Removal of troll/hate posts
 

This post is a fine example:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...1/#post5849866

Have seen it MANY times in the past, too. Typically from a new user, who never comes back again. The post (as the above example), is nothing but junk, and is just generally hateful. While the mods do a good job at taking care of such things, closing a thread or a gentle chastising ("<username>, please don't post like that"), their posts remain. Which is kind of a finger in the eye to everyone else who posts, because we have to continue to see that garbage.

Is there a reason such posts can't be deleted???

Perhaps I am grabbing the stick by the wrong end, but are you sure that you linked to the correct post there?

Despite being a typical post from a naïve Kali user, it doesn't look hateful or trolling to me.

...and now, you are completely correct. There **WAS** a post #11, by user johnisajerk (yes, that was really the name), but it appears gone now, which is excellent. I hope the trend continues, since there are loads more. Just hope there is something of a policy to remove such posts quickly in the future.

While they may **TECHNICALLY** not violate any bad-language behaviors, posting for the sole purpose of being a tool isn't a good thing. Leaving it there isn't good either.

I deleted the offending post just to stop the whining... If moderators deleted a post every time someone thought it was offensive it would almost be a full time job. Due to language barriers, cultures, religions etc. what you might not consider offensive others do including your posts.

I'm sorry, but the post you removed could not be read in ANY way that would make it inoffensive. If you still have it, please post it here because it was a pretty good example of what I'm actually talking about. Another example:
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...1/#post5680370

Again, another single-post user, reopening a thread, for what purpose? I'm not saying delete things for disagreements, but things like this are in large print. Aside from the fact that such things are against the LQ Rules, posts like the ones mentioned do nothing except make the atmosphere just a bit more hateful.

I tend to agree with TB0ne on this. There are some posts especially, like that linked to, on older threads which pretty much define trolling and waste evverybody's time. I am guessing that, like me, TB0ne stays subscribed to old threads in case somebody else needs slightly more help with the same issue or similar -- if so that means lots of email with junk in it.

I agree with michaelk's thoughts and the amount of work implicitly expected when users get out of hand, as they are wont to do, especially around holidays and long weekends.

I started to say a lot more about specific threads, but erased. Bottom line is "easier said than done".

Of course your jobs are hard enough as it is -- I don't know about TBone but I'd just be happy to see a few more threads trimmed. Yes, opinion comes into it but I don't think that some of these posts require that.

I agree, but again I'll say this isn't about users 'getting out of hand', but rather drive-by trolls, like the two mentioned here. I have seen this dozens of times, and the latest from johnisajerk (which illustrated my point very well), was what I was talking about.

Someone getting heated because someone else can't understand what they're saying, or they disagree is one thing. I'm talking about those that just post in a thread and add NOTHING but junk. To register for an account and/or post in a thread for the sole purpose of saying something like what johnisajerk said, or even the other example I posted, are the ones I'm talking about, and there aren't a whole ton of those.

To keep something plain rude, offensive, and insulting in a thread does no one any good. For example (and two from a moderator):
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...4/#post5625170
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...7/#post5123268
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...7/#post5476624

Those are the kinds of things I'm talking about. This isn't about going off-topic, but just being plain toxic.

This is a slippery slope, reminds me a bit of Facebook adding the "Fake News" and "Hate Speech" check boxes on their posts/feeds. Who is to declare what qualifies as obvious trolling, and not a new person etc...?

Should LQ have a rating system, where if a person is reported to a Moderator after "X" number of times they are banned and offending posts purged (does this already exist)? I know I have received an infraction before for making a comment that was presumed inflammatory by someone. It seems TBOne is advocating going a step further and purging the "trolling" post completely. I see where they are coming from, however, I revert back to it being slippery.

Perhaps, LQ could have a color coded bar that states "Thread reported as trolling" or "Thread marked as trolling" etc... rather then purging. but I feel that slide again.

I think thatKs overly dramatic and misses the point entirely.
This is not about banning people it's about removing pointless posts from often otherwise long-dead threads.

Links 2 and 3, it is surprising to see a moderator adopting such a tone, but you held your own, as usual, so they don't disturb me as much.

Link 1 though should have been deleted. Did you report it?

It was an example, the rest of my post clearly referred to purging ie: removing posts.

Yep..and I report all such things, which brings us full circle. They are quite typically left in place. And the fact that a moderator behaved as such is, to me, more disturbing. I understand RHIP and all, but you also have to lead by example.

If a new poster's first action is to respond to a years-old thread with a hostile, fighting post, then that post should be removed and that poster should be banned.