where if you can find it in your hearts to help make it a nicer Christmas for our troops....please use them to do so.
==
It is not easy to be in the military, serving our nation far from home and families, especially now. So tonight, as we light the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza, as a symbol of hope, think for a moment of the dedication of these men and women.
They serve with modest pay, for love of country and honor, at their own personal risk.
And just in case you wish to give them a little joy during this season, we've listed some options below.
HOLIDAY HELP FOR MILITARY FAMILIES
From care packages to phone cards, these sites can help you help military men and women who can't be home for the holidays
posted on December 12, 2006 12:58:04 PM new
I found this article very enlightening.
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What is an Internet Troll/ Forum troll?
* An "Internet troll" or "Forum Troll" is a person who posts outrageous message to bait people to answer. Forum Troll delights in sowing discord on the forums. A troll is someone who inspires flaming rhetoric, someone who is purposely provoking and pulling people into flaming discussion. Flaming discussions usually end with name calling and a flame war.
A classic CureZone troll is trying to make us believe that he is a skeptic. He is divisive and argumentative with need-to-be-right attitude, "searching for the truth", flaming discussion, and sometimes insulting people or provoking people to insult him. Troll is usually an expert in reusing the same words of its opponents and in turning it against them.
While he tries to present himself as a skeptic looking for truth ... his messages usually sound as if it is the responsibility of other forum members to provide evidence that what forum is all about is legitimate science.
He (and in 90% of cases it is he) tries to start arguments and upset people.
Sometimes, he is skeptical, trying to scare people, trying to plant fear in their hearts. Many curezone trolls are people trying to promote Quackwatch / ratbags agenda.
Sometimes, Internet troll is trying to spin conflicting information, is questioning in an insincere manner, flaming discussion, insulting people, turning people against each other, harassing forum members, ignoring warnings from forum moderators.
Trolling is a form of harassment that can take over a discussion. Well meaning defenders can create chaos by responding to trolls. The best response is to ignore it, or to report a message to a forum moderator. CureZone moderators usually delete troll messages or block trolls. Negative emotions stirred up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.
Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash.
When trolls are ignored they step up their attacks, desperately seeking the attention they crave. Their messages become more and more foul, and they post ever more of them. Alternatively, they may protest that their right to free speech is being curtailed. Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a webmaster is deciding whether to take steps against a troll that a few people find entertaining. Some trolls do have a creative spark and have chosen to squander it on being disruptive. There is a certain perverse pleasure in watching some of them. Ultimately, though, the webmaster has to decide if the troll actually cares about putting on a good show for the regular participants, or is simply playing to an audience of one -- himself.
Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody whom you think is a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write a follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only this:
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction and not to respond to rolling messages. It is well known that most people don't read messages that nobody responds to, while 99% of forum visitors first read the longest and the largest threads with the most answers.
* Troll Message is an outrageous message posted to a message board, newsgroup or mailing list to bait people to answer.
* Trolls of Scandinavian Mythology: another Troll, internet troll & forum troll
Once upon a time, evil dwarfs were living in hills, forests and mounds. They were stumpy, misshapen, humpbacked, with a long nose, long hair and a long tail. Trolls were inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children. They would substitute one of their own offspring for that of a human mother. They were called "hill-people", and they were especially averse to noise, from a recollection of the time when god Thor used to fling his hammer after them. Not all trolls were evil!. Some trolls were helping people. Some trolls were only playing games. But, evil trolls were the one that kids were most afraid of. Some trolls were small, other were giants.
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This one was also quite informative.
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What is a Troll?
An Internet "troll" is a person who delights in sowing discord on the Internet. He (and it is usually he) tries to start arguments and upset people.
Trolls see Internet communications services as convenient venues for their bizarre game. For some reason, they don't "get" that they are hurting real people. To them, other Internet users are not quite human but are a kind of digital abstraction. As a result, they feel no sorrow whatsoever for the pain they inflict. Indeed, the greater the suffering they cause, the greater their 'achievement' (as they see it). At the moment, the relative anonymity of the net allows trolls to flourish.
Trolls are utterly impervious to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You cannot negotiate with them; you cannot cause them to feel shame or compassion; you cannot reason with them. They cannot be made to feel remorse. For some reason, trolls do not feel they are bound by the rules of courtesy or social responsibility.
Perhaps this sounds inconceivable. You may think, "Surely there is something I can write that will change them." But a true troll can not be changed by mere words.
Why Does it Matter?
