# Request:  Play along with bugaboo.



## RangerWickett (Sep 20, 2002)

Seriously guys, I like his humor, and I want to see people actually fall for the joke.  It's all light-hearted, so please, stop posting stuff like "Ha ha, good to have you back," or "Nice troll, Bugaboo!"  That ruins the whole point, and more importantly, it's rude.  You're preventing others from enjoying Bugaboo's humor the way we all used to.


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## Furn_Darkside (Sep 20, 2002)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> *That ruins the whole point, and more importantly, it's rude.  *




I think it is rude to screw with people, and never took much humor in the antics.

FD


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## EricNoah (Sep 20, 2002)

Bugaboo is real.


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## Ashtal (Sep 20, 2002)

*Re: Re: Request:  Play along with bugaboo.*

To those who don't like his humor, please, just don't read his threads.  Let him, and the rest of us, have some fun.

For the record, I was gotten REALLY good a few times when I started hanging around on the site, and you know what?  I got over it.  It's a little FUN.  

I have half a mind to delete posts that spoil it with "Troll-o-meter" and related un-fun-ness I see.


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## ColonelHardisson (Sep 20, 2002)

Look, the thing is, people who have no idea about Bugaboo or the history of the site will be bamboozled. Yeah, I know that's the point, but...people do come here for information, after all. Then, once people buy Bugaboo's often very well-thought-out and -written trolls, we begin to see urban legends spring up, or people get frustrated because they feel that they're being excluded from a joke, or that they're somehow the butt of that joke. I guess it isn't that bad, but I have to admit that I feel sorry for the people who don't get that it's a joke; I empathize, because I, too, hate feeling like everyone else is in on a joke that I don't get. People who don't know Bugaboo will have no reason to avoid reading his posts if they aren't to their tastes.

I know I'm sounding like a party-pooper, but I won't go and ruin the fun. This isn't a diatribe, just another viewpoint.


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## Furn_Darkside (Sep 20, 2002)

ColonelHardisson said:
			
		

> *Look, the thing is, people who have no idea about Bugaboo or the history of the site will be bamboozled. *




Not to mention if someone else came here to spread misinformation for laughs at the people who believe them, I doubt they would be protected.

FD


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## Darkness (Sep 20, 2002)

Furn_Darkside said:
			
		

> *
> 
> Not to mention if someone else came here to spread misinformation for laughs at the people who believe them, I doubt they would be protected.
> 
> FD *



We know Bugaboo; we won't know any newcomer - at least at first.


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## Furn_Darkside (Sep 20, 2002)

Darkness said:
			
		

> *We know Bugaboo; we won't know any newcomer - at least at first. *




That is my point. 

Finding humor by abusing the trust of newer people to this community is only being allowed because it is being done by one of the good-ol-boys.

FD


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## Darkness (Sep 20, 2002)

Furn_Darkside said:
			
		

> *
> 
> That is my point.
> 
> ...



I know that this is your point. 

But I think that you might be missing the reasoning behind this:

We don't - _can't_ - know what a newcomer is up to. And, therefore, what damage he might cause if left unchecked.
But the same isn't true for Bugaboo.  We know Bug and we also know that he's not malicious.

Also: If people are calling him on being a troll when he posts as Bugaboo, he'll just post under an alternate ID like he's done in the past couple months (which is also one of the reasons that the user ID "Bugaboo" has so few posts to his credit here on the new boards ).
Which won't help anyone who's calling Bugaboo a troll as soon as he sees him, really: Spotting a "disguised" Bugaboo as a troll isn't too easy in most of the cases (not at first, that is).
So old-timers who spoil Bug's game primarily hurt themselves: 'cause if they spoil it, they might fall for it next time, given that he'll post under an alias. But if they don't spoil it, they could laugh along with Bug (or ignore him) instead of that...


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## MerakSpielman (Sep 20, 2002)

You mean his posts aren't REAL????


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## Darkness (Sep 20, 2002)

MerakSpielman said:
			
		

> *
> You mean his posts aren't REAL????
> *



Heh. Not all of them, probably - but many are...

(Note: I can't comment on any current ones as I haven't seen them yet.)


