It is indeed extremely basic psychology - when someone has a desperate need for attention, it does not matter to them what form that attention takes. Small children do this often - when they want attention, they will push something off the table. One strategy is to confront the behaviour, another is to ignore it. What you don’t do, is tell them it’s funny and that they’re welcome to carry on. The psychology of attention-seeking in older people is essentially the same.
We clearly disagree about what a troll wants. You think he's desperate for attention, I think he's bored and wants to be entertained - and it takes a certain kind of attention to provide sufficient entertainment.
Even if it is all about getting attention, it's through fueling the fire and provoking people.
So, no, I don't agree that it's going to entertain them if you belittle their efforts and you pat them on the head, which is how I interpret what happened with Myrthos.
He can correct me if I'm wrong.
They can be mildly amusing - and that's absolutely not the reaction they're looking for.
This is nonsense. As I said, the nature of a troll is to attract attention through negative behaviour. If this attention is in the form of approval from fellow troll-enthusiasts, so much the better.
You're twisting what's happening here.
I don't know who's supposed to be a troll enthusiast.
But, no, I don't think being patted on the head and told you're fun in your own way is what they want. I think that would frustrate them.
Your theory seems to be that they ONLY want negative attention, and that positive attention is a discouragement to them, like garlic to a vampire. This is not how it works. The combination of a reaction from their victim, and laughter from the crowd, is about the ultimate high for them.
They want to provoke people to get entertainment. I don't know if that's negative or positive - but that's what they want.
If they don't succeed in provoking people and getting a reaction, then they'll be bored or frustrated. They might try again - harder - but they'll go away as soon as you don't give in and react.
Telling them they're harmless and amusing in their own way, again, won't help their cause.
There's a HUGE difference between clapping, laughing or praising - and giving them a sympathic smile.
You apparently fail to distinguish between these two reactions.
Follow your logic through - if when he spouted that vicious abuse of Celtic’s children (for which Celtic has received a notable lack of sympathy, BTW) several of us had hit the the thumbs up button and posted, “Ha Ha! Good one!” you think he would have shrivelled and retreated? I don’t.
You mean you perceive a lack of sympathy which you then project unto everyone here as truth.
You're the sort of person who cares more about showing sympathy then being fair about how to treat people.
See? I can project too.
You don't seem to understand what happened. Myrthos didn't say he liked everything he had to say, he said he found him amusing in his own way - in general.
What you're saying is because you smile at some nut on the street spouting nonsense, that's the same as agreeing with their nonsense.
To me, liking an abusive statement would be the same as agreeing with it.
To stick with the nutty preacher analogy, what happened here is Myrthos shaking his head, smiling and patting the preacher on the back.
Myrthos can correct me if I'm wrong.
You think that's going to make the preacher happy and the kind of reaction he's trying to get out of people?
Take a look at his thread on the Codex that HiddenX linked us to. He has reposted the entire thing over there for the amusement of his friends. It’s not just about some special narrow definition of negative-only attention-seeking - it’s simply how people like him have fun.
I don't know why what I'm saying is now a "narrow definition of negative-only attention-seeking" - as that's not how I would put it myself.
I said they're looking to provoke a reaction, and the more powerful the better - because it's more fun.
EDIT: Take a look at
this article, which covers the psychology quite well.
Sorry, I don't do the whole let's link an article back-and-forth game as if that represented actual arguments.
What it takes to argue your case with me is YOUR arguments and YOUR underpinning.
If you want to use an article, link specific quotes and explain why they're relevant to the matter at hand. It's not my job to argue your case.
So far, you've failed to explain why what Myrthos did is supposed to encourage an obvious troll - that's obviously looking to provoke exactly the kind of reaction CelticFrost gave him.