More on the jargon of "concern troll"

Brad DeLong denounced the infamously awful rumor-promoting Perry Bacon piece in the Washington Post by calling it a "concern-troll hit piece" (twice). I'm not an expert on obscure liberal blog jargon, but I have been called a "concern troll." As I found out, the phrase usually used to attack "anyone who calls for civility in a blog, and/or centrist Democrats" in the same way that conservatives use "political correctness" to stigmatize criticism of conservatives or offensive speech. What's confusing is that a stereotypical "concern troll" would criticize vitriol on liberal blogs, whereas Bacon gave credence to (false) conservative-promoted rumors that Barack Obama is a Muslim and went to a madrassa. So what is DeLong talking about?

Update 12/27 1:03 AM: DeLong replies in a comment:

In general, one should first consult Wikipedia:

> Troll (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Concern troll

>A concern troll is a pseudonym created by a user whose point of view is opposed to the one that the user's sockpuppet claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed "concerns"...

Perry Bacon assumes the POV of somebody watching Obama trying to deal with those who are spreading the rumors. Perry Bacon never acknowledges that the main effect of his story is to further spread the rumors. It's the false assumption of a POV that does not correspond to the author's real intentions or the articles major effects that makes it "concern." It's the fact that the article is intended to and has the effect of spreading misinformation, confusion, and disorder that makes it "troll."

This is, apparently, the most specific definition of the term. See, in particular, this passage from the Time article linked in the Wikipedia entry for "troll":

Concern troll: Noun, derived from "internet troll." A more subtle beast than your standard troll, this species posts comments that appear to be sympathetic to the topic being discussed but who, in reality, wishes to sow doubt in the minds of readers. In a 2006 New Hampshire Congressional campaign, a Republican staffer resigned after reports that he had posted to liberal blogs claiming to be a Democrat who thought the party should give up on the race.

As a result, DeLong has to contort himself to equate Bacon to an online saboteur intentionally trying to sow doubt among participants in an online forum. Awful as the piece may be, Brad has no idea what Bacon's "real intentions" were or what "the article is intended to" do. And speaking as someone who has been called a "concern troll," I can say that my intention has never been to "[spread] misinformation, confusion, and disorder."

The jargon of "concern troll" -- which obliterates these distinctions -- is increasingly used online by liberals to silence and stigmatize disfavored views of any sort. As I pointed out in my first post on the term, it's striking similar to the way conservatives began to use the term "political correctness":

At first, [the term] referred to specific incidents in which colleges and other institutions attempted to enforce liberal norms some perceived as oppressive. Over time, however, as UCLA's Phil Agre argued, some speakers began to use the phrase (or the variants "politically correct"/"politically incorrect") to imply coercion without making a specific argument that it had actually taken place or stigmatize any opposition to a political view as "political correctness." In this way, a set of associated stereotypes could be triggered in increasingly vague and pathological ways.

It's an almost perfect symmetry (though on a much smaller and more limited scale).

Comments

[Brad DeLong]

In general, one should first consult Wikipedia:

><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll> Troll (Internet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Concern troll

>A concern troll is a pseudonym created by a user whose point of view is opposed to the one that the user's sockpuppet claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view and attempts to sway the group's actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals, but with professed "concerns"...

Perry Bacon assumes the POV of somebody watching Obama trying to deal with those who are spreading the rumors. Perry Bacon never acknowledges that the main effect of his story is to further spread the rumors. It's the false assumption of a POV that does not correspond to the author's real intentions or the articles major effects that makes it "concern." It's the fact that the article is intended to and has the effect of spreading misinformation, confusion, and disorder that makes it "troll."

[Henderstock]

To simplify it: as I understand the term, it refers to someone pretending to be a liberal, posting on a liberal blog, but expressing worry that his fellows are going too far and alienating the center. Such persons might have their counterparts on the right, but I generally don't read that crap. ¿Verdad?