Suggestion for PI

Lorax

Some of the threads (in my opinion) on PI are completely ridiculous and made up, not mentioning any in particular, but I dont think its fair when people give up some of their time to offer anonymous people advice about their problems, that they might be just wasting their time on trolls. I remember it happened once or twice before and Beruthiel I think it was caught them out, because they were laughing about it on the football365 forums, but there should be a way of verifying unregistered users topics imo, maybe supply a landline and have the moderators give a quick call to them to verify the topic is real. Or something similar. Just a thought and before I get flamed (like I always do when I post on this forum) I am only trying to help.

Tar.Aldarion

Ah no, to be fair you are trying to help but I think it is quite a bad idea.
Also, in PI, it is taken that even if it is trolling it might help somebody with a real case of that probelem. So it is left open with real answers.

kaimera

Unregged threads have to be approved first on PI don't they?

You don't like a thread, PM a mod I guess.

Lorax

Thats a good point tar, when its general advice or whatever. Like breakups, or depression.. But some of the problems ya see are (if fake) completely taking the piss out of the ppl offering genuine advice. I suppose if the helpful ppl on PI dont mind that fact then I dunno what Im complaining about.

hullaballoo

If people take the piss out of people who are being helpful, to what extent do you care if people are laughing about it?

I seem to recollect some sort of scenario where some small-time radio presenter or some such was having a right laugh at some users on PI, and it doesn't exactly speak to a level of maturity or wit, does it?

Stabshauptmann

Trolls in PI can have one of two good effects
A)Someone might benifit from the answers
B)can be good for a lap in the rofflecopter

Anyone remember the thread about the brother molesting the dog. Sick if true, but really ****ing funny if a troll

CuLT

Kaptain Redeye wrote:

Anyone remember the thread about the brother molesting the dog. Sick if true, but really ****ing funny if a troll

There needs to be more threads like that one.

Tar.Aldarion

*Looks slyly at his dog*
I'm all over it.

Talliesin

1. The PI mods do check things out sometimes.
2. The OP here recently labelled a thread a troll when it was something that happens quite a lot. If a troll is getting their jollies by making up things that aren't even slightly far-fetched there isn't really any way to identify it and it isn't really much sense as a troll (the point of trolling PI is surely to laugh at people's gullibility, but if a troll is so naïve as to think you'd have to be gullible to believe something that isn't even uncommon, then ultimately the laugh is at their naïvety rather than anyone's gullibility).
3. I can remember one case that everyone, PI mods included, thought was a rather blatant troll (a reply post rather than a thread) that turned out to be true.

Gordon

I've always been of the opinion that a possible troll can still be helpful to someone, somewhere. If not, then it gets unapproved/deleted/locked.

As for the suggestion of calling people via their landlines - ehhh... no thanks.. (a certain Bubbles/boards user involving taxis to Christchurch late at night springs to mind)

seamus

Gordon wrote:

I've always been of the opinion that a possible troll can still be helpful to someone, somewhere. If not, then it gets unapproved/deleted/locked.

That's the way the official line should stay IMO. I can understand kids thinking it's hilarious when they post threads about how they caught their mother having sex with their father's sister, and were wondering was it wrong to feel turned on, but then there seem to be people who concot a massive story, perfectly believeable, and continue to keep replying with similarly believeable posts.

There's something very sad about these kinds of people, but the very fact that the stories are believeable means there's a good chance that someone else may have this problem, or the OP is in fact using parts of his own life in the story and is looking for help in a way that he/she doesn't feel sad or exposed.

The thread about being in love with their uncle, for example, could very easily be a troll. But it could also very easily be real. If someone thinks it's hilarious that people are replying, fine. On the other hand, it may strike chords with people who are in similar situations with other family members, and the advice offered may help.

Talliesin

That wasn't bubbles.

Still, not everyone's broadband is ADSL, and why else would you bother with a landline in this day and age?

Gordon

seamus wrote:

or the OP is in fact using parts of his own life in the story and is looking for help in a way that he/she doesn't feel sad or exposed.

Good point.

Lorax, by the way, I'd prefer to have a possible troll on PI over a poster that replies like this:

lol @ anyone who actually believes this tripe. OP : U are a sad sad person.

I think that you are the real troll here.

Personally I don't really mind people calling troll for Unregged users on PI if they give advice along with the trollcall: "Presuming this isn't a troll - my advice is...". When people just shout troll then it's not helpful and it messes the thread up,if you want to do that then please report the thread.

That wasn't bubbles.

He's typecast now.