Yesterday's thread "someone has bolted my developed trad routes" (see here
http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=166464) is one of the best examples of a troll that we've seen in recent times, and for all you budding trollsters out there, it's worth paying attention to the master craftsmanship. Okay there's only been 94 replies, but this is a 'classic' troll - PinkPixie only posted once to start the thread, and that's a 94-1 hit rate - pretty impressive.
So how did he/she do it? Let's break it down...
> I have recently found out that someone aka Rich from the orange house has bolted some trad routes that i developed near Finestrat in Spain
Masterful. A superb opening line combining familiarity with unfamiliarity. While the
actual subject is as old as houses, using Crag X (if it actually exists!) in Spain guarantees that 99.99% of ukc users will not be able to post from a position of authority, as they have never heard of the place, let alone been there. The use of Spain muddies the ethical waters as the bolting policy there is very different to the UK. Note also the use of Rich (of Orange House fame), a name that people
are familiar with, and a little hook to goad those people who may wish to defend him.
> one of the routes he's bloody bolted was my first trad route that i lead as a first ascent.
A clarion call to arms! This simple sentence will instantly reel in the small but vocal UKC ethics mafia (who we will call 'Camp A' for this discussion). The twist of it being the person's first trad route adds extra spice.
> Many of the routes he's bolted follow classic trad lines of modest grade
Very subtle, yet remarkably effective. This sentence provides extra fuel for those who will disagree with Camp A (thus, 'Camp B'). Their obvious argument is the "eveyrthing is bolted in Spain" but the above sentence lets them also use the "who cares about some easy trad routes?" argument! Both are contentious points that Camp A will argue to the death.
> What do you reckon i should do? demand he takes his bolts out? demand he removes his route descriptions from his website?
A deceptive last hook to reel in a third group of people ('Camp C') who don't really care what's happened but who's natural response is "why not contact Rich directly to discuss this, instead of posting anonymously on an internet forum?", a point which of course Camp A will happily discuss. I think perhaps this is only weakness in the troll though - PinkPixie got too greedy! To experienced troll-watchers, this sentence really gives the game away. Nonetheless it did bring in a few more posts, so the gamble paid off to a certain extent.
Note the subtle things as well such as the timing (6pm - early evening, just before people start a bottle of wine to get their tongues - or fingers - loosened up), and the sensationalist tone of the writing, which nevertheless is mostly grammatically correct.
In conclusion then, this is a fine example of the art of trolling. PinkPixie is a 'traditionalist' and has commendably resisted to urge to repost (so far) thus making this a real classic of the genre. A point is docked for the greedy (yet admittedly effective) final line, but this should take anything away from what is a fine effort.
9/10
