Stop Calling New Members 'Trolls'

[SpikesBluBlooded]

Now that I have everyone's attention (or those that at least felt the need to come and read this):

I am consistently seeing the word 'Troll' being used whenever a new member, or any member with less than 100 posts or so, says anything that is disagreeable. This needs to stop, folks.

First of all, there are several posters out here that use the term way too often, and I think it truly is offending some new members, and scaring away others.

This site seems to pride itself on being above the petty bickering that occurs on other forums, and instead tries to provide positive information, feedback, and knowledge on the Blu-ray format. There are several new members starting to post every day, and I think that we have our fair share of trouble makers, don't get me wrong, but not all of them.

I'm sure that everyone is aware of how to report trolling, FUD, offensive language, and the like. It's that little red and white triangle with '!' in the center you see under every posters name, at the bottom of their post. That's what you use to report their behavior to the mods, and it is the mods who will do the research, if necessary, to identify that true offense was intended, and then to ban them and remove their posts. I've seen it happen more than enough times to know that it is effective.

That said, why take the time to insult and give a newcomer the feeling that questions can't be asked? Calling someone a troll (that actually is) does nothing but to let them know that they got under your skin, and only encourages them to keep coming back. And they do. Why not just take a moment to hit that little triangle and type the word 'troll' and hit send, instead? Let the mods do their job, and let's quit acting like a bunch of rabid fanboys that can't be open to differences of opinion and honest questions regarding our format of choice.

I find it more impressive to actually answer their questions, use facts and links to disperse their doubt and uncertainty, which happens very often, rather than resort to name calling and starting a shouting match. In case you haven't noticed, that's exactly what they want, they know they will be banned, but they're getting the reaction they so desperately want, and it makes us look petty and bickering in the process.

So again, use the 'REPORT POST' button rather than giving trolls what they want. It will only make this site better, and when they don't get the reactions they want, they're going to stop coming to this forum to cause trouble.

Thank you to all the members who have taken the time to read this. And to you new members, welcome, and please post responsibly.