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## Furn_Darkside (Sep 20, 2002)

Darkness said:
			
		

> *But if they don't spoil it, they could laugh along with Bug (or ignore him) instead of that... *




Or the mods could step in and stop the behavior- instead of defend it.

FD


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## Ashtal (Sep 20, 2002)

There is a difference between maliciousness and a harmless gag.  We know Bug's are the latter, but you seem stuck that somehow they are the former.

But the bottom line is, is that they aren't going away, they aren't going to be stopped and we would appreciate it if people who do know they are pranks either play along and post something fun in keeping with the spoof subject, or ignore the threads entirely.

Furn, I'd suggest the latter for you.


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## Furn_Darkside (Sep 20, 2002)

Ashtal said:
			
		

> *There is a difference between maliciousness and a harmless gag.  We know Bug's are the latter, but you seem stuck that somehow they are the former.
> *




You may think misleading people is funny. I think it is cruel.

You may think a little harmless hazing is good for the new users (or at least good for your amusement), but I think people do not liked being lied to- and will like it less when they find out the moderators support it.



> Furn, I'd suggest the latter for you.




I have not made a comment in that thread- or read it for that matter. I did not start this thread.

However- if the moderators are not only going to condone such behavior but protect it as well, then perhaps it is time for me to rethink my being a part of this community.

FD


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## Umbran (Sep 20, 2002)

Actually, Darkness, you've just voiced the best reason for us to reveal Bugaboo, but _not_ a Bugaboo alias.  

As you've noted, in many cases, the only thing that keeps someone from falling for it is the Bugaboo name.  So, what's the point of using the Bugaboo name?  Selectively taking advantage of newbies?  Making it look like they're somehow dumb compared to the rest of us, when they aren't?

Yeah, that's nice.  Real welcome you get there.

I don't mind the humorous trolls.  I say we let Bugaboo post all the well-thought and funny trolls he wants.  But make it so that even the older posters have a chance to fall into his web.  Good healthy shot of humility is good for the soul, darn it.  Even mine 

That is, of course, unless Bugaboo is using the old name as a misdirection.  The *real* troll is elsewhere.  Nobody'd guess that he was doing two at once, right?


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## Darkness (Sep 20, 2002)

That's also a way to look at it, Umbran.


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## chatdemon (Sep 21, 2002)

*A rant, don't mind me*

The more time goes on here, the more things I said in the past get proven right.

About a year ago I was the cause of a fairly ugly mess because I (rather rudely, and I've since apologized for that, but now I'm talking about the root of what I said, not the following debacle) made certain accusations, among which were:

*Moderators Playing Favorites In Regard To The 'Old Gaurd'*. Ya'll have come right out and admitted it here. Enough said.

*People Being Asked To Donate Money Should Be Offered Something In Return* At the time I said it, Morrus was well within his rights to respond 'I run the site, I make the decisions, I won't let those who donate get an unfair advantage over those who don't. You don't have to donate or even visit the site.' Basically Eric's old 'my house, my rules'  approach. Not my style, but fair enough. Now what? Community Supporters with special privileges the rest of us don't have? By golly chatdemon, you were right!

Anyway, enough ranting. Bugaboo's trolling should be treated like anyone's trolling and put to a stop. Send him back over to nutkinland to play with the rest of the jokers.


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## Ashtal (Sep 21, 2002)

I don't recall EVER seeing a Mod, before I was one, and after, ever not give Bugaboo special consideration.  He's always been an exception, even back when Eric was running the site.  Same goes with the Pantheon.

You don't have to like it, but there it is.

And now I'm closing the thread.


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## Dinkeldog (Sep 22, 2002)

*Misconceptions on troll threads*

There seems to be some misconception that no one besides Bugaboo is allowed to start troll threads, or that he gets special consideration on his threads.  I don't believe either is true.  I believe that the Bugaboo troll threads seem to have a longer lifetime because Bugaboo puts his threads on a gaming topic, and then tries to keep the ensuing chaos within the board's standards for taste and civility.

Just in case people were wondering, here's a partial list of current troll threads in the General forum, only:

What is Hackmaster? 

Any 1st Edition players here? 

Fire & Forget Magic System:  Should they replace it? 

How about a survey on the 3E halfling? 

Dark Fantasy


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