Re: Trolling and catching a Tuna on apda-l

[asnider@moose.uvm.edu (Alfred C. Snider)]

>        Case A: I say something.  I am not sure whether I really believe
>it or not.  Maybe I do.  Maybe I don't.  My words, however, neglect to
>include reference to my own internal state of doubt about just whether I
>believe what I'm saying or not.  I speak just as one would who was quite
>convinced that what she was saying was true.
>
>        Case B: I say something.  I don't have much doubt about what I
>really believe, and what I really believe is that what I'm saying is false.
>
>        Now.  Case B seems to be a clear-cut case of trolling.  I want to
>know whether case A is also trolling.

Case A is merely bad communication. Tenative language is usually enough for
me to recognize this. When someone says "MPJ is bad" and lists a bunch of
argumentsd and then later says that it was "just trolling" or "playing
devil's advocate" I don't care much for that. If you want to play D's
Advocate, then say "what about" and "some might argue that..." and it will
be pretty clear.

I general, I assume that people MEAN what they WRITE, and I do not use a
silly little smiley face to make a difference for me. If you don't mean
what you write, then why should I read it?


Alfred C. Snider AKA Tuna
Edwin W. Lawrence Professor of Forensics, University of Vermont
Mail: Box 54225, UVM, Burlington, VT 05405-4225
Phone: 802-656-0097, Fax: 802-656-4275
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