Should Hot Air have another Green Room just for lefty trolls?
posted at 6:30 pm on April 13, 2009 by Allahpundit
A few people floated this idea half-jokingly in the Green Room thread this morning and I’ve been mulling it ever since, mainly because it’d be such a radical departure from the blogospheric paradigm. There are centrist sites that cater, or claim to cater, to both lefties and righties — Donklephant, The Moderate Voice, etc. — but no site that I know of with a clear ideological bent carves out space for people from the other side of the aisle. Imagine a separate page devoted to a galaxy of all your favorite HA trolls, baiting you into flame war after flame war with only the choicest liberal boilerplate: Death to Media Hacks, capitulus, Proud RINO, getalife, ernesto, SnarkVader, benny shakar, The Wall, and of course PopTech for all your frenetic Palin-bashing needs. I’m fascinated by the thought of how a feature like that would do. Would readers ignore it completely? Would it pick up a following among lefty-blog readers? Or would it triple our traffic as legion after legion of faithful HA readers enter the threads to do ideological battle for hours on end? Dude, this could be a gold mine. Gold mine, I tell you.
Suggested names for the new feature: The Blue Room, The Trash Can, Troll Call, and … the Troll Hole. I’m picturing black trim on the page, a skull-and-crossbones on top, and the slogan “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here” as its motto. Sound off!
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“Pull My Finger…..”
Seven Percent Solution on April 13, 2009 at 10:10 PM
I did not vote because the only choices were good, good, good, horrible.
You are proposing an internet Jerry Springer hoping for the same degrading interactions
If the poll choices were Possible Money Maker, Possible Job Security, Low Startup Cost Internet Venture, Potential Publicity Generator I might have voted
Spoilers come into arguments to spoil. They control a site if a moderator lets them and cause a lot of grief to the moderator. On the other hand a stupid comment often triggers really good debates.
A lot of people watch Springer but I caution moderating such a thread would be extremely unpleasant like being the night sergeant at the drunk tank
I would not participate. I will not click The Other McCain again. Whoever ‘The Other McCain’ was, it was like walking into a troll ambush.
Once was enough
entagor on April 13, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Only if they can only be in one room at a time.
SouthernGent on April 13, 2009 at 10:14 PM
Yeah, but that’s the typical Sarah Palin thread.
ddrintn on April 13, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Devil’s Advocate, make it more broad than lefty trolls, expand it to a level of decency if you actually want it to mean something, there can be well natured ribbing but let us do the fighting. We need something that kinda resembles a straight man and those in charge of the site seem to be the people for the job. Of course it could be slanted, but don’t Limbaugh it all up and make it completely irrelevant.
LevStrauss on April 13, 2009 at 10:19 PM
You know what would be more fun than a lefty troll blog? Give ban hammer privileges to everyone for one day. It would be like the first Simpsons episode where they were allowed to shock each other as part of family therapy. Only the quick fingered would survive.
austinnelly on April 13, 2009 at 10:23 PM
HA Softball, for the name.
Entelechy on April 13, 2009 at 10:24 PM
Moonbat Troll Central
canopfor on April 13, 2009 at 10:30 PM
If it’s a room for the Obots it should properly be called the “Red” Room or “Reds’” Room.
viking01 on April 13, 2009 at 10:32 PM
Troll Call FTW! Maybe I can write one line inane comments like my Obama ass kisser.
loudmouth883 on April 13, 2009 at 10:33 PM
I nominate: AstroTurfers’ Turf
SouthernGent on April 13, 2009 at 10:38 PM
A Lefty AoSHQ for your troll forum?
How about “Butt Pirates Cove” for a name?
Rocks on April 13, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Here’s material for the Troll Room….
Court declares Angry Clown new Senator from Minnesota
Discuss
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on April 13, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Yes.
No.
Trolling in love again…never vanted tooo…vat am I to dooooo…con’t helpit.
Jaibones on April 13, 2009 at 10:42 PM
As long as Hot Air doesn’t just open up its doors to all the trolls in the world, I’d be ok with giving them a Guanatamo Bay to call their own.
El_Terrible on April 13, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Call it:
Ground “Zero”
or
Detention
viking01 on April 13, 2009 at 10:44 PM
Please no. This is where I come to escape the lefty loons. However, if you do decide to create a room for them I think Red would be the appropriate color. After all, it is the color of choice for communists isnt it?
Karen
karen32862 on April 13, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Lefties are way to hateful and will bring Hotair down to the level of huffpo or Kos.
TheSitRep on April 13, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Room Fahrenheit 451
For the lack of critical thought.
