I think this is a good idea

[Dill]

(06-26-2020, 07:46 PM)BmorePat87 Wrote: I'm not sure who the whole clique is, but some posters feed off of other posters. It's mutual and it causes threads to derail and the civility to crumble. It's not just one group. 

It starts with intentional trolling, though. Snark and shitty posts here and there are one thing, but when your whole purpose is to just troll then that causes issues. As soon as someone does, just stop responding to them. Don't take the bait. That's what they want and it feeds them. If enough people took this approach then we'd have less problems. 

I'm not always clear whether someone is "just trolling" or not. 

At times I have engaged with people who seemed to be asking honest questions, only later to wonder if they weren't just trying to produce some "hypocrisy" or other to denounce. Too late then.

It is harder to ignore a troll if he has personally attacked me. Ignoring doesn't prevent it from continuing, nor does responding in kind. But in the past I have noticed such posters sometimes disappear if posed questions they can't answer. Often I will "take the bait" if I think I can get that result.  
I generally respond to political arguments. If someone has made a bad argument or posted disinformation, then I'd like to address that.

If someone starts a thread tomorrow with a NYT article reporting that Trump wants to ban COVID testing in battleground states, I will likely jump into that thread if someone responds claiming it was just more "fake news."

If someone starts a thread the next day with an article reporting that Barr has dismissed yet another NY attorney working on a Trump case, I will likely jump into that one at some point as well. If someone posts a defense of Barr, or disputes that he has established a pattern of partisanship in his office, I will likely take issue with that.

Trump supporters can then "predict" which threads I'll show up. To one with a very loose definition, that could look like trolling.

Finally, I like to study arguments too, including bad arguments. Or whatever happens when people of various backgrounds and skill levels come together in an unrefereed venue. Learning to manage bad arguments in public space seems to me a worthy goal. It helps me understand other people's political motivations and understanding. What might look like trolling to someone else can look like an opportunity for exploration to me.