Less trolls nowadays?

[Nebulous]

Do you think trolls are less common in today's forum world?

Did you see more people trolling forums 5 or 10 years ago?

Do you think the fact that the average forum user is now over 30 years old has anything with the decline in trolls? Do you think a decline in teenagers using forums has anything to do with it?

[Uncrowned Guard]

On 12/21/2022 at 8:02 AM, Nebulous said:

Do you think trolls are less common in today's forum world?

Did you see more people trolling forums 5 or 10 years ago?

Do you think the fact that the average forum user is now over 30 years old has anything with the decline in trolls? Do you think a decline in teenagers using forums has anything to do with it?

I'd say it is on a decline.  The older user base and the less dominate spot in user engagement has likely pushed trolls to make a living on Social Media and other platforms.  But there are certainly still some around.

[ZandraJoi]

I don’t see as many now that you have mentioned it. I’ve seen a few that liked to create drama on forums but I do think they frequent Social Media more. Forums are not like they used to be. May be a good thing as far as trolls are concerned.

[Grungie]

I miss the “traditional” trolls where they just took the piss out of a community and would show how silly they are. Like making a comment to piss off an uptight community.

After more people started using the internet, troll means “anyone that’s an asshole”.

[Katy1966]

I think in days past that staff was not as quick to ban trolls, so they took advantage and there were a lot around. Today we don't put up with that stuff like we used to because oftentimes it's not good for our SEO. I see trolls mostly in the comment sections of news sites. That's their new playground.

[Nebulous]

I think all the trolls were in fact teenagers. They love the chaos and drama. We have an older crowd nowadays and while they can be opinionated, they usually aren't up to no good.

[Shortie]

I have definitely noticed a huge difference in trolls that come on forums now to cause trouble or just do what they can to make a forum owner's life difficult. I feel a lot of the trolls that used to frequent forums now have turned their interests to social media and a lot of the trolls we see now on social media are probably those who used to troll on forums. 

We may still see some trolls on forums but it is never anything as bad as it used to be.