Some people particularly those who have been online for years are not upset by trolls and consider them an inevitable hazard of using the net. As the saying goes, "You can't have a picnic without ants."
It would be nice if everybody was so easy-going, but the sad fact is that trolls do discourage people. Established posters may leave a message board because of the arguments that trolls ignite, and lurkers (people who read but do not post) may decide that they do not want to expose themselves to abuse and thus never get involved.
Another problem is that the negative emotions stirred up by trolls leak over into other discussions. Normally affable people can become bitter after reading an angry interchange between a troll and his victims, and this can poison previously friendly interactions between long-time users.
Finally, trolls create a paranoid environment, such that a casual criticism by a new arrival can elicit a ferocious and inappropriate backlash.
The Internet is a wonderful resource which is breaking down barriers and stripping away prejudice. Trolls threaten our continued enjoyment of this beautiful forum for ideas.
What Can be Done about Trolls?
When you suspect that somebody is a troll, you might try responding with a polite, mild message to see if it's just somebody in a bad mood. Internet users sometimes let their passions get away from them when seated safely behind their keyboard. If you ignore their bluster and respond in a pleasant manner, they usually calm down.
However, if the person persists in being beastly, and seems to enjoy being unpleasant, the only effective position is summed up as follows:
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
What Not to Do
As already stated, it is futile to try to "cure" a troll of his obsession. But perhaps you simply cannot bear the hostile environment that the troll is creating and want to go away for a while.
If you do that, then for the sake of the others on the system, please do not post a dramatic "Goodbye!" message. This convinces the troll that he is winning the battle. There is, perhaps, no message you can write on a message system that is as damaging as an announcement that you are leaving because of the hostility that the troll has kindled.
If you feel you must say something, a discreet message to the system operator (and some of the others users, if you have their email addresses) is the best course of action. Incidentally, if you are writing the letter in an agitated state, it is a good idea to wait an hour and then give it one last review before you actually send it. That might spare you the pain of saying things that you don't really mean to people you like.
Impersonation
One technique used by trolls to generate chaos is to pretend to be a well-liked person. On some systems there is nothing to prevent somebody from signing your name to a distasteful message. On other systems the troll may have to be a bit more wiley, perhaps by replacing one character with another. Here are some examples of various spoofing gimmicks that could be used against a person named Brenda Q. O'Really:
Brenda Q. O"Really Brenda Q. 0'Really Brenda Q O'Really
Brenda Q. O'Rea11y Bredna Q. O'Really 8renda Q. O'Really
Note: "Brenda Q. O'Really" is a made-up name used to illustrate spoofing and is not intended to refer to a particular person.
If you react with anger, the troll wins. So if you see a message impersonating you on a message board, simply write a follow-up reply entitled "That Wasn't Me" and type only this:
I did not write that message; it is a fake.
Of course, sometimes you will find that people who know you well have already identified the message as a fake and have tagged it as such. After all, one of the troll's goals is to make you look bad. If you have a good reputation, people will be tipped off if a message that you apparently wrote is completely out of character.
Trolls have been known to become so irritated at having their spoofs identified that they have learned to write in another person's style. They may end up writing an intelligent message that is indistinguishable from your own golden words. If that happens, you can always just let the post stand and take credit for it!
Trolls will also sometimes write a "That Wasn't Me" message after a genuine one, attempting to elicit a denial. There really is no reason to give him what he wants, since a "That Wasn't Me" warning merely reminds people to be skeptical. That is to say, it is of no real consequence if somebody isn't sure that you wrote a normal message, since in the long run it is the ideas that are important.
The Webmaster's Challenge
When trolls are ignored they step up their attacks, desperately seeking the attention they crave. Their messages become more and more foul, and they post ever more of them. Alternatively, they may protest that their right to free speech is being curtailed more on this later.
The moderator of a message board may not be able to delete a troll's messages right away, but their job is made much harder if they also have to read numerous replies to trolls. They are also forced to decide whether or not to delete posts from well-meaning folks which have the unintended effect of encouraging the troll.
Some webmasters have to endure conscientious users telling them that they are "acting like dictators" and should never delete a single message. These people may be misinformed: they may have arrived at their opinion about a troll based on the messages they see, never realizing that the webmaster has already deleted his most horrific material. Please remember that a troll does have an alternative if he has something of value to say: there are services on the net that provide messaging systems free of charge. So the troll can set up his own message board, where he can make his own decisions about the kind of content he will tolerate.
Just how much can we expect of a webmaster when it comes to preserving the principles of free speech? Some trolls find sport in determining what the breaking point is for a particular message board operator. They might post a dozen messages, each of which contains 400 lines of the letter "J". That is a form of expression, to be sure, but would you consider it your duty to play host to such a person?
