Troll filter needed??

[nashvillesigns]

As the title suggests,
do we need one?
while anybody can sign up to a forum and help with sharing knowledge and innovative ideas, i am starting to think the "trolling" population is gleefully wasting our time on these types of forums.
its hard enough we make signs and get undercutted by those who do, but know we have our time shredded by what could be a legitimate question, or not?
thoughts?

-Mosher

 

[J Hill Designs]

how would that even work

 

[GAC05]

how would that even work

I'll bet the NSA knows who trolls here at 101, Fred could ask them........

wayne k
guam usa

 

[bob]

As the title suggests,
do we need one?
while anybody can sign up to a forum and help with sharing knowledge and innovative ideas, i am starting to think the "trolling" population is gleefully wasting our time on these types of forums.
its hard enough we make signs and get undercutted by those who do, but know we have our time shredded by what could be a legitimate question, or not?
thoughts?...

While Serious Specimens, such as you give every appearance of being, can be off-put by what you refer to as 'trolling', other less solemn individuals find much entertainment available here. No small part of that amusement being generated by those you might consider to be 'trolls'. In other words, these waters contain at least as much, if not more, entertainment value than Serious $hit.

Since you seem to value your time more intensely than those less deliberate than yourself, you might want to learn merely to stop reading anything you deem to be wasting your precious time. Better yet, learn not to start reading whatever it is you might consider frivolous.

To sum up: You and you alone are responsible for what you read. If, heaven forefend, you should find yourself reading something that you consider a waste of your valuable time or worse, something at which you choose to take offense [oh the humanity], just stop and move on to something else.

 

[CES020]

while anybody can sign up to a forum and help with sharing knowledge and innovative ideas, i am starting to think the "trolling" population is gleefully wasting our time on these types of forums.

I don't think that's the case. If memory serves me correctly, Fred approves people on a case by case basis, so not just anyone can join.

 

[Mosh]

Sir, you have offended me. (slap)

 

[SignManiac]

I don't believe there to be as many trolls as you perceive. I think these are real individuals who earnestly want to get into this line of work with zero knowledge and this is why their dumb a$$ questions irritate you. The entry requirement into the sign business is merely some pocket change and the fact that all is required is to push a button and print money. It will never end. You either decide to help them join the legions of sticker makers, or you ignore and go about running your own business. We each have a choice to help or not to help.

 

[Gino]

I dunno.... maybe this is just a run-on of what bob was saying...... but how do you describe a troll ??

It can easily be a sign-person just looking for easy answers without letting on he/she are your competitor.
Perhaps it's someone who just takes threads off track to derail a more serious problem.
Someone just stirring the pot to watch fights or instigate them.
It's kinda like the graffiti artists of the internet.

Or.... maybe someone's just fishing with lures and bait...........


​

Fred has a pretty good handle on it, but without getting careless about it, if you see a good thread going down in flames due to a troll/whatever, there is a report post icon at the end of each and every box. Press it and an administrator will look into it quickly.
​

 

[Marlene]

I don't believe there to be as many trolls as you perceive. I think these are real individuals who earnestly want to get into this line of work with zero knowledge and this is why their dumb a$$ questions irritate you. The entry requirement into the sign business is merely some pocket change and the fact that all is required is to push a button and print money. It will never end. You either decide to help them join the legions of sticker makers, or you ignore and go about running your own business. We each have a choice to help or not to help.​

+1

 

[nashvillesigns]

trolling

While i put ice on my face, i agree pretty much with above, i don't think i am wasting my time with anyones post, rather, a small voice in my head is noting the demonistic slang of some of these responses.
does this not demean us in some way? Somebody wants to "make signs" grabs some things of craigslist or whatever, and joins a forum? did we all not do this at one point or another? why should we feel entitled to "thunder ***** slap " these unsuspecting patrons to the aluminum scrap bin?
i am noticing this on EVERY forum i read... not just here.
maybe we should be able to "mark peoples forum names" with a troll star badge!!!

 

[Fred Weiss]

As the title suggests,
do we need one?
while anybody can sign up to a forum and help with sharing knowledge and innovative ideas, i am starting to think the "trolling" population is gleefully wasting our time on these types of forums.
its hard enough we make signs and get undercutted by those who do, but know we have our time shredded by what could be a legitimate question, or not?
thoughts?

-Mosher

Those members that are appearing to you to be trolls generally are not. Most of the time they meet our membership requirements by being involved in a different graphics profession such as photography, commercial printing or web design. My reading quite often is that they don't know the terminology well enough to ask a question in terms others use and are perceived by some as trolls or end users. Many are unfamiliar with the particular customs and protocols of Signs 101 or any large, well established forum. Still many others simply are not good readers and don't follow the written word or instructions very well or are somewhat overwhelmed by the size of Signs 101.

I started in the sign business as a summer lark 43 years ago because my office coffee service business went slow every summer. I purchased a vacuum forming machine and made magnetic signs for 10 weeks and made more money than the rest of the year in my established business. What I found was that customers liked my work and that profit margins were much better ... so I was hooked and eventually expanded into full time sign making. Imagine though, if there was a Signs 101 in 1971, what the reaction would have been had I joined and asked about the notion of making signs part time while my coffee business was slow.

