What makes you identify someone as a troll?

[JoshRaed]

I’m super bad at it honestly. I mostly get trolled by my brother, and even if I catch it he’s good enough at it that i’m still bothered.

I think I might have been trolled online before, though I have no way of verifying it. For all I know it’s never happened to me before.

[Lensing]

I first thought you were a troll but your behavior in the forum got better.

Remember the time when you were opening multiple topics every day,
never liking any of the answers, never replying to any answers and opening
new topics? That did upset a lot of people

[JoshRaed]

I’m confused by “never replying to any answers” because I thought I had the opposite problem where I felt the need to reply to everything even if I really had no need to, turning everything into a discussion where I always had a follow up question or a “but” in there.

[Lensing]

Like I wrote, it got better and now you are not doing that anymore

In the old topics you didn´t say thank you to the advice, didn´t like the advice and you started
argueing / doubitng or you had further questions.

At some point you started taking the advice and wrote stuff like "thank you, I´ll try that"
before doubting and having further questions and that made people less upset about
your online behavior.

It´s no problem to have further questions but the old topics were really troll level for a lot of people.

[cherrystark]

While @Lensing is right that you have improved, but you still tend to act like the rest of us are equal partners on your project. Every time you hit some type of roadblock, you ask for help. Then you get mad at us for telling you to practice or use resources like Google or physically collecting your own reference set. Your "solution" to a lot of criticism is replying back to old comments, which does come off troll-like since the replies are short and seemingly "random".

There is no problem asking questions or showing off your art, but you have to learn how to interact with the rest of us. Jump on discussion threads, compliment people, build friendships, network. Don't expect us to be your human Google. There's a difference between asking "I am looking for a new drawing software. I have A, but am stuck between B and C. Has anyone tried them out?" and "What drawing software do you recommend?" An internet search will give you a list of highly rated programs.

[NickRowler]

I feel like trolling has a bit of sarcasm and foolishness. But sometimes people are genuine and unaware. So it can be hard to know for sure.

Mass trolling has some overlap with harassment. There were a bunch if trolls that told a woman that they would shoot her with a sniper rifle, she didn’t know the phrase was from a meme and was scared for her life.

[JoshRaed]

Jump on discussion threads, compliment people, build friendships, network.

How often should I be commenting? I’m not casually scrolling the forum for posts that often. Like is there a set amount of comments I should make per day?

[KSlinger]

[JoshRaed]

I don't get it. What makes this troll behavior? I don’t want to just obsessively scroll the forums to comment on things, but I also want to be active enough that i’m not the weird guy sticking his head in to ask for advice every few days and then leaves again.

[Nugtown]

Usually any attempt to stir the pot while acting coy or innocent is obvious enough. Some attempt to rouse emotion from a person who just doesn't know any better? Um, or someone saying something simple but outlandish that strikes some kind of nerve so you'll reply and give them their daily dopamine hit.

Not replying is pretty easy, but you'll be shocked out how people will actually work to justify doing so even though in not seeing how much of a complete waste of time it all is. "No! I need to fight him online and show everyone so I can stand up for X" or "No! I need to give this guy a piece of my mind RIGHT NOW!" And I truly believe this is another one of those things where you either get it, or you just don't.

[cherrystark]

How often should I be commenting? I’m not casually scrolling the forum for posts that often. Like is there a set amount of comments I should make per day?

I can't give you a number. In fact, I won't give you a number.

[JoshRaed]

"No! I need to fight him online and show everyone so I can stand up for X"

This reminds me of west elm caleb and how many people thought that ruining the life of one guy for the crime of ghosting women was the height of feminism, and was literally activism somehow.

[JoshRaed]

Is there a way to know that i’m being active enough on the forum?

[cherrystark]

When you develop the self-confidence enough to research and find solutions to your own problems and stop relaying on random internet strangers to answer questions for you and make decisions for you.

[JoshRaed]

Huh? Those are fully unrelated things.

[JoshRaed]

You’re right, though. Like someone introduced me to sketchfab, but then I found sketch fab online in like 10 seconds. I didn’t need to make that post at all because what I was looking for was easily findable.

[Katzalcoatl]

To identify a Troll. It is quite easy. They usually seek attention even if it is the negative kind of attention.

They even go as far as trying to get any type of reaction out of you. There are people immune to trolls/attention seekers. Those people usually don't give the reaction trolls expect and instead treat them like they would treat anyone else out there. (This is basically telling said troll they aren't special to them in any kind of way.)

When a troll doesn't annoy their victim/get the attention they were looking for then they get annoyed. Usually trolls have a low self esteem so they try to bring others to feel a bit how they do. But that is just false hopes as trolling will not change who they are in real life.

Plus making thousands of enemies thinking you are safe just for being anonymous is never a good idea when we live in a society that relies on helping each other. I also don't recommend trolling on the internet unless you have some knowledge about cyber security. Troll 1 wrong person and you can get hacked and your real life info plus image gets doxxed.

There is a saying, "when people wear a mask they become their real self" meaning that anonymity gives you false assurance that there will be no consequences. There are always consequences for everything even if you think you are being anonymous. But that is another topic.

[JoshRaed]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

[JoshRaed]

So do you genuinely believe i’m a troll?

[KSlinger]

No. I wouldn't waste my time if I did. I think you're a young person who is learning and requires patience.