We denizens of Home often encounter, or hear of encounters, with a variety of miscreants who feel that the best way to have fun is to cause other grief. We call them trolls. They come in many shapes and sizes, and generally have the IQ of a walnut.
But what happens when you think you may have encountered a troll, and it turns out that you were wrong…dead wrong?
Over this recent weekend, I popped into Home for a quick jaunt to collect my points from Aurora, and maybe to gather up some Sodium credits; I’ve had my eye on a shiny new engine for my racer in Sodium2 for a while now, and find that blasting my way through the upper levels of Salt Shooter is the quickest way to earn the dough for the upgrade.
Flipping through the navigator I noticed there was a gathering of some friends in the CP. I altered my course to go and say hi and, perhaps, engage in a little light banter. All was fine…until I stuck my artistically rendered foot into my pixilated mouth.
It wasn’t long before a fellow walked up – clad in mostly default clothing – and kind of wandered around the benches where I was blathering away with my compatriots. Let’s call this person DG. I offered my salutations hoping he would respond – I generally enjoy meeting new people, especially those who may be new to Home. His response was something to the effect of, “Hello, bald pin-head.” Actually it was a tad more elaborate than that, but I’m certain that ‘hello’, ‘bald’, and ‘pin-head’ were part of his reply.
As I was dressed, as I often am, in my Homeling attire (which is very alien looking and quite furless), I thought he was negatively commenting on my strange appearance and that he was calling me…well, a pin-head.
Perhaps I was a tad tired, maybe short fused as a result, but I found I was in no mood for a troll this evening…no matter how light his insult. Taken aback by this apparent attack, I pointed at him and declared him a troll…and brought said troll to the attention of the friends I was chatting with. Usually such embarrassment is enough to make them go away. But DG stood his ground and asked why I had labeled him as such.
“Well, I simply said hi to you,” I replied, “and you called me a pin-head.”
Feeling comfortable that the term I had laid upon him was justified, I turned my back and thought no more of it. Until DG made a comment that he was referring to the “Hellraiser” movies, and how my bald visage reminded him of the main character, “Pinhead”.
I stopped dead in my tracks. I furtively scrolled back in my text log to see if I had read that right. Yep – DG wasn’t being insulting; he was making a movie reference in jest. One that I should have gotten, I might add.
As this scene was playing out, there was a storm brewing around the overly crowded bench. There were quite a few people, who were not part of my group, now calling DG a troll. I quickly turned to DG, and confirmed that he meant no disrespect whatsoever toward me or my shiny, hairless head.
A torrent of thought rained down upon my now embarrassed brain: Did I just unjustly accuse someone? Should I run away? Do I offer DG a drink? Does this guy think I’m a complete maroon? Who is John Galt? Did I leave the oven on?
But the biggest question running laps through my head was: Now what do I do?
So, I hoisted my trousers up, cleared my throat, took a deep breath through my nose (which jarred loose some of the nastier effects of my allergies and provided me with a quick rush of salty protein), and said, “I’m really sorry about that…it was my misunderstanding, DG, my bad.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment… a very long moment it seemed to me. Then a text prompt appeared above his head, filled with words which phrased a magnanimous gesture of forgiveness.
We chatted for awhile about how silly the whole misunderstanding was, and came to a mutual decision to put it behind us. At the same time, to my chagrin, the peanut gallery which had only been mewling before now became a thunderous roar. They were merciless in their hurling of accusations of trollish behavior and invectives at DG – so much so, that I was prompted to speak up on his behalf proclaiming that it was my mistake and that I had spoken all too quickly about DG’s disposition.
Unfortunately, it was to no avail.
DG tried to calmly ask of the group why he was being attacked by a group of people who he hadn’t even addressed, but there was no answer forthcoming from the crowd. They continued to egg him on as he asked them why they were berating him. That’s when it hit me.
I caused this. It was my fault. In a way, I had become the troll.
Again, I tried my best to defend him to the crowd gathered about, but to no avail. And DG, to his credit, remained calm and dignified in the face of this adversity. Which, of course, only made me feel worse about putting him in that situation to begin with due to my unfounded accusation.
There was nothing more I could do at that point, and the pull of Aurora points and Sodium credits (perhaps heightened by my red-faced embarrassment at a moment poorly handled) was strong. I bid my friends, and DG, adieu.
In hindsight, I know that I could have handled the situation better at the outset. In my defense, “pin-head” is not generally used as a term of endearment, but I could have just let it roll off my back. Perhaps I have become so used to seeing harassment in the CP that my Troll-dar™ goes off at the slightest whiff of animosity. Regardless of any justification I may create, I still believe I jumped the gun too quickly over what was a simple misunderstanding and caused DG’s foray into Home to be less than it could have been. I guess I’ll chalk this encounter us to experience, and – hopefully – learn from my mistake.