Perhaps the most difficult challenge for a webmaster is deciding whether to take steps against a troll that a few people find entertaining. Some trolls do have a creative spark and have chosen to squander it on being disruptive. There is a certain perverse pleasure in watching some of them. Ultimately, though, the webmaster has to decide if the troll actually cares about putting on a good show for the regular participants, or is simply playing to an audience of one himself.
What about Free Speech?
When trolls find that their efforts are being successfully resisted, they often complain that their right to free speech is being infringed. Let us examine that claim.
While most people on the Internet are ardent defenders of free speech, it is not an absolute right; there are practical limitations. For example, you may not scream out "Fire!" in a crowded theatre, and you may not make jokes about bombs while waiting to board an airplane. We accept these limitations because we recognize that they serve a greater good.
Another useful example is the control of the radio frequency spectrum. You might wish to set up a powerful radio station to broadcast your ideas, but you cannot do so without applying for a license. Again, this is a practical limitation: if everybody broadcasted without restriction, the repercussions would be annoying at best and life-threatening at worst.
The radio example is helpful for another reason: with countless people having a legitimate need to use radio communications, it is important to ensure that nobody is 'monopolizing the channel'. There are only so many clear channels available in each frequency band and these must be shared.
When a troll attacks a message board, he generally posts a lot of messages. Even if his messages are not particularly inflammatory, they can be so numerous that they drown out the regular conversations (this is known as 'flooding'). Needless to say, no one person's opinions can be allowed to monopolize a channel.
The ultimate response to the 'free speech' argument is this: while we may have the right to say more or less whatever we want, we do not have the right to say it wherever we want. You may feel strongly about the fact that your neighbour has not mowed his lawn for two months, but you do not have the right to berate him in his own living room. Similarly, if a webmaster tells a troll that he is not welcome, the troll has no "right" to remain. This is particularly true on the numerous free communications services offered on the net. (On pay systems, the troll might be justified in asking for a refund.)
Why Do They Do It?
Affirmation.
Regular net users know how delightful it is when somebody responds to something they have written. It is a meeting of the minds, which is an intellectual thrill, but it is also an acknowledgement of one's value and that can be a very satisfying emotional reward.
Trolls crave attention, and they care not whether it is positive or negative. They see the Internet as a mirror into which they can gaze in narcissistic rapture.
If you want a deeper analysis than that, perhaps a psychologist can shed some additional light on the matter.
Conclusion
Next time you are on a message board and you see a post by somebody who you think is a troll, and you feel you must reply, simply write a follow-up message entitled "Troll Alert" and type only this:
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
By posting such a message, you let the troll know that you know what he is, and that you are not going to get dragged into his twisted little hobby.
The Internet is a splendidly haphazard collection of both serious and silly material. Because it is so free, there are bound to be problems. I think that we can best enjoy it if we deal with everything that happens online with a wry grin and a ready shrug.
posted on December 12, 2006 01:26:24 PM new
Very interesting,
I think that it may be possible for someone with emotional problems to become a troll without intent. For example, I know someone with all of those troll characteristics now but when I first started posting here about five years ago I hardly knew that she existed.
posted on December 12, 2006 02:59:36 PM new
Remember our troops???
We all remember our troops.
It isn't so much about remembering them though. It is honoring them by supporting them beyond the Holiday season.
It is supporting the best Veterans packages and screaming your head off when Congress cuts those benefits, it is reinstating the real GI Bill, it is stopping Halliburton, KBR, etc from providing poor, rotten food and dirty water to our troops while stealing money from American taxpayers, it is sending care packages all year long... even to those who are NOT Christians, and so on...
posted on December 12, 2006 05:40:01 PM new
I remember our brave troops daily. I also remember everyday the bastards that lied to Congress and the American people to send our brave troops to the illegal Iraq invasion.
Everyday I remember the bastards that sent our brave troops to war without a plan and without the proper equipment.
Everyday I remember the families that lost sons,daughters,husbands,fathers and mothers in the illegal Iraq invasion.
Everyday I remember the families that have had their sons,daughters,husbands,fathers and mothers wounded for life.
Everyday I remember all the families that lost loved one on 9/11. Everyday I remember the failed leaders that took their eye off terrorism and Ben Laden to wage a personal illegal vendetta war in Iraq.
posted on December 12, 2006 06:16:53 PM new
Thanks, JustSimpleMe....
