PARADE CANCELLED

PoliBlog’s Parade of Trolls was a popular idea that didn’t work too well in execution.

Anyway, the response to my initial request for examples was two-fold, there was a lot of interest in the concept on a general level (for example [several links]) but very little in the way of actual examples to showcase. While some of the contributions were clearly example of Trollishness, none were particularly funny, although some did highlight noxious behavior–which is less entertaining.

Indeed, part of the problem may also be that crystallizing Trollish behavior into a single example isn’t too easy. For example, here at PoliBlog I have a Pet Troll (to be defined as an individual Troll who, for whatever reason, reads your stuff daily (indeed, usually multiple times a day) and feels the need to toss out “commentary”), but it is difficult to find a single post that fully captures the overall contributions of the fellow.

It also leads me to the conclusion that, perhaps, “one man’s Troll is another man’s Freedom Fighter” or some such–at least that obnoxiousness in the eye of the beholder. Part of it, too, may be that like stray cats, bloggers think it unwise to feed the Trolls, and the fact that it isn’t nice to make fun of people who may not know any better. . . .

Indeed.

FILED UNDER: Blogosphere
James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.