Thank you for the resurrection, good sir!
I've never trolled RPers, but I have countertrolled trolls and I've definitely been a public/OOC channel jerk on occasion in various games (which is why I usually keep them turned off because the temptation is so great).
I've also tried the techniques outlined in the original post, and I agree, they work.
(I've also found that TERA's main RP server has such a roleplayer heavy population that people can do horribly nasty ERP type things in the Global channel (of all places) and suffer no repercussions whatsoever. To their credit, they are usually doing it with hilarity and/or squick in mind, thus are themselves trolling. Trolls on Celestial Hills don't seem to have the stamina to keep up with the sheer flood of roleplay, as I've seen it.)
The hardest part for me can be not showing anger when I'm angry, if I'm really angry. And the NO FRIENDLY HUGS IN PUBLIC is something that has made me sadface in the past. Still, the validity of 'some people just don't want to see that' is difficult to argue.
The only argument I have is that I don't believe it's actually possible for the roleplaying community as a whole to change how the community as a whole is viewed. That is something I don't believe will ever happen. There are always going to be RPers who storm off in a huff or hurl back insults because they are pissed off. Not that they don't have a right to be pissed off. But they're not helping anyone and they're actually hurting others by that response.
My point being if you use these tactics, you're going to need to always use them. Don't think that you can "act cool" for a week and suddenly you'll be free to RP however you want harassment free for the next several years. You may get an immediate reprieve, you will likely even earn the respect of the occasional individual or group of individuals, but there will always be people reinforcing the stereotypes of both easy-to-get-a-reaction-from RPers and silly giggly trolls, and you will always have to be the 'I'm too cool to be annoyed' person to fend them off.
I've never trolled RPers, but I have countertrolled trolls and I've definitely been a public/OOC channel jerk on occasion in various games (which is why I usually keep them turned off because the temptation is so great).
I've also tried the techniques outlined in the original post, and I agree, they work.
(I've also found that TERA's main RP server has such a roleplayer heavy population that people can do horribly nasty ERP type things in the Global channel (of all places) and suffer no repercussions whatsoever. To their credit, they are usually doing it with hilarity and/or squick in mind, thus are themselves trolling. Trolls on Celestial Hills don't seem to have the stamina to keep up with the sheer flood of roleplay, as I've seen it.)
The hardest part for me can be not showing anger when I'm angry, if I'm really angry. And the NO FRIENDLY HUGS IN PUBLIC is something that has made me sadface in the past. Still, the validity of 'some people just don't want to see that' is difficult to argue.
The only argument I have is that I don't believe it's actually possible for the roleplaying community as a whole to change how the community as a whole is viewed. That is something I don't believe will ever happen. There are always going to be RPers who storm off in a huff or hurl back insults because they are pissed off. Not that they don't have a right to be pissed off. But they're not helping anyone and they're actually hurting others by that response.
My point being if you use these tactics, you're going to need to always use them. Don't think that you can "act cool" for a week and suddenly you'll be free to RP however you want harassment free for the next several years. You may get an immediate reprieve, you will likely even earn the respect of the occasional individual or group of individuals, but there will always be people reinforcing the stereotypes of both easy-to-get-a-reaction-from RPers and silly giggly trolls, and you will always have to be the 'I'm too cool to be annoyed' person to fend them off.
![[Image: g9ASfFg.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/g9ASfFg.jpg)