I liked this part the best...
Trolls:
""evil dwarfs were living in hills, forests and mounds. They were stumpy, misshapen, humpbacked, with a long nose, long hair and a long tail. Trolls were inclined to thieving, and fond of carrying off children. ""
posted on December 12, 2006 07:40:35 PM new
Interesting isn't it, that those links in the OP come from MSNBC? I wonder if they're legitimate? MSNBC is, after all, part of the dreaded and evil Mainstream Media, a well known bastion of (gag, choke) Liberal/socialist/european wannabe/muslim loving/pinko/burn the nativity/let all the mexicans in/take from the rich and give to the poor/progressivism.
____________________________________________
May 1, 2003, America brings "democracy" to Iraq. November 7, 2006, Iraq brings democracy to America.
posted on December 12, 2006 10:44:07 PM new
Oh brother....talk about trolling.....
this thread was for anyone who might like to donate to help our troops.
And what does it bring????
TROLLS....nothing but sarcastic TROLLS....doing what they do best.....trolling.....
Oh yea....try and convince yourself that a topic like this was to troll.....ROFLMHO....
again...it's that famous LIBERAL TWISTING everything
....tsk tsk tsk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
Ann Coulter
[ edited by Linda_K on Dec 12, 2006 10:50 PM ]
posted on December 12, 2006 10:51:51 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
posted on December 12, 2006 11:43:07 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
A link to a story about Bryan Anderson, a marin whoe lost both legs and and arm while in Iraq.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
posted on December 14, 2006 11:50:12 AM new
So show your support of this brave soldier.....send a GENEROUS donation to him....via one of these sites.
Show him how VERY much you appreciate HIS sacrafice.
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on December 14, 2006 01:06:15 PM new
Why do you believe that he needs a "donation", linda? Do you not believe that the army will take care of his needs now that he is a triple amputee?
Or will he have to rely on charity as your suggestion implies.
posted on December 14, 2006 01:34:38 PM new
Oh my.....
so atheists see sending Christmas gifts to our soldiers and their families as 'charity'. tsk tsk tsk
Tis the season to give, helen.....don't atheists do that too?
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on December 14, 2006 01:39:35 PM new
Yep....just one MORE sacrifice our soldiers have ALWAYS made when serving their Nation. In ALL our wars....many have been stationed where they don't celebrate this holiday with their families.
Some American's don't realize ALL they do sacrifice for our Nation....like a TON of liberals who are anti-military to begin with.
We're lucky we still have enough men and women of HONOR who ARE willing to do so.
posted on December 14, 2006 02:03:49 PM new
I just wonder, should be send Christmas gifts to those "serving" in Hawaii? Just a thought? It takes a great deal of courage, honor and valor to put oneself in such god awful harm's way in Hawaii of all places. GOD BLESS EM!!
posted on December 14, 2006 03:06:09 PM new
Since troops all over the WORLD are currently serving out Nation....I'd answer that with a big YES you should.
Only jerks who know nothing about how the military works would ASSUME soldiers are kept in one place during the WHOLE time they serve. OR that Marines who WERE stationed in Hawaii...DIDN'T serve in Iraq
Lack of knowledge leads to MANY misconceptions. Assumptions aren't normally correct.
The facts are they are moved all the time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
Ann Coulter
[ edited by Linda_K on Dec 14, 2006 03:08 PM ]
posted on December 14, 2006 03:21:05 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
posted on December 14, 2006 03:29:52 PM new
Again....no reason to announce YOU'RE here, justsimpleme.
We can see your baiting posts all the time.
Just happened to 'drop' in to this board and start this crap. How funny you think anyone ELSE is being a troll.
Where'd you come from, otwa????
"While the democratic party complains about everything THIS President does to protect our Nation": "What would a Democrat president have done at that point?"
"Apparently, the answer is: Sit back and wait for the next terrorist attack."
posted on December 14, 2006 03:32:40 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
posted on December 14, 2006 03:36:31 PM new
ATTENTION: TROLL ALERT!!
The only way to deal with trolls is to limit your reaction to reminding others not to respond to trolls.
When you try to reason with a troll, he wins. When you insult a troll, he wins. When you scream at a troll, he wins. The only thing that trolls can't handle is being ignored.
posted on December 14, 2006 03:38:14 PM new
mingotree
posted on December 12, 2006 10:33:24 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this is your way of apologizing to our female troops which you insulted and demeaned.
Your post begs the question:
Why are you so concerned about our troops?...you continually spout about how they "volunteered" for this duty and deserve everything they get.