And good night, DG, where ever you are.
August 8th, 2011 by johneboy1970 | 12 comments
Johneboy1970 is a guest contributor to HomeStation Magazine.
Yeah, I have seen something happen just like this. Simple mistake and you did say you were tired and mistakes happen. It was a good lesson and even I need to take some extra time in rereading the chat log more.
This is one of the reasons why the idea of having vigilantes running around Home makes me really uncomfortable. My oldest friend in Home and I used to have this running comedy skit that we would perform. We would pretend not to know each other, and I’d hit on her and try to flirt with her, and she would rebuff me, oftentimes with mace. Or sometimes we would play role reversal and she would try to hit on me. Sometimes we got a little carried away, but fortunately no one ever interrupted us, and to my knowledge no one ever reported us. Or if they did, the Mods who reviewed the record understood what was going on.
If you see two people in Home arguing, it’s not always clear who is to blame, sometimes they both are. Bystanders can’t read personal text messages, don’t know the history of the people involved, and may not understand the way they’re speaking. So really the best thing to do is to just report and let the Mods worry about it. But vigilantes, unless they’re prepared to stand around for half an hour or more, may not have a clue what’s really going on. And if they accuse the wrong person, there may very well be a peanut gallery nearby who’d be more than happy to get involved, not because they really care about the situation, but because they just want someone to pick on themselves.
You encountered a very good example of the “mob” mentality.When ppl act in a group they feel less personally responsible for their own actions and tend to act with fewer inhabitions.Once they were “worked up” there was less chance of you stopping them.Aeternitas33 is correct in that they probably didn’t care who started what,all they cared about was that you 2 were something that they could “have fun” with.I’m not sure what you could’ve done to calm them down once started,maybe next time try a panic jig?But I do believe that by admitting your mistake and by writing about it here in a way that shows a good point you’ve redeemed your mistake the best that you can.Not getting someones context happens alot when only typing is used to communicate,I find it happens less so on mic as we are then able to hear the words as they are meant,in Home we are tone-deaf to an extent without mics.
You know, I still can’t find “panic jig” in my emotes…
Thoughts of what one would look like are dancing (pun intended) around in my head, and i cant stop giggling. Yep…Home 2.0 needs the panic jig for sure :>
Well try to think back to Jessica Simpson’s sister on SNL when her lip-synching was discovered,that’s the perfect example of the panic jig.It didn’t work so well for her but I can honestly say I’ve seen it work in real life before.It’s certainly not something you wanna start off with but if your already in a position where there is nowhere to go but up go ahead and give it a try.Sadly it might be awhile before Home gets it but I think it might be easier to develop than the 3rd arm facepalm,no extra limbs needed.
This is a good lesson for all of us not to jump to conclusions about people. I as a rule don’t call anyone a troll or anything of the kind. If they are abusive I generally warn them that their behavior will get them into trouble, if it continues, I ignore and report them. I try not to report people unless the behavior is beyond redemption, like when they say they don’t care and will simply go to another account. This is telling me that they do this purposely and for that I see no excuse.I have friends who, like Aeternitas, carry on a banter between them every time they are in Home, and I too can see where this could be misconstrued and reported about. We are walking a thin line here and must be cautious with the use of reports.
As for you and your experience John, it is a good reminder for all of us, and I thank you for that. Great read.
Personally, I think people take things on HOME far too seriously sometimes. I myself have been mis-judged several times on HOME for joking around with people about their appearance or groups they belong to. To be honest, it almost made me stop coming to HOME for similar reasons I stopped coming once the beta (why is it still a beta anyways?) went public.
I’m a total joker, and am probably best known for being such on HOME (well, that and my sexy goat-legs). I’ll often come in with something witty to introduce myself to people and it’s sometimes taken the wrong way. I find this humorous more than anything though, and usually just laugh at the offended person informing them they need to lighten up a little.
A good example I can give is when I first started hanging around the Star Wars Cantina, which is what brought me back to HOME in the first place. You see, I’m a HUGE Star Wars fan… so I was excited to see that there was finally a space in HOME for me to hang out and find people with common interests. This is when I discoverd these fams, or clans, or clubs, or whatever they are calling them these days. I happened upon some stormtroopers from the GE501st who were pretty much doing nothing but standing at attention and not responding to anyone’s attempts to open a dialogue with them. At the time, I hadn’t been on HOME in several years and didn’t realize they were engaging in a private group chat, and they did not see fit to inform me that this is what was going on either. I thought this to be rude, and decided that maybe a few well timed Star Wars jokes might break the ice. Boy was I wrong!
