Are trolls born or made? What is the source of their urge to put down others? How do you deal with people like that?

If you have the ability just use your intelligence to put them down 10x as hard. Dominate them at their own game has always been my strategy.

We've always liked your style, AC.

If only some of the other posters would see the elegance of using wit and intellectual judo instead of adolescent obscenities and namecalling, we would have more amusing and stimulating discussions.

Are you listening, Korean Souljah, et al?

Ed,

Well, that's good that you're monitoring our comments. I've been to other Asian webpages (like Yolk), and people there are bashing each other's heads off and blatantly using F-words.

There is also another solution.
Instead of wasting time out-witting him.. esp. when sometimes you get an arse with a PHD.
It i better to ignore them. Like everybody carry on with the orginal topic of the thread and ignore those haters, or whatever they are called.

I mean he can bark as much as he can and finallly give up because he can't get the attention of us. Then a month later Admin will gladly do the monthly cleanup where he deletes these useless posts and the original thread still looks seamless!

Normally I wouldn't waste my time with trolls and such (in particular those with 'PHDs'), but recently there's been a poster using a very similar handle to my own: "Kimchee Devil." I'm not sure what to make of it. At first I thought he/she was a troll, but now I'm getting the impression she's just a clueless poster who just happened by a very similar username as my own. Anyways, y'all can imagine the confusion since I'm a half-corean hapa man and this poster is going around saying things like:

"oooooh, I loooooove korean men!!!!" or "oooooh, my korean boyfriend, this and that" or "oooooh, my korean boyfriend wants me to have his baby" etc, etc...

Uh, yeah. OK, settle down 'lady'.

If it really is a latina girl that just doesn't know... great, I have no problem with it, I'm flattered, uh kinda. But her posts do seem kinda short and uninformative (trollish). Otherwise if it's a troll, then I'm not gonna graffiti this forum by responding to 'em or waste my time (except with this post of course). Either way I wish this thing will go away... It's really poor net-etiquette, and disruptive, to be 'hijacking' similar usernames like this, whether intentionally or not. Why didn't they do this with 'PHD' instead.

For now I'll just wait and see... and laugh it off. Quite amusing, actually.

I don't know. I've come across some of the smartest people out there with alot of attitude. They came across to me as if they were better than anyone else.

i guess it depends on their style of communication, goal or
purpose of their post, etc.

like some times a post can go in all sorts of directions and
at times someone want to back up to clearify or understand
a certain point that might seem to be confrontational etc
when it is not. i may not agree with a point of view sometimes
but i would like to understand or know why that person feels
that way so often i want to clearify or further discuss something
more in depth which can be misread as being confrontational.

other times being sarcastic or absurd to illustrate a point in a
short and concise manner but if taken out of context seem
disruptive.

these are the risks one takes when excercising ones
freedom of speech or expressing oneself is misunderstanding
and misinterpretation.

there are lots of thinkers and individuals here which is what i like.
they dont "blindly" agree or follow everything because it's
of asian culture or the personality in the discussion is asian etc.
which is refreshing in the culture and pressure of political
correctness that expect everyone to be mindless robots and to be
attacked when one doesnt follow their line of thinking or else
branded an outcast and discredited in a vicious manner.

i like a healthy exchange of ideas and knowning where the other
is coming from and undertanding why but at same time annoyed
by the few subliminal organized posters who have push certain hidden
agendas with certain "talking points" to convert to their view points
or objectives.

Without the insecure people. Secure people would not know how good they have it.