"So I'm not glorifying them, but honestly having observed this process long enough, and enough number of times I'd have a hard time blaming those trolls that emerge out of DV and start wreaking havoc there." Ok, well I've only been on DV for maybe a year-and-a-half, but in that time, there were vast stretches, before the current batch of mods joined, where DV was almost completely UNMODERATED. If you were around, you will remember this time as well.
Guess what, there were still trolls! Not as many, I'll grant you that, but they were around. You have mentioned several times that you believe all the trolls at DV exist because they've been mistreated by mods. That shows me that you really don't understand troll psychology. Trolls exist for a variety of reasons. Some feel powerless in their own lives, some (like Hamburg) have undirected aggression and use message bases as "virtual punching bags" (his own words), some are just bored and looking for a laugh. When you characterize all DV trolls as victims who are lashing out at their oppressors I really have to wonder about you. Some of my best friends are trolls, but I've come to recognize the different breeds of troll-kind, some of which deserve understanding, others just need to be squashed flat.
