The Art of Trolling.

Trollin'

“What is a troll?” you might ask –  and no, it’s not a little ugly creature that lives underneath a rock and annoys Ronja in the woods.  I’m talking about the scum of the interwebs: the real troll.

In the world of the internet, a troll can be spotted in many ways. A troll is someone that will go against the direction of the people it is around, posting inflamatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in a discussion board, blog, or thread with the sole purpose of causing controversy or simply to enrage or make fun of the people involved. Many times, trolls can be funny, but usually this is not the case.

There are different ways a person can become a troll, once they become trolls, they stop being people in the eyes of the internet. Most of the time trolls, in real life, are geeks who have nothing better to do than go on 4chan and play WoW in their parents’ basement. Trolling can be done by posting comments that contradict common knowledge in order to get a lot of comments back, that deliberately insult the readers of a thread, or causing misfortune to the readers who are not aware that they are being trolled and are not familiar with it. There are also the real-life trolls, though these are rarely seen, they are pranksters who just mess with people. Trolls are always anonymous, therefore not many are seen in reality.

Some of you might be familiar with the troll face:

This character is what is most commonly used to personify a troll. If you encounter and identify a troll you must remember some of the basic rules of the internet, these are the ones concercing trolls:

–       Rule #14 – Do not argue with trolls, it means they win – Do NOT feed the troll. This means that if you spot a troll, IGNORE IT! If you engage in an argument with the troll, it has already won.

–       Rule #19 – The more you hate it, the stronger it gets – I think this rule speaks for itself.

–       Rule #20 – Nothing is to be taken seriously – Anything anybody says can easily be ignored, this rule especially applies for trolls.

The sole purpose of a troll is to cause revolt and misfortune, though sometimes extremely humorous, trolls are never to be accepted, so remember, don’t feed the troll, and most importantly: don’t be a troll!!

By: Humberto De Armas, IB12

Advertisement

Stimulating the US Economy with Monopoly Money.

Competition contribution designed by a Mr. Lee Willet

It appears that Americans are starting to catch on with the rest of the world when it comes to currency. Creative Consultant Richard Smith created a contest which is on its second year. The contest challenges American citizens to create new designs for the current U.S. currency. Over 120 entries have been submitted for this contest that has not yet been bespoken by the government. The contest was not meant to be taken seriously, however, Smith would find it amazing if it was.

United States bills have not changed in a significant way since the 1930’s. Most of the designs submitted to the contest seemed to have the same pattern: vibrant colors, and vertical pictures. Smith expresses how it makes sense for the United States to change the current money considering the fact that almost every country in the world has multi-coloured bills. Not only would the new coloured bills brighten the currency up, but it would help the visual impaired distinguish the different bills.

“I was searching for ways, pushing for ideas to stimulate the economy,” he says. “The new Euro had a huge impact on several nations” stimulating some economies by 25 per cent. Statistics show that most applicants who submit their designs feature Barack Obama on the $1 bill. Smith also pointed out another factor that would be helpful if the bills were changed.

Designed by Mr. Duncan Dowling

“When we researched how notes are used, we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore, a vertical note makes more sense.”

From the positive results that this contest has shown, it would be wise for the government to actually eradicate the old design of the bill, and brighten things up this year.

By: Roxanne Allen, IB12

Party Like a Rockstar.

"Rockstar" energy drinks.

This is no ordinary drink for all of you that have or maybe haven’t purchased, drank, admired, collected, embraced (etc). Sure it’s just another drink when you see it, but check this out: the average energy drink includes 4mg of taurine (an amino acid protecting the immune system and obtained from meat or energydrinks for you vegetarians) and 32mg of caffeine.

Believe it or not one of these is essential for the human body and it’s not caffeine. Sorry coffee drinkers, but energy drinks beat you with that. The only thing is that these drinks give you an overdose of the recommended amount and yes that is BAD. I’ve only named two things contained within this drink and we’re already going down a bad path. Well while we’re in this pleasant direction we might as well discuss the other harmful substances. Glucose, Sucrose, and anything else that rhymes with gross! These are artificial sugars that no growing teenager needs! Aspartame being one of the biggest ones can cause great pain in the kidneys after a large dose of a “sugar free” drink. Yeah I said it! Just because it’s sugar free doesn’t mean its sugar free! Producers just want to attract a new crowd by making it seem healthier.

Anyways for those of you who like energy drinks enough to go on reading here’s the positive aspects of energy drinks: these drinks are liquid candy with a touch of exotic flavoring that’ll make you feel a rush through your body just after the first sip. Not satisfying yet? Well the rest of the ingredients is pure power from South American berries such as gaurana and the Asian herb ginseng. Just a heads up these herbs are normally included in the double up (500ml) drinks such as Monster and Rockstar. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? It’s like tea, but a cooler version with all that kick behind it. This drink’s definitely great for parties because it’ll last you a few good hours of excitement. Some people think I’m addicted to these drinks, but I think they’re addicted to me.

By: Majid Ahy, IB12

Another Itcher!

Majid, IB12

Yoo, you probably don’t know me so I’ll start out by saying the name’s Majid Ahy. I’ve been lurking around this school for three mighty long years. Currently attending my senior year of IB and therefore you may call me senior. Anyways names are just a small bit of my past. I’ve been brought up in the U.S in the state of Virginia. Down there my daily life consisted of the smell of diesel (motorcross, Atv, and such), crab-fishing, and boating. Mhm yer darn right – I’m from the South. I’ve moved in between the time that I lived there to Saudi Arabia and often vacationed in Dubai to catch a glimpse of my homeland Iran. I’m actually half Persian incase you’re wondering. Also half Swedish (born in Umeå). Crazy mix I know, but it’s cool I suppose. I skateboard more than I walk and I listen to music more than I talk just incase you think I’m anti-social (there’s my excuse). I listen to mostly anything, but my taste is Nickleback for the most part yet I live by Kid Cudi’s lyrics. I love Redbull and “Monster Girls”, but Jenny Swanson definitely takes the prize. Lastly I’m a pretty chill guy besides when it comes to partying. I go hard in the paint!

1 Question, 3 Answers.

Do you think being homosexual is a choice or a trait that someone is born with?

Paul R, Paul G & Gustav

Gustav Karlbrink, NP2: I think actually it’s a bit of both but I believe most is choice because like 90% of your actions come from where you live and the people that you live with, so I think I think they get it from their own choice.

Paul Rodriguez, SP3A: For me its 50-50 %. It could be the environment that made him/her in to that kind of person or it could be part of his/her genes.

Paul Greco, IB12: Well actually I think it’s different from person to person. Some people are at an early age very clearly prone to what we see as homosexual tendencies and remain that way their whole lives whereas other people often change their sexual leaning later on in life, having been dissatisfied with their experiences with the opposite sex.
Then again that could also mean that they’ve always been gay.