Discussions

I've been thinking about writing this post for a few weeks, but I thought I would wait until a time when it wouldn't look like I was singling out anyone for their behaviour. Looking over the currently active discussion topics, I think I should be safe.  
 
I've been following eBrandon pretty much since things got going and I've always found it to be an interesting forum for community discussions. In this time, I've found it to be unlike many other online fora in that individual members are almost universally polite and respectful in the discussions. Even when individuals disagree, they usually do so very diplomatically, thoughtfully expressing their opinions and reasoning. This may be partly due to an ever-vigilant Adam, but I like to think that it's because topics tend to be focused on issues and events in our small city and this general corner of the province. With this being a small community, I've always thought that people are more careful in posting comments online. I know that I am conscious of the fact that some people on this forum know who I am. If I post an idiotic, malicious, or hurtful comment, I can't hide behind the usual anonymity of the internet. Instead, someone is likely to come up to me in the next few days and ask why I would post such a statement.  
 
Now this may just be me, but in the last few months it seems that this seems to be changing. For whatever reason, it seems to me that a colony of trolls has migrated into the eBrandon communities. Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the sort of troll that causes troubles for goats crossing bridges. I'm talking about that species of troll that dwells on the internet, posting controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional or disciplinary response, or otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.  
 
Now tell me, is this just me noticing this? Do others notice the same thing? Or am I just imagining things? And if you agree with me, why do you think this is happening? Is eBrandon getting to a size where individuals are more anonymous? Do people just care less?  
 
And PLEASE, no names of individual trolls. This will only stroke their ugly little egos. I just mean for this to be a discussion of trolls in general.