AtheistNexus.org dicscussions on trolls

Dear Readers,


Here is an discussion on AtheistNexus.org on trolls that happens to make a reference to me:















Trolls
Posted by Nick Bottom on October 16, 2014 at 9:00pm in Introductions
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Seems I missed out on the action earlier today when a troll made an appearance and was quickly kicked out of A/N. I love a good troll-bashing, especially when a troll attempts to defend his or her (usually his) position with circular arguments that become increasingly ridiculous on each successive post.
Interestingly, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has yet to update its definition of troll for the Internet Age. Here's my attempt.
troll   noun   \ˈtrōl\


: a person, usually of low intelligence, who creates a fake account on an Internet site for the singular purpose of confirming to the world that he or she is, indeed, an idiot . . . and then is heard no more.


A lot of us come here to A/N because we feel secure in expressing our views with other like-minded folks, something that we may not be able to do with regularity in other places. So whenever I see a troll, I'll report that person.

I've only been on A/N for a few months now, but I am interested to know if there has ever been a documented case of a troll actually succeeding in luring someone on A/N away to the warm, oppressive arms of religion.






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Replies to This Discussion
 Permalink Reply by Patricia yesterday

I never saw anything & I'm on here a dozen or more times a day.
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 Permalink Reply by Nick Bottom yesterday

I saw it under the subject An absolutely brilliant refutation of presuppositional apologetics.

Just curious about what I missed out on, since I don't check this site during the day when I'm at work. I guess some people just get a little giddy at the thought of "planting a seed," so to speak, even if it's in the middle of the desert. They probably pat themselves on the back for "doing God's work" so that they can walk around thinking, "When I reach the pearly gates, God is going to be so happy with me for being an a--hole."
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 Permalink Reply by Patricia yesterday

Thanks Nick....
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 Permalink Reply by Grinning Cat yesterday

He asked for feedback on his book in progress (with website link) on how to debate atheists.
His message is gone, but the replies remain, looking like non sequiturs to a year-old posting a bunch of us all happened to notice today. :-)
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 Permalink Reply by Michael Penn 18 hours ago

I can spot a troll in a heartbeat. Just like that guy yesterday, but he wasn't really trying to hide. As I see it there are 2 basic types of troll:
   1. One just wants to start trouble
   2. One is sincere and wants to convert you
Yesterday's troll was in this category. They want to convert you because they think that is what good christians do. They convert people. Keep in mind that the main apologetic argument about the existence of god is a "given." They believe that "everybody knows that god exists" so the atheist is just stubborn, ignorant, or "something happened." In the new troll movie "God Is Not Dead" for example, Kevin Sobo's character is atheist "because he father died."
Christians really believe this crap and it's the main reason that their apologetics fail so miserably all the time. I suppose they have to take this position. If they looked at the situation logicly they would not be christian.
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 Permalink Reply by Luara 16 hours ago

I wasn't so sure if that zeldafan person was a troll.
That was the one who said they were atheist, claimed to be a hedonist and thought it would be better to be religious because of all the pleasure.
That person had a lot of signs of being a religious troll of your first type.
But I wasn't sure.  If a troll claims to be atheist, it's hard to be sure they're actually religious. There are people around with weird ideas, and I try not to jump to conclusions.
Anyway, they had an interesting and novel approach, if a troll, and unusual ideas if not.
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 Permalink Reply by sk8eycat 15 hours ago

I had a hunch that zeldafan was trolling, but didn't (and still don't) know how to report it.
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 Permalink Reply by Luara 14 hours ago

Yes, because being a hedonist sounds like a stereotype that a religious person would have about atheists, and taunting us with all the bliss that religious people supposedly have, like someone's idea of fun.
And because zeldafan never answered my question about whether they had ever been religious, and didn't respond to the "troll" accusations.  It's a good sign when someone does respond to accusations of being a troll.
I guess a moderator thought zeldafan was a religious troll, because they were quickly deleted.
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 Permalink Reply by Loren Miller 14 hours ago

Scroll to the bottom of just about any page on Atheist Nexus, and click on Report an Issue ... or just click the link I put here!  [grin!]
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 Permalink Reply by Loren Miller 18 hours ago

Trolls have been around A|N from the time I've been on here.  Back in 2009, there was one - Dave Mabus, I think he was - who was apparently very determined to get his theist / creationist word out to us horrid non-believers and using multiple accounts to come back after he'd been kicked out several times.  There was one guy who was apparently an atheist, yet a rabid anti-vaccine exponent, and yet another who was dabbling in religion and non-religion, apparently trying to find where she fit in all of that.
They were then and this is now and I don't for one second pretend to think that we're shut of them, with this latest encroachment being at least passable evidence.  And I for one am more than happy and able to kick their asses when they DO show up.
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                 http://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/trolls?commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A2492213&xg_source=activity












The woman that Loren Miller mentions in his comment is me.  I was not trying to be a "troll". That wasn't my intention.  I posted too many external links to articles on there and they did not appreciate that. So, I had to leave.  I don't think that the members of "AtheistNexus.org" really understood me very well.   Loren is mistaken, I wasn't dabbling in religion and non-religion at the same time, trying to figure out where I fit in all of that.  I was an atheist at the time. I still am an atheist.  I don't think that very many members of the forum cared for the fact that I have more liberal attitudes towards religion than they do. Loren is a nice guy, although I think that he can sometimes boast a little bit too much about his prominent status a longtime member of "AtheistNexus.org" when he gets into debates with other members who support positions that he disagrees with or with trolls.  I can understand that in a way, when it comes to trolls, however I don't always understand it, when it comes to people supporting positions that he disagrees with.  Many longtime members rush to his defense which is understandable, but I think that can be a biased thing to do in some ways.




 What exactly does Loren Miller's longtime membership with "AtheistNexus.org" prove exactly?  I don't know.  Does it make him better than anyone else? No, at least I don't think so.  I also think he can sometimes be a bit boastful about how he would win a physical altercation with a religious person who wanted to hurt him or if he got into an actual fight with someone else.  I don't blame him for debating trolls on the "AtheistNexus.org" forum.  I think that he may enjoy confrontation, debate and maybe even arguing, I really can't say that he does for sure.  I am not into debating and do not care for confrontation.  As for Loren's physical strength, I wouldn't blame him for defending himself if he got in an actual fight with a person who wanted to hurt him. However, I don't believe that he has really considered the fact that there are some people in this world who are physically stronger than he is who could probably hurt him very badly. What happens if he got in a fist fight with someone who hands are considered "lethal weapons"?  I wouldn't hesitate to physically defend myself if I had to, but I know that there are people out there who are stronger than me.  I wouldn't know what I would do if I got in a fight with someone who hands are considered "lethal weapons". 



I don't think that Loren should boast about his physical strength in that way, I wouldn't want him to get in a fight with the wrong person and get hurt.  I hope that you can understand, I am not saying that I would hurt him or that I want to hurt him. I don't. My hands certainly aren't "lethal weapons".  I am merely saying that he has boasted about his physical strength various times and I worry about that because what happens if he got in an actual fight with someone who is stronger then him, after all, he isn't very young.  As for debating, that is fine.  I think that he can be a bit confrontational and that is not always a bad thing, however if he is doing it just to argue, I think that would be a bit immature. I can't always be sure of him motivations, but I certainly think that he is a good person. Think about it.




Sincerely,


Brandi Amari Williams