Kini on April 13, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Sometimes I think it already has. LOL
ddrintn on April 13, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Might as well give them their own soapbox.
ddrintn on April 13, 2009 at 11:01 PM
“From Under the Bridge”
I think it’s a brave step towards giving Allah P his real voice! /joking
Providing dissenting voices a forum would enrage and confuse the left . . . thus is a great idea!
geckomon on April 13, 2009 at 11:02 PM
“The Short Bus”
viking01 on April 13, 2009 at 11:07 PM
Bad, bad idea on so many levels…I can’t believe a majority of people here actually voted FOR it. Yikes.
How do you propose how to tell who is a lefty and who isn’t?
What if someone has a “conversion experience” one way or another. (hey, it happened to me in 1993). Is there some kind of “transfer” procedure?
Why should most of the lefty commenters (after all there are relatively few on this site, so I suspect a good percentage would get “chosen”) get a privilege (Green Room) denied to most of the conservative commenters (other than a select few).
Bad bad idea.
Dreadnought on April 13, 2009 at 11:08 PM
There is a lot of promise with this, particularly if there’s some way of flagging a troll while in action.
I see a thread going along its merry way. Suddenly, a troll posts some inane, off-topic BS. Even as it goes up on the thread, it is highlighted in the original thread and “[This comment has been moved to the Trollway -- shifting from first to New Troll.]” is appended to the comment in the original thread, with a link to the Trollway.
Over in the Trollway, the post starts a thread with an embedded poll. In the poll, there are a number of worn-out, tired memes that have been beaten to death, or “new meme”. Once the post acquires a number of distinct HA commenter votes, it is reclassified accordingly.
As an example, a comment is labeled by 25 HA commenters as “Just another Sarah Palin as a hick troll”. It is then moved to the “Sarah Palin as a hick” forum, and ceases to have a thread of its own. In the original thread, both the original comment and “[This comment has been moved to the Trollway -- shifting from first to New Troll.]” message are removed, replaced with a link that says [Moved to side of Trollway with a flat meme: "Sarah Palin as a hick", comment 123456]
If 25 HA commenters identify the comment as something new, then it gets a new forum on the Trollway and the message in the original thread changes to: [This comment has been determined to be a new roadside attraction on the Trollway] with a link to the new forum. Note that the original comment doesn’t disappear from the thread, as the “flat, tired” one would.
I particularly like the idea of getting the “100 people tell us the same crap that recently got posted on Kos or DU” sorted into the same box, off the main thread.
cthulhu on April 13, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Oh GAAAWWWWDDDD! They’re slowly taking over HA, too? Not even remotely funny.
ErinF on April 13, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Yeah, because there isn’t anywhere else on the internet they can post.
hawkdriver on April 13, 2009 at 11:14 PM
Sorry if someone’s mentioned it before, but they should be allowed this ONLY if they are completely barred from snarking in any other thread. Deal?
ddrintn on April 13, 2009 at 11:15 PM
There’s another vote for The Trollway.
Make it happen.
I’m not smart enough for the Green Room. I need my ego stroked somehow.
carbon_footprint on April 13, 2009 at 11:15 PM
Talking to a liberal is like pissing into the wind. Listening to them is will make you commit assault and battery. I avoid them at all times and certainly do not read what they write. Why do anything for them?
jarhead0311 on April 13, 2009 at 11:16 PM
Do it! I’ll even play devil’s advocate now and then.
Rightwingguy on April 13, 2009 at 11:19 PM
I’m backtracking. This idea is terrible and the original green room idea is terrible. The last thing we need more enlightened conservatives having a forum to spout off Republican talking points, much less Democrat talking points.
Off topic. There’s a new MIAC style report by the Dept of Homeland Security, this one is aimed at gun owners and Obama dissenters. Thanks President Bush for the creation of this new and dangerous bureaucracy, it’s now being used to target your supporters. It’s a legitimate document, go ahead and call the phone numbers on the document, they will verify the document number.
The state’s security agencies are focusing ever more on the citizens and less on who it was supposedly intended to target.
“Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment”
True_King on April 13, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Sure.. Wizbang has Wizbang blue..
there can be a Hot Air Blue..
instead of the usual Allah posting which is closer to Hot Air Blew..
DaveC on April 13, 2009 at 11:37 PM
Allah/Boss
You need to patent this concept soon.
It has merit if done properly (cthulhu on April 13, 2009 at 11:08 PM) is a good start.
While maybe not a “lefty troll” cave for them to hide out in, some (most of them dont) of the liberal posters actually follow discussions and offer some insight.
