How to detect and frustrate a troll.

I thought this was very topical as I'd been to see the film Troll Hunter on Sunday and thought I was an expert.

Thankyou for those definitions. I have spotted one that I generally avoid if I see the name there - unpleasant and unwanted by genuine Gransnetters!

Gosh, thanks for this warning. I never suspected this would happen on Gransnet even though I've had to give up being my too trusting self in so many other areas of life. I came on to this thread by chance. Could you put a troll warning & Josie's message in a prominent position so no one can miss it. Is there anything else we should be wary of?

I'm not all that clever at identifying trolls, though I did spot one on this forum eventually (The one about a supposedly bad DIL). I always have the feeling that they might be genuine but a little odd or disturbed.

I was once on a forum, now defunct, several years ago when a very nice, normal poster, a married man with a child, suddenly turned into a troll. Many feelings were hurt, and I think it led indirectly to the demise of that forum, which was called 'Yorkshire Posts'. (Someone tried a new 'Yorkshire Posts' later but it never took off as well.) It was my first forum and I really used to enjoy it. A computer programmer at work had found it for me.

I have a couple of other Yorkshire forums now, but losing that one was sad.

Trolls - horrible!

Thank you, elegran! I needed that guidance, as you know.

Trolls and moles, whatever next. Thanks Elegran we'll be more aware

GO AWAY do some of the other ones

cheaty cheat

Oh garndma, what big teeth you have!!

Gransnet is the first forum I've ever joined, so all this is quite new to me. It's so interesting though, to read what 'trolls' are about! Quite slimy little things, really, aren't they? I appreciate Elegran's post - it'll help to make me more aware!

Jangly, I know you by now! You'll see through any troll that sticks its head above the parapet, but you don't bite friends. (just nibble a bit.....)

Yes, and they can persist really stupidly on a tack which any reasonable being can see is not genuine. I suppose we stop applying common sense when they wind us up enough.

Yes. It will help. You know better than to take any notice of me.

Thanks Elegran Some of us are completely new to this lark, but catching on fairly quickly. It strikes me that trolls always get the tone very slightly wrong.

You get a kind of radar, but not everyone has developed it, so I thought a post might help.

Sorry! Very useful information.

I can spot em a mile off.

Thank you.