You CANNOT call someone a troll, tell someone in an open comment that you think someone else is a troll, or even directly ask someone who is bugging you if he or she is a troll.  Well, the truth is, you can do all that, but if you do YOU may be the one getting in trouble for making a CoH violation!  And that could get you suspended or banned from Newsvine.  So, don't do it!

Okay, this kind of what happened to me, when I did what I said you shouldn't do, and was corrected by a fellow viner, who's name I cannot remember.

It all started when I made a comment that suggested "so-n-so" who had made some nasty comments, "might be a troll."

I quickly received a reply comment back that said, "You can't do that!"

"What?" I said.

"You can't accuse someone of being a troll." came the reply

"Why not?" I said

"Because that is a CoH (Code of Honor) violation.  It is considered a personal attack." the other viner replied. 

I said, "Oh!"

Well, that's not exactly how the conversation actually went, but that is the gist of it.

The thing is you cannot call another person here on Newsvine a troll, or even suggest that person might be a troll, or even ask that person, "Are you a troll?" because it is all considered a personal attack, and that is forbidden by the CoH.  Read it here for yourself: Code of Honor

BTW (By The Way) if you are ever unsure what the CoH (Code of Honor) says about anything you may be getting ready to do, just scroll down to the bottom of almost any page you are on, and look for this link: Code of Honor

You can click on that Code of Honor link and the Code of Honor will be displayed so you can read it.  If you are ever unsure about what you are planning to do DO READ THE CODE OF HONOR before you make a mistake and do something you might regret.  

Now, what is a troll?  I answered that in another comment, but it's worthwhile to repeat it here:

Quickie wiki answer: In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as a forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.

Please note:  Sometimes people who are very committed to their point of view, and won't accept any other, and keep arguing long past the point of reason, can be mistaken for trolls.  So, it's not always easy to tell.

But trolls actually have only one purpose, and that is to antagonize other people in any way they can. 

So, what do you do if you suspect a person commenting on one of these blogs is a troll?

First of all, DO NOT FEED THE TROLL!  You may even get a comment/reply to one of your comments, from somebody else, that just says DNFTT which means: Do Not Feed The Troll.

Don't do it!  Don't reply to suspected trolls. They are trying to make you angry.  The more they get under your skin, the more likely you are to do something that may get you suspended or even banned from Newsvine.  So DO NOT FEED THE TROLL, ever!

What should you do?

1. Ignore the troll.  That's how you keep from feeding it.

2. Then REPORT THAT PERSON to the monitors as a suspected troll.

You can REPORT A TROLL by scrolling again to the bottom of the page and clicking on the Contact Us link.  That will bring up a Contact Newsvine page where you can send the Newsvine Monitors a message, but  BE SURE TO SELECT for your Subject: Report Spam or a Malicious User.  (Trolls are malicious users.)

Tell the Monitors the name of the suspected troll, and copy the link to the number of the message that you feel is a troll comment.

The comment number is in the lower left corner of each comment, and looks like #13.2 or # 6 or whatever.  Do a right click with your mouse on the number, Copy it, then Paste that into the message Text Box of the message you are creating to send to the Monitors.  NOTE: When you paste that link into the Contact Newsvine message text box it will look something like this:

http://JohnDoe.newsvine.com/_news/2012/11/03/14905870-blog-blog-blog-110312?last=1352008550&threadId=3603597&sp=0&pc=25#c71666705

I know that looks weird, but don't worry about it.  They will know what to do with it.

After that, let the Newsvine Monitors take care of it.  Ignore the troll.  Remember, DNFTT!!!

Okay, I hope that's not too confusing for you, and that you do find it helpful.  More than that I hope you never have to deal with a troll, but if you do, now you know what you can do without getting yourself in trouble.   Okay?

There are other articles here in the Welcome Wagon about trolls. Check them out if you need more info!  If you don't find the answer to your question, then ask us in the comments below, okay?

Remember, all comments below are covered by the CoH and Newsvine User Agreement.  Any comments that violate those rules will be deleted and I will REPORT the CoH violator to the Newsvine Monitors.  Be Kind! Be Helpful! Be Patient!