Find a worthwhile liberal poster that agrees to clear and basic guidelines about the conduct required, let them police themselves, and when the liberals go south the room gets closed.
While I like the idea I give the rooms chance of survival about 5 minutes.
F15Mech on April 13, 2009 at 11:40 PM
So much for the comment traffic on a Palin thread..
good idea, btw.. :)
DaveC on April 13, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Winner…..give this man a season pass and the title of Chief Trollpoacher.
Limerick on April 13, 2009 at 11:57 PM
Why not let everyone rate a comment sort of like what LGF does?
It works great as self-control. If someone posts an insulting/insane comment, other commenters can click “+” or “-” next to the comment to rate it. The net total score will be shown next to the comment. Too many negatives, lets say -100, and that poster get automatically banned.
It would conform to the wishes of the vast majority of HotAir, and make life easier for Allah and Ed.
Norwegian on April 14, 2009 at 12:04 AM
DaveC on April 14, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Name the room “cerebral flatulence”
scruplesrx on April 14, 2009 at 12:08 AM
First the Palin athiest bikini thread, now this? Drugs are bad, mmmkay?
Crusty on April 14, 2009 at 12:08 AM
Comment ratings just enforce groupthink.
zmdavid on April 14, 2009 at 12:13 AM
The adults are in charge.
Del Dolemonte on April 14, 2009 at 12:16 AM
And probably getalife should be given the honorary Stewart Barney financial analyst slot. I’ve been taking its advice on the stock market (“O’bama fixed it”, blah blah) and made a killing over the past 3 weeks.
Hillary would be proud of me.
Del Dolemonte on April 14, 2009 at 12:20 AM
You gotta pay the Troll Toll to get into the boy’shole. I mean, boy’s soul.
/you’re either gonna get it or you’re not
Dr. Manhattan on April 14, 2009 at 12:20 AM
Troll Prison: Great idea!!
Troll Room: Who wants that?
IOW, what we want with trolls is to remove them, not reward them.
ThereGoesTheNeighborhood on April 14, 2009 at 12:30 AM
I had envisioned before using hotair’s dual line front page being the right for the conservatives and the left for the democrats.
Kaptain Amerika on April 14, 2009 at 12:34 AM
U-troll-pia
anuts on April 14, 2009 at 12:41 AM
Troglodyte Homunculus ‘R’ Us
…yeah. nice ring to it.
SilverStar830 on April 14, 2009 at 12:47 AM
Planet Trollpia
Kini on April 14, 2009 at 12:48 AM
…and, by the way, I’m not completely sold on the “Trollway” — I just could make bad puns with it, so that’s what I used.
I think the idea of sending Trolls off to separate forums where there memes could be crushed sounds pretty sweet, though. It’s a solid and useful refutation of the “let’s fight this same battle 1,000 times because the lefties won’t concede” principle.
cthulhu on April 14, 2009 at 12:52 AM
Speaking of which, a website designed for serious discussion is an interesting thing to contemplate. It would be helpful to have a “resources” group for every forum, where you could put “pro links”, “con links”, and “stipulated links”. Then you could have subthreads for why items pro and con weren’t stipulated (e.g. “weather stations show rising temperatures” in “pro/global warming” — comment thread, “yeah, because so many more of them are in the middle of parking lots in 2009 vs. 1945″ as a reason it’s not stipulated).
cthulhu on April 14, 2009 at 12:58 AM
What, I didn’t qualify for this list? I must be losing my edge.
Big S on April 14, 2009 at 1:03 AM
We already have plenty of sources for people to get their nonsensical liberal gobblety gook. We don’t need one here, damnit.
iamse7en on April 14, 2009 at 1:08 AM
I don’t think being a leftist has much to do with being a troll. I’ve certainly seen Ron Paul fans who act like trolls, and Ron Paul supporters who don’t. Fans of Ron Paul are not necessarily ;-) leftists.
Strongly disagree. The point of banning or restricting trolls is not that their opinions are feared, but that they don’t add anything to the discussion. More to the point, the trolls tend to destroy whatever discussion there was by posting things off-topic, derailing conversations, making disagreements degenerate into arguments, etc.
To take an oft-repeated example, a discussion of Palin’s political future becomes a rehash of the same old slanders and backbiting that we’ve all seen over and over again. So if you were really wondering if maybe Palin is not the best choice, and looking to see if others shared your doubts, all you get is that Palin supposedly didn’t know Africa was a continent.
ThereGoesTheNeighborhood on April 14, 2009 at 1:21 AM
I forgot about that one. I really AM losing my edge!
Big S on April 14, 2009 at 1:29 AM
Lefty trolls don’t really debate they just silence or ridicule the opposition.