Suddenly I had GE501st guys labelling me as a trouble maker and telling me to leave the viscinity or they’d report me. I quickly informed them that if they didn’t want to be in HOME having fun, then it is THEY who should leave, and that this is a PUBLIC space for all to enjoy. I thought with the details and references in my Star Wars jokes, that surely they’d understand that I’m a FAN of the films… and not some Troll out to get them because of their costumes. I then informed them their little groups are ridiculous and that they need to lighten up and not take their roleplaying so damn seriously. I guess they didn’t like that either, because they saw to it to spread the word and send a specific person after me.
The next day when I was there I was approached by someone named Xxfrosty***xX, who began riffing on me. He told me I had no sense of “Net-iquette” and that he was about to school me. He insisted that the 501st have every right to be here and that I will now PAY for insulting them. He threated to HACK my system and my internet… that he had my IPN address and that he couldn’t be touched or stopped because he was using a system that is “off the grid” and he is untouchable He then informed me that he would now begin to attack me in stages… bit by bit, day by day… thus rendering my ability to use my playstation and internet completely useless. I told him that I had every right to be here, and that I treated them with the same respect I treat everyone on HOME. I informed him that I was merely joking around and they took things too seriously and were rude, if anyonw was. He said he’d still teach me a lesson, but “go easy” on me. With that, he said “Good luck trying to log on in the morning pal. Look me and the Frosties up and you’ll see who you’re dealing with blah blah blah. I didn’t catch the rest because to be honest, I didn’t really care what this jerk had to say anymore. Plus, I had/have pics and video of the entire encounter to protect myself and prove who this person was, should he in fact attack my system and not actually be untouchable.
As it turned out, he never attacked me in the end… but it certainly left a sour taste in my mouth… specifically for the GE501st. That is, until I met a member who is actually a really great person and “gets” my sense of humour. Incidentally, he’s no longer part of their ridiculous club either due to being sick of the drama and problems they create on HOME for newer members or people not stupid enought to follow their retarded rules.
Anyways, like I said… people take things way too seriously on HOME imo. When did this stop being FUN and why are people so serious all the time? What’s with all the Drama Queens on HOME, and why do people insist on putting ANGRY, or SAD above their heads so much on HOME? I come online to have fun and escape the daily happenings irl that make me upset or angry… so why would I advertise that to everyone and be an attention seekeing Debbie Downer? It just seems silly to me.
I think a true Troll will show his/her colours much more clearly once you open a dialogue with them. It’s the one’s who are mistakenly labeled that will stick around and engage in polite conversation that will suprise and prove your initial opinions wrong. Sometimes, even becoming a good friend on HOME.
LOL if I had a penny for every time I was told I was going to be hacked or killed I’d be a billionaire.I always laugh at their faces and tell them I’ll see them tomorrow and the next day,and the next day because I won’t be going anywhere.
@fun-gi: I don’t think it’s a matter of people taking things too seriously on Home…I believe it has more to with people having their own fun being interrupted by others whose only purpose is to ruin their fun.
Sure, it’s a virtual world, but some of the same social rules do (and should) apply. In real life, if you have a group of folks who are playing basketball and a person walks up and stands in the middle of the court interfering with the game, the people playing would, of course, get a bit miffed. If that same ‘game-breaker’ starts to insult the players he has just interrupted, he’s going to get knocked out.
I don’t think it’s a matter of taking things too seriously, it’s simply the way people would react in the flesh. Except, of course, that those who pull those kinds of stunts in a virtual world would NEVER dare do it in real life for fear of the consequences. That’s simply cowardice.
I wonder about the response that you received from the 501st. I’ve been around them before and they seem a relatively level-headed bunch. Maybe they were having a bad day, heh heh. But considering you admitted that your joking and means of introduction seem to set people off (and you find it humorous when you do set someone off), is it possible that the problem lies not with others who ‘take things to seriously’ but with the way you’re coming off? Perhaps starting a conversation with people you don’t know on more polite terms might net you a more positive result. That is assuming that you want a positive result and are not just trying to get a rise out of someone to amuse yourself.Just a thought.
Hmmm…. nope. It’s definitely a matter of some of them taking it too seriously. Roleplaying is one thing, but when you are doing it in an environment filled with the majority of people who aren’t roleplaying, then it becomes problematic when those who don’t know what these people are doing are actully doing. You can’t blame the newer members who know nothing about roleplaying for a groups rudeness and unwillingness to be friendly.
My purpose was and still is to have fun and socialize, which is what Home is about. Home itself, is not a game. It’s a social environment with games contained inside it. That these people decided to roleplay in Home is their own doing, so why should the masses be at fault for doing what Home was created for? These guys go on about how they are “there to protect Home” (laughable), yet will then turn around and tell someone dressed as C-3PO that no droids are allowed in the Cantina and that they should leave and come back dressed more appropriately. THAT, is taking the fun too far and runs the risk of insulting or pushing away new members… period. I’ve seen it happen numerous times.
