I went to the "Flamers and Trolls" link that Jeri posted above to refresh my memory, and I noted a couple of things. In point #2, Joe Offer says, "Trolls are recognizable by the fact that the have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait."

A couple of times on other threads, I asked GUEST All/Fed up if she were actually interested in folk music. I was not being snide, I was simply asking because in all of All's posts that I had read, she never once mentioned folk music, so I was curious. The first time, All responded that I was insulting her just by asking the question and continued to whine about how nasty people were being to her, and anonymous guests in general (which is not true). The second time, All simply ignore me. At one point I decided to take All seriously and I made an attempt to be friendly. This attempt was also ignored.

Observe -- when one thread that All has managed to pollute begins to poop out, she starts another. Like this one. She posts a couple of times, then let's us flail around all by ourselves, returning now and then to stir the soup and keep it going. We're doing just what she wants us to do!

I may be slow on the up-take, but I've learned all I need to know about All. I intend to follow Joe Offer's guideline, as we all should have done in the first place. If All and I wind up on the same thread at any time, she will get no response from me. Let her languish in oblivion or move on to some other web site. As Joe says, "I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it many times more: the best way to deal with both flamers and trolls is to ignore them. Give them silence, and they'll go away. They feed on attention - don't give it to them."

When you or your friends are attacked, it is natural to go on the defensive or to fight back. That's what these people count on. Please. When it becomes evident that someone is a flamer or a troll, ignore them. Just don't respond.

That's the best way to de-louse a Mudcat.

Don Firth