BTW Obama thinks that Austrian is a language. What an idiot right?
Mojave Mark on April 14, 2009 at 1:33 AM
We should have various green rooms that people from HotAir can visit based upon the level of Palintology that they have obtained.
You know, when you first decide that Sarah is the next POTUS, you are a first degree Palintologist and can chat with people in your own level.
Then, when you get to the point that you refer to Palin as Princess Xenu and start thinking that she created the heavens and the earth and that she has never committed a sin and her first child that she had only two months after marriage was a virgin birth…well, then you are in Tom Cruise country and are in 8th stage Palintology.
That would be coooooooooooooool.
The Wall on April 14, 2009 at 1:40 AM
I guess Allahpundit’s never heard of Wizbang Blue.
http://wizbangblue.com/
adamsweb on April 14, 2009 at 1:45 AM
I’m telling you, if you aren’t careful, they are going to throw you and jenfidel in your own little room to talk all things Palin ;)
Upstater85 on April 14, 2009 at 1:57 AM
The Wall on April 14, 2009 at 1:40 AM
I must admit that was pretty funny, especially since you were unnecessarily grouped as a lefty troll. I think you are often too insulting to everyone, especially the “trailer park” comments, which I suppose is a bit trollish, but you don’t seem to be at all a lefty.
thecountofincognito on April 14, 2009 at 2:09 AM
TROLL CALL is the best title.
And how could it miss with with topics like:
What if Sarah Palin were Gay and Had an Abortion?
Are National Borders Racist Anachronisms?
Islam: Abrahamic Religion or Mafia in Mufti?
Should Suicide Be Mandatory for Geriatric Fundmentalists With Alzheimer’s?
Is God Left-Handed? (The Universe IS Non-Isomorphic after all)
Can the Pope Marry? (And What if it were to a Guy?)
Horny RINO’s: when moderate politicians Go Wild!
Can Obama Tax Breathing? Black Pant-er?
Gird your loins!
Rev up the Moby’s!
Unhand those sockpuppets!
Let the contests begin!
profitsbeard on April 14, 2009 at 2:12 AM
Thank you very much…….
……….. and the academy, my Jr. High Gym Coach, older Brothers, Boy Scout Troop 796, long road trips, and airplane rides after a breakfast of hard boiled eggs and cabbage.
Seven Percent Solution on April 14, 2009 at 2:13 AM
Only one word: no
If leftists want something like this, they can do it themselves.
Fairness doctrine? Bull… Fairness is overrated anyway. If you’re in a struggle (of whatever kind), the goal is not fairness, but to win.
Penguin on April 14, 2009 at 2:17 AM
Haha…
They could all get their
tramptroll stamp…Upstater85 on April 14, 2009 at 2:36 AM
What about libertarian/capitalist contrarian commenters like me? We should get our own section too. Freetard Gulch?
Mark Jaquith on April 14, 2009 at 2:39 AM
You do realize that while they may actually behave themselves in their lefty room, the fact that they will be drawn here in close proximity to more sane people will mean all other ‘rooms’ will be polluted to the point where meaningful slurs…I mean conversation will be come a rarity.
Spiritk9 on April 14, 2009 at 2:45 AM
Maybe we should just call it what it really would be…
The Monkey Cage.
trigon on April 14, 2009 at 3:00 AM
If it keeps the discussions in the news postings even remotely on-topic, then… ‘yea’.
Reaps on April 14, 2009 at 4:14 AM
Uh, Oh……..
Seven Percent Solution on April 14, 2009 at 4:39 AM
The Padded Room?
OldEnglish on April 14, 2009 at 4:56 AM
Hey now, let’s try to respect his piracy.
Jim Treacher on April 14, 2009 at 5:43 AM
Call it “The Privy”
Rod on April 14, 2009 at 6:54 AM
It’s ya’ll’s board, Allah, but if you ask me, you’re letting yourself in for a lot of needless headaches. What you have to ask yourself is this: Is the possible extra traffic worth the pain in the rear that you’re surely going to get from giving this…individuals…their head?
It’s your call.
Matt Helm on April 14, 2009 at 7:01 AM
I support this endeavor.
Just pwn away, Allah.
Just pwn away.
blatantblue on April 14, 2009 at 7:15 AM
New Fallujah…..
percysunshine on April 14, 2009 at 7:26 AM
I would suggest you name it the Wizard’s First Rule room and that you have the rule listed at the top:
:-)
JeffinSac on April 14, 2009 at 7:40 AM
Eggcellent idea. How about we call it “The Winner’s Circle”. You know, because you’re losers and someone has to win.
capitulus on April 14, 2009 at 8:30 AM
FYI I am not a leftist. I am a Conservative Libertarian. I voted for Romney in the Primaries, Libertarian in the General and have never voted for a single Democrat in my life. Some of my recent voting history is…. 88 Bush, 92 Perot, 96 Perot, 2000 Bush, 2004 Bush, 2008 Barr.
