Haha not really.

I've been using the internet for over 8 years now. I remember when I would go to a forums and there weren't words like "Troll" or "Flame" back then. People just acted like normal people and conversations were normal and it was fun.

In these last 4 years especially, I've noticed a huge surge of antisocial behaviour on the internet. No I'm not pointing fingers at anyone, I'm just bringing it up because it's the turth. I too have contributed to the antisocial behaviour so I'm not going to avoid blame. The point is though, the internet just isn't the fun happy place it used to be and it's a lot darker now, IMO. Every forum I've ever found ends up having "trolls" and haters on it, and it's the most inexplicable thing.

Personally, I feel that terms like "troll" help create this insensitivity. You get to the point where you take little seriously and everyone that annoys you is a "troll" but that's a negative viewpoint.

Anyway, feel free to discuss or whatever.

First of all, I roflmao'd at the Turth reference. That's what makes you the freakin' funniest member on the whole damn forums.

But yeah, I see what you mean. However, I'm a lot younger than you, so I haven't been active on the internet for 8 years. However, I would like to see people act normal on forums, because there would probably be less cyberbullying and less morons. (Oh wait, there's a plethora of those in real life, too)

EDIT

You, of all people, making a forum about trolling? xD
I'm just kidding. It's hilarious though, how you are known throughout the community as... well, Klok. That name carries a notorious air, and for you to change gears completely and write this... Wow.

I admit I'm a troll (though your post is trollin', boy!) however I didn't use to be so. In fact, I only started heavily trolling when I joined DGemu some years back. Anyone who knows DGemu knows it's basically a troll site now. I picked up most of my bad habits there and they're hard to shake.

But let's not go throwing words like troll around in this discussion, or you're just proving my point.

When did the internet ever been a nice friendly place? Anonymity, even relative, is always ground for the worst possible behaviours. There's nothing new here.
Like you said yourself there are plenty of haters in real life, and the only reason why they act (arguably) more reasonable outside the internet is because of the risk of retribution. This risk is minimal online (at worst, you're being reported to your ISP) so naturally, immature behaviours are more frequent - or at least more visible.

Perhaps there may not have been words such as "troll" or "flaming" but these concepts are pretty much as old as the internet itself. You give people a place where they can pretty much do what they want without anyone knowing who they are, and you're gonna get people who feel compelled to screw around. If anything, the only reason that we now have words to describe these things is because they've become more commonplace as more and more people use the internet and these concepts become increasingly known as part of internet life.

I normally don't comment here on anything, but, in this case I'd just like to point out my own experiences which are completely different from yours.

For instance, I remember trolling people in AOL Chatrooms back a decade and a half ago. I don't remember if we called it trolling back in those blissful days of my teen years, but the behavior definitely existed. And, ah haha, man, so much, stuff back then. Much how it seems now really. Its still about finding specific places you fit in and having fun there.

Hehe... turth... xD

But yes I definitely agree, there's a lot more evil on the net than good. I think it is a shield for a lot of people. I mean an old man would never walk up to a young lady and ask her to meet him somewhere IRL. It's the internet, so they won't get caught and it'll be just fine after they say sorry, plus you aren't really breaking the law if you troll or flame and it is fun sometimes I'll admit. But you really gotta know when enough is enough, and to start acting like you really would in the real world and stop acting like a biatch.

I guess people enjoy acting like dicks and morons just to see all this drama unfold and watch the type of reactions are laid out by everybody else...

Yeah, the Internet used to be such a nice, calm, relaxing place to visit many years ago. I remember some of the best times were just surfing on various forums and having fun with people my own age and just -- having a great time, you know? But times sure have changed in the last few years, and I'm not sure why. The Internet seems to be a place where people just like to piss the other person off and watch all hell break loose. I mean, yeah it's the Internet, and all; you don't have to be, like, a saint to come here and do what you want, but would it help to show a little respect towards the other person once and awhile? I dunno...I guess all manners and social behaviour is thrown out at the window when the Internet is on, I guess.

Maybe it will change for the better? I dunno. I guess maybe people should start taking some of those off the counter meds and just go out and smell the daffodils once and awhile.

It's not changing

Officially, I won't stand trolling or flaming or any of that shtick, but from a purely ethical stand point, personally, I see nothing wrong with it. I've had my buttons pushed, the key is to keep cool. Don't feed the trolls.
But the point is, these people have always existed. Not just on the internet, but in real life too.

However, in real life they tend not to surface as much, mostly because trolls make other people flame, and people flaming in real life leads to violence... But really, like I said, to beat a troll you do one of two things: Ignore them, play along, or get wittier.
'Cause ultimately, trolls are funny. Good ones anyway. Bad ones try to be funny, but aren't.

A good troll picks someone who can't keep their cool, that has an ego out of proportion with reality, and brings out the worst in them.
And people have been doing that for a dangerously long time.

I agree, the last 4 years there has been annoying teenagers poisoning the internet. Not all of them are bad..., but they have horrible attitudes, think they know it all, etc. it has been poisoning the internet. I like RPG RPG because your moderation prevents those annoying as crap losers from ruining everything.

Exactly. These people like ruining these places, just look at RMN.
People who do that live off the drama. Otherwise their corrupted souls will die.
Hows come people I know in real life aren't this way, or aren't as bad?
Probably because people think they are all bad@$$ when they are online... I dunno just saying.

In my simple opinion the internet will die when porn dies. (I hope it is okay to say porn here idk)
and I guess some people here may say I may kill the internet very soon. lol jk

Wow. Shin, that was...

Anyway, I think the internet will die when... Well i guess I agree with you

The internet will die when people cease to have the need to communicate.
Since that will not happen, the internet will not die - it may be replaced with something better, but the idea of "global communication and information transfer" will not die.

I agree. That is why the internet was created wasn't it?

There's always going to be idiots but as more people join the internet and as people have mentioned before about anonymity its a perfect breeding ground for idiots. However even if it does get worse there will come a time when people will get fed up and attitudes will change. For most sites though a good mod team should keep things in check, its social networking sites and others like youtube where there are just so many people that most of the trolls and spammers hang out, well that and 4chan