When a new member asks what appears to be an inflammatory question, we should start by giving the benefit of the doubt. Most of these folks are sincere and just not aware of how they are coming across in writing. It is an assumption on your part that they are trolls or are seeking to undercut the market. Most are simply inexperienced and uninformed. Since some of us will end up competing with these folks, it makes more sense to me to take advantage of the opportunity to steer them in the right direction so they make better signs and price them for better profits than to assume they have bad intentions and run them off.

 

[Billct2]

Good post Fred. I think a lot of the posts that get heated are because of a sense of entitlement on behalf of the poster, they show a total lack of effort to do some research before asking for the answers to their problems. Then there are those who intentionally or not belittle the expertise required to succeed in this business and finally there are those who are a little too thin skinned to survive the phalanx of grumpy old signmakers that hang out here.

 

[sardocs]

I think there may be more Grumpy Old Trolls hiding under the bridge waiting to eat unsuspecting nubes than there are nubes trying to start another bashfest.

 

[rdm01]

I think there may be more Grumpy Old Trolls hiding under the bridge waiting to eat unsuspecting nubes than there are nubes trying to start another bashfest.

Although I tend to agree with the veteran users, sometimes it's quite clear they lost their patience a looooong time ago.

 

[Rick]

We have trolls. I don't consider newbies trolls at all. They may
come in with a sense of "entitlement", most are inconsiderate,
but I think this forum can not exist without the newbies who participate.

The reasons why people get into this business is usually because it's
a creative outlet. Seems like a good enough reason. When a newbie
comes in after purchasing a ton of equipment and clueless about the
business, I see no problem with telling them the pitfalls of their actions
but after that, I try to let it go and see how they progress.
Problem is, most never come back. Either they have it all figured out
or their skin is too thin, or we bullied them... I am guilty of it. Sometimes
I feel bad because that was not my intention, but it reads bad, sometimes
I believe I had more to say on the subject.

The real threat are the trolls who take it upon themselves to teach a single
member a lesson, by taking it out on the whole forum. We have 3 in particular
I have 2 of them blocked. These people have serious mental disorders and
only intend to cause harm... self appointed equalizers. We also have
predators, their agenda is self-serving. I avoid them too. Overall, we have a
great forum, but with a great forum, we get trolls. Stop feeding them.

 

[nikdoobs]

Why don't you just ignore posts you think may be trolls?

 

[SignManiac]

We have trolls. I don't consider newbies trolls at all. They may
come in with a sense of "entitlement", most are inconsiderate,
but I think this forum can not exist without the newbies who participate.

The reasons why people get into this business is usually because it's
a creative outlet. Seems like a good enough reason. When a newbie
comes in after purchasing a ton of equipment and clueless about the
business, I see no problem with telling them the pitfalls of their actions
but after that, I try to let it go and see how they progress.
Problem is, most never come back. Either they have it all figured out
or their skin is too thin, or we bullied them... I am guilty of it. Sometimes
I feel bad because that was not my intention, but it reads bad, sometimes
I believe I had more to say on the subject.

The real threat are the trolls who take it upon themselves to teach a single
member a lesson, by taking it out on the whole forum. We have 3 in particular
I have 2 of them blocked. These people have serious mental disorders and
only intend to cause harm... self appointed equalizers. We also have
predators, their agenda is self-serving. I avoid them too. Overall, we have a
great forum, but with a great forum, we get trolls. Stop feeding them.

Well stated Rick. You and Fred both always offer sound reasoning.

 

[Fred Weiss]

We have trolls. I don't consider newbies trolls at all. They may
come in with a sense of "entitlement", most are inconsiderate,
but I think this forum can not exist without the newbies who participate.

The reasons why people get into this business is usually because it's
a creative outlet. Seems like a good enough reason. When a newbie
comes in after purchasing a ton of equipment and clueless about the
business, I see no problem with telling them the pitfalls of their actions
but after that, I try to let it go and see how they progress.
Problem is, most never come back. Either they have it all figured out
or their skin is too thin, or we bullied them... I am guilty of it. Sometimes
I feel bad because that was not my intention, but it reads bad, sometimes
I believe I had more to say on the subject.

The real threat are the trolls who take it upon themselves to teach a single
member a lesson, by taking it out on the whole forum. We have 3 in particular
I have 2 of them blocked. These people have serious mental disorders and
only intend to cause harm... self appointed equalizers. We also have
predators, their agenda is self-serving. I avoid them too. Overall, we have a
great forum, but with a great forum, we get trolls. Stop feeding them.

 

[Auburnpeanut]

I don't believe there to be as many trolls as you perceive. I think these are real individuals who earnestly want to get into this line of work with zero knowledge and this is why their dumb a$$ questions irritate you. The entry requirement into the sign business is merely some pocket change and the fact that all is required is to push a button and print money. It will never end. You either decide to help them join the legions of sticker makers, or you ignore and go about running your own business. We each have a choice to help or not to help.

agree!