Poptech on April 14, 2009 at 8:31 AM
Troll Hole!
dagny on April 14, 2009 at 8:35 AM
I would definitely present Libertarian positions, I am not a hard core Ron Paul supporter but I share his economic positions. The reason I am a “Conservative” Libertarian is that I am not pro illegal immigration, smoking pot ect…
Poptech on April 14, 2009 at 8:36 AM
Another vote for Trollway. It’s perfect.
Speechlesstx on April 14, 2009 at 8:38 AM
Exactly! Obama is the most economically illiterate president we have had since FDR. His understanding of economics is equal to that of a mental retard.
Poptech on April 14, 2009 at 8:39 AM
Skeptic Tank
faraway on April 14, 2009 at 8:56 AM
On your outdoor deck, mosquitoes can be annoying. But if you’re going to use a mosquito trap, you put the trap away from your deck, not on it.
petefrt on April 14, 2009 at 9:23 AM
So you voted for Clinton twice…
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 9:26 AM
If the trolls would stay in that room, then absolutely. But I’m afraid they would wander off.
Seriously, if you open up the site to liberal commentators, they’ll flood the main area of the site and try to shout down conservatives, because that’s what libs do.
hawksruleva on April 14, 2009 at 9:26 AM
I had a parakeet once, never said a thing, until I put a mirror in the cage, then it began talking to itself…that is basically what a liberal “room” would be, just a bunch of parakeets pecking at a mirror, talking to themselves.
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 9:28 AM
Troll Hole
Oink on April 14, 2009 at 9:50 AM
Call it The Cage.
and block the trolls from posting anywhere else. If they come up with something worth discussing, we’ll copy it over and talk amongst ourselves.
TexasDan on April 14, 2009 at 10:03 AM
I’m thinking the trolls themselves might not even go there because they’re here to try to get us riled up, not participate in a liberal echo chamber. Kos and HuffPo are liberal echo chambers, and they can get much higher quality echoes over there, I’d imagine. In other words, if enough of us don’t go into the troll room to read their drivel and get into fights with them, why would they do it?
Besides, if trolls get a chance to post at Hot Air and I don’t, I’m going to be seriously ticked off. I’ve been reading and commenting here almost daily for years, and some mentally-challenged lefty who has been commenting for three weeks gets the spotlight? Don’t think so.
aero on April 14, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Horrible idea, if I wanted to read left-wing garbage I’d go to the Huffington Post. But I don’t, so I don’t.
kg598301 on April 14, 2009 at 10:10 AM
I hovered between ‘OK if they are thoughtful’ and ‘horrible idea’ then finally decided on ‘horrible idea’. If you give them an inch they will take 10 miles, and ‘thoughtful liberal’ is an oxymoron. ‘Emotional’ yes – ‘thoughtful’, eh, not so much.
Onus on April 14, 2009 at 10:13 AM
i think, after a full day of this thread, its conclusion is simple and has been finally reached:
I win.
ernesto on April 14, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Has Whack-a-Troll been suggested yet?
Disturb the Universe on April 14, 2009 at 10:16 AM
ROFLMAO! I love people who do not understand how the voting system works and tries to intimidate others into voting only for one of the two parties. This is why nothing ever changes in this country and government keeps growing bigger.
Poptech on April 14, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Lefty Out House
Pink Barnyard
…
Would all troll data be directly posted in their Out House?
maverick muse on April 14, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Just in case you haven’t heard,
This is the second notice that the factory warranty on your vehicle is expiring!
Ars Moriendi on April 14, 2009 at 11:23 AM
So you voted for Perot, a business success, and a political failure and those votes allowed Clinton to move into the White House…and you think you have the answer?
Your naive attempt to get a “third” party, would be better spent in reforming the Republican party. Because any of the two parties that split, insures the other party of victory…you don’t understand that?
The problem with “reforming” is that it takes action…it is much easier to cast a vote for a loser and say “I am revolting”, and in so many more ways then one.
right2bright on April 14, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Of those you listed, AP, at least ernesto has valid points and can think for himself sometimes (but still pisses me off sometimes =p ). The rest of those people could be banned and wouldn’t be missed…except by each other.
Kelligan on April 14, 2009 at 12:16 PM
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