[DVaut1]

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Maybe we just have different definitions of what a troll is. I think of it as meaning something along the lines of 'someone who posts on a message board with the explicit and obvious purpose of starting a flame war'.

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No, that's my definition as well. So think. Why did he start this thread about Ted Rall if not to stir the shitpot?

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There's a difference between stirring the pot and trying to start a flame war. I'd guess half of the posts on the Politics forum are typically some form of schadenfreude meant to stir the shitpot, as you say.

But I assume he started a thread about Ted Rall hoping to start a discussion about Ted Rall and the content of Ted Rall's writing.

I get what you're saying, but in many ways this board is one big shitpot that's constantly stirred. I don't think that necessarily means stirring the shitpot is equivalent to intentionally starting a flame war -- let's make a distinction between stirring the shitpot (trying to start discussion that might include barbs thrown back and forth -- that's what politics and jockeying for power is all about, right?) versus a flame war (a post meant merely to upset people). I think we ought to be very careful about what we label as 'flaming' and 'trolling' in the Politics forum; it's much easier to spot in the poker forums (a poster whose only goal is to criticize, name-call, etc. and not contribute to the poker discussion) than it is in the Politics forum -- as a legitimate component of genuine political discouse is strong criticism, vivid dialouge and imagery, etc. I don't have much sympathy for those who come to the Politics forum and find all the debating and arguing in poor taste -- anyone who feels this way has come to the wrong place, IMO.

If you see no distinction between the two, that's fine -- if that's the case, however, then there probably isn't anyone here who isn't a troll, because if merely saying you agree, respect, or like Ted Rall constitutes the intentional stirring of the shitpot, which is tantamount to starting a flame war, which makes the poster in question a troll - then we're all guilty of it or something similar, except for those too cowardly or ignorant to have strong opinions.