There has been much ado of late here on DK over whether trolls are infiltrating Daily Kos.
I understand the concern. It's dangerous to let trolls just walk among us. But what I don't understand are all of these complicated and subtle rules that mostly amount to, "are they disagreeing with you in a way that makes you mad?" It's really far simpler than that.
I'm here to help.
1. Posting hours
This is really easy. As a general rule, trolls are nocturnal. Sunlight is a bane to trolls, turning their tough leathery skin to the hardest of stone and killing them where they stand. Now, that said, inside the depths of their lairs where the rays of sunlight don't dare venture, it is quite possible that they could keep vigil during the hours where the daystar reigns. However, due to their natuarl weakness, trolls become drowsy during the daytime and only wake renewed with energy when the orb of the heavens descends into the earth.
(Above: Reynisdrangar, where two trolls salvaging a shipwreck at night remained out too long. They won't be posting on Daily Kos anymore!)
2. IP addresses
This is more of an issue for site administrators, but can be a great clue. Trolls live not in the world of men, but in caves deep in the deepest mountains. So first, you can rule out land lines; net access for trolls must be exclusively cell or sat-phone based, with power coming from the magickal energies which their kin possess, using twigs and splinters of bone to tap on the buttons which their massive hands could only mash on their own.
A further clue is geographic. Trolls are predominently found in northern Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands, where they and their jötun siblings were banished after being expelled from Ásgarðr by the Æsir.
Administrators should set their IP filters accordingly and flag suspect troll activity.
(Above: I don't think this is Toledo.)
3. Obsession with eating folk - and everything else.
The internet is a continual frustration to trolls, and they burn through the cell phones previously owned by their dinner with great regularity, smashing them with stones in their frustration at their inability to lure wayward victims out into the dark wilds where they can be snatched up to be cooked into soup, I presume based on no evidence.
Don't become dinner. If a poster uses words like "plump", "savory", or "meal-sized" to describe you, do not follow their directions to "trudge out to Obsidian-Mountain when the giant-wolf Skoll next devours the moon". It won't end well for you.
(Above: This will not end well.)
4. It's all in the name
Not typically a troll name: "kos"
Not typically a troll name: "teacherken"
Not typically a troll name: "Meteor Blades"
Probably a troll: "Steinbrúðr, storm-sun's bale, guardian of corpse-fjord and swallower of the heaven-wheel."
Learn to recognize the patterns, and you'll be fine!
(Above: I'm pretty confident that his name is not "Its the Supreme Court Stupid")
Summary
As you can see, it's not that hard to spot a troll. Really! You don't have to rely on guessing based on whether someone's posts make you mad. I mean, your posts are probably making others who disagree with you mad, right? That doesn't mean you're being "disruptive". And you're certainly not a troll, are you? (wait... how many hideous abominations have you sired to roam the nights and collect children for your dinner? None? Okay, yeah, I stick with my previous statement). Anyway, just follow the above rules when you suspect troll activity, and if the shoe fits, either block their IP or cast an appropriate rune of banishment at their feet. Problem solved!
(Art credit: Theodor Kittelsen)
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For a little bit of an update on the more serious side, it's beginning to feel a little Pots-and-Pan-ish up here. Our new conservative government has outdone their slashing of hospital funding, near obliteration of public broadcasting, and revoking of the new law taxing the wealthy fishery owners. This time, they welched on their campaign promise to let the public decide in a referendum the fate of EU accession talks, and have decided to simply pull out of the discussions outright (while public opinion is mixed on EU membership, it solidly supports finishing the talks to see what deal is offered and overwhelmingly supports having a vote on it). Thousands of people have been protesting each day in front of parliament since it was announced, casting eggs and the like. The police set up a metal barricade, but people have been using it to their advantage, treating it as percussion instrument and hitting/kicking/stomping it to raise a roar inside parliament. Interesting times....
(Yeah, I live in Iceland... so what? Wait, you don't think that I, Rei, Devourer of the Tides and Bane of Þór could be... ugh, never! Stop the baseless accusations, you wriggling morsel! REI SMASH!)