Trust me, I was doing nothing more than trying to engage in friendly banter at the beginning. It wasn’t until they started telling me that I should leave that I got ticked off actually, and told them that they need to lighten up.
I’m constantly interrupted during converstations with friends and groups, but I can multitask well enough to answer questions about where I got my helmet or torso without coming off as a rude and stoic snob who wants nothing to do with someone who isn’t “in the cool crew”. I’m also much better than many of these RP’ers at deciphering who is an actual Troll and who is just out having some fun and cracking jokes. Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you I’m not a bad person and that I know where and when to draw the line. My social skills are through the roof.
I should point out that I said my intentions have been misinterpreted “several times”, implying that the number is very few.. not many times. So to your question about whether it’s still me… no, I honestly don’t think it is. I’ve done the exact same kind of joking around with other 501st’ers who “get it” and aren’t so enthralled in their little world of calling people Sir/Ma’am, or taking orders from people that are someohow a higher rank, that they can add the odd lol or lmfao… good one!
The problem was with these particular few members, and any onlooker that day (there were several) would happily tell you that these guys were either jerks, or as you suggest… in a foul mood. The reason I laugh about these kinds of reactions is because they are ridiculous and people are missing the point of what Home is. If you want a private conversation, go to the outskirts of Sodium or take it to your personal space… because I’m in a large room full of people who want to socialize and engage in conversations. Telling me that I’m the one who should leave is about as backwards as you can get in that conversation.
I’m often on Home after a crappy day and in a bad mood, but I never let anyone see that. I’m always happy-go-lucky me. If you’re in a bad mood, get off Home or get out of your funk and lighten up and have some fun. That’s what it’s there for… not to be moody broody with a sad or angry face above your head. No one needs to see that, and having the option to throw your mood above your head is nothing more than a huge Sony fail, imho.
To your point of cowardice, I’m not sure if you’re suggesting I am or not… but it almost reads that way. If so, you couldn’t be further from the truth. I conduct myself on Home in the exact way I do irl, with the same set of moral standards and social etiquettes in place. I’ve not once been threatened to be knocked out, and i’m not a big burly jock type guy.. so my guess is I’m doing something right.
I don’t go around Home intentionally trying to get a rise out of anyone, so again… you’d be wrong in assuming so.
Perhaps members of the 501st and other groups like them are the ones taking the fun out of Home for the masses, with their ridiculous recruiting of teenagers that they can order to stand at attention until they see fit to relieve them of duty, and all the other nonsense that the majority of Home users see them doing.
If you still think I was the one at fault and taking things too seriously, go back and re-read the part about where they sent a hacker after me who threatened to illegally compromise my Playstation and Internet IP address.
Just to clarify, I did not intend to point a finger of cowardice at you at all. If it was construed that way, please accept my apologizes as that was not my intent.
The reason I even broached the subject is that I have been approached by others who have made a general nuisance of themselves by way of introduction, then proceeded to whine a bit when they were ridiculed for doing so. Their defense, after the fact, is that they were just kidding around…my advice to them has been to simply say ‘hi’ next time and things might flow in a more positive direction. I thought that perhaps your run in may have fallen along those lines.
Again, I did not intend to lay blame at your feet. And thank you for the thorough and thoughtful reply…it certainly helped to elucidate you point
Fun-gi,
The question I have is this, was this person an actual member of the GE 501st? The reason I am asking is because there are several groups out there that are 501st. 501st Trooper Core, 501st Marine Corps, and 501st Elite to name several.
If this person was GE 501st, I apologize for what has happened. I can tell you that Commander GaurdianAngelz47 and I do not condone the actions that you experienced. We have had a couple of members leave the club who were in the process of being counseled for their actions.
We are a club that is based on respect. Respect for all our friends and fellow club members, but most importantly all Home users.
Yes, we do stand in formation. Many times we are in group chat and seem to be ignoring people. Some of us are able to multi task and try to converse with those who come up to us and talk. We joke around and are social with many people who come up to us. We are people from all walks of life.
The GE 501st recruits members who are 18 and over, have a microphone, and willing to go through our 2 week Cadet in Training program. We are about quality and not quantity. If someone is not able to follow our handbook, they are not admitted into the club.
We are a very open club and have nothing to hide. We utilize Facebook as a communication tool for our club members and fans.
We don’t go around looking to cause trouble, work with any Frosty’s, or have anyone attempt to hack anyone.
I invite you to meet with the commander and me. We would like an opportunity to show you more of who we are. Also, feel free to visit our webpage at http://www.empirestrikeshome.com and look around.
Once again, I apologize for what you experienced on Home.
Sincerely,
Lt. Destro