What Are Troll Questions?

My question is WHAT"S THE POINT of Trolling!!!!! WHY WHY WHY???

Gramma T gave a fantastic definition. I just don't get what is the payoff? Why would someone waster thier time. Just to piss people off? I do that everyday and don't have to pretend. lol

The troll questions are usually pretty obvious.
I didn't consider Just M's question to be a troll question.
Her question was about immediate responses to a subject line.
Example:
If I see a question with the subject "War"
I might think in my head "What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! Hwah! Say It Again!"

IMO, trolling is when a non-regular member (usually) posts a question JUST for the purpose of a reaction. (sometimes it's a member with multiple accounts who's bored).

If you look on my questions, the first is about a kid throwing ketchup at McD's. That kid was a troll. He posted a question asking what he should do to rebel against his mom, because she punished him for squirting ketchup on someone. He was not interested in answers, just wanted to stir the pot.

I feel the same about some of the abortion questions. Brand new account, first ever question - they somehow find MP and then say "hey, thinking about an abortion". Boom, pot stirred and board explodes.

I distinguish those from the "am i pregnant" type threads b/c those moms are likely truly asking, but just not thinking it through very well before they post. Imagine if I posted "What day is today", instead of simply looking at the calendar. (granted, some of the pregnancy ones involve more detailed women's repoductive system issues)

To me, a troll is someone not here for the purposes Mamapedia offers - rather they're here to get a reaction.

Just like a bully is only in it for the reaction, if you ignore a troll they go off to another board (because they're bored here).

Usually, I'm pretty suspicious if it's a new account (or only has a couple questions), they have answered none or very few, AND their first (or first few) questions all seem...dramatic.

I mean your first question was about a court case in the news. My first was about McD's kid. But what **brought** me to MP was the fact that my kid was teething and I didn't know what to do. I googled and started going through various sites - and stumbled upon this one. I liked the teething answers from all the different moms b/c I could find one that fit our family, and also see if this was a well accepted idea, or whether other moms could easily poke holes.

Jo gave a perfect answer - I couldn't have said it better! And the battery lady got me every time! LOL!

Oh and I just read Dad on Purpose's post - I think he is also right. I kind of differentiate in my mind between trolls and trolling questions. Someone who isn't your run-of-the-mill troll (like someone with multiple accounts, maybe multiple personalities!!) can ask trolling questions just to start a fight. And THOSE people have been on here for a long time.

Dawn

I didn't think the point of M's question was about trolling so much as the question line. A lot of times people put the full question in the title line and sometimes we think of a silly answer before we actually look at the actual question.

Like every time I see "Am I crazy?" I think if you have to ask then yes. Though the real question tends to not be crazy. Which is why I never have just answered yes, ya know?

Like using this post as an example I would have answered your title with could I get pregnant from a toilet seat. My daughter got pregnant with my other daughter's husband do you think I should kick her out?

What you really want to know is are these troll questions which they are not.

Just to say the biggest fallacy about trolls is they don't keep coming back, well at least here it is false. They don't block people here so we have a fair few that come back every so often. I offer the battery lady as an example. Clearly a troll, clearly keeps coming back. If I had to speculate on a pattern, when her batteries die. :p

Grandma T hit the nail on the head.

Agree......I can see that Just M's post was lighthearted and so were the responses....I too just can't believe someone would ask the "Am I pregnant question" or other flaming troll questions and there are a lot of them out there! But looking at some of my own naive questions regarding babies like his colds, allergies or getting in the crib with him (what was I thinking??) I can see that when we are stressed and confused we just reach out to our fellow moms on this site - pose a question but sometimes really just looking for reassurance or confirmation that someone else has been there done that.............it is good to know that being a first time mom, I am not the only one that has a child who puts everything in his mouth or takes eons to get ready - these posts may make some folks go "DUH" or "are you qualified to have kids" but really look at it from a perspective of someone who may be a successful in school or with their career but is just so intimidated by the unknowns of child rearing and wants to do the best for their baby!

No, I don't think they are troll questions. It wasn't that they were troll questions it was that the title made them sound silly which made people want to answer in a silly way. Like if all you had was that title as the question what would your automatic response be if you didn't filter your inner cat? Not a troll, just silly, for sure.

Just read the link and the responses to the post from the link. I have to say. I laughed my butt off! I <3 you all sooooo much! SOOO funny! I really needed a good laugh this morning! :p

I have read them all too. Some so sad.
I would like to offer a website for medical problems that is invaluable:
Mayoclinic.com, Symptoms, causes, treatments, medicines.
Really good before dr.'s appointment or if worried about child

Webmd.com is another lesser possibility.

May not solve "Am I pregnant?" but will keep her busy.