That hypothesis is actually the most reasonable one. The troll’s arguments didn’t have any merit—they were all perfect examples of every bad argument going—but they were the arguments one sees time and again from people who aren’t (consciously) trolling.
they were the arguments one sees time and again from people who aren’t (consciously) trolling.
I think this is quite a large part of it. I have several times on Less Wrong followed discussions that seemed to be headed towards trollishness, and then all of a sudden someone changes their mind, updates, and everyone moves on. It is one of the things I love about this website, and I would be sad if an anti-trolling sentiment led to these sort of discussions being abandoned before they concluded. Sometimes persistence is a waste of time, but sometimes it makes a difference.
That hypothesis is actually the most reasonable one. The troll’s arguments didn’t have any merit—they were all perfect examples of every bad argument going—but they were the arguments one sees time and again from people who aren’t (consciously) trolling.
I think this is quite a large part of it. I have several times on Less Wrong followed discussions that seemed to be headed towards trollishness, and then all of a sudden someone changes their mind, updates, and everyone moves on. It is one of the things I love about this website, and I would be sad if an anti-trolling sentiment led to these sort of discussions being abandoned before they concluded. Sometimes persistence is a waste of time, but sometimes it makes a difference.
I’m glad I didn’t read it now—thanks!