tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Possible Troll) 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/ Lussumo Vanilla & Feed Publisher Anton Geraschenko comments on "Possible Troll" (12268) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12268#Comment_12268 2010-12-28T09:42:54-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Anton Geraschenko http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/2/ I deleted those two answers. I'm confused about this user. Some of his (now deleted) posts are blatant trolling, but some of them seem very reasonable (e.g. see his comment here ... I haven't read ... I deleted those two answers. I'm confused about this user. Some of his (now deleted) posts are blatant trolling, but some of them seem very reasonable (e.g. see his comment here ... I haven't read that question, but arex's response suggests that it's a meaningful comment)

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arex comments on "Possible Troll" (12265) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12265#Comment_12265 2010-12-28T09:20:53-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 arex http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/206/ The current user optima (who I assume is the same as the former user?) requests (in the comments to this answer) that this answer be deleted. I think it would be great if a moderator could delete ... The current user optima (who I assume is the same as the former user?) requests (in the comments to this answer) that this answer be deleted.

I think it would be great if a moderator could delete both answers, as one is being heavily downvoted due to apparent trolling and the other only exists because the first lowered the user's reputation below the commenting threshold. Thanks.

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Qiaochu Yuan comments on "Possible Troll" (12256) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12256#Comment_12256 2010-12-28T03:11:57-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Qiaochu Yuan http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/13/ As far as I can tell, the troll is running a Sokal-style experiment to determine if people can distinguish mathematics from strings of words which look like mathematics. As far as I can tell, the troll is running a Sokal-style experiment to determine if people can distinguish mathematics from strings of words which look like mathematics.

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Anton Geraschenko comments on "Possible Troll" (12251) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12251#Comment_12251 2010-12-27T20:17:09-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Anton Geraschenko http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/2/ Has the mystery been solved yet? What's up with these weird posts? It's just some troll mimicking one of Angelo's answers. Is there something more mysterious about it?

Has the mystery been solved yet? What's up with these weird posts?

It's just some troll mimicking one of Angelo's answers. Is there something more mysterious about it?

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José Figueroa comments on "Possible Troll" (12250) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12250#Comment_12250 2010-12-27T18:43:20-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 José Figueroa http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/68/ Comment deleted. Comment deleted.

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Kevin Lin comments on "Possible Troll" (12249) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=12249#Comment_12249 2010-12-27T17:51:43-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Kevin Lin http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/25/ optima says: Yes. The criterion for a symmetric monoidal functor I to be equivalent to the datum of such a fully dualized object is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in ... optima says:

Yes. The criterion for a symmetric monoidal functor I to be equivalent to the datum of such a fully dualized object is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here). If I is from an n-cobordism to the n-category of n-families over a fixed symmetric n-category, the diagonal is a monomorphism, and a monomorphism is certainly unramified.

Has the mystery been solved yet? What's up with these weird posts?

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Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Possible Troll" (11903) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11903#Comment_11903 2010-12-14T14:23:23-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harald Hanche-Olsen http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/18/ +1 David. Baaaaaaahahaha! +1 David. Baaaaaaahahaha!

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David Speyer comments on "Possible Troll" (11902) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11902#Comment_11902 2010-12-14T11:28:21-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 David Speyer http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/23/ I think Harald, at least, is talking about Firesheep. http://codebutler.github.com/firesheep/ I think Harald, at least, is talking about Firesheep. http://codebutler.github.com/firesheep/

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Andrew Stacey comments on "Possible Troll" (11900) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11900#Comment_11900 2010-12-14T11:14:34-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Andrew Stacey http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/4/ Extremely minor pedantic point: I don't think that Harald and Peter mean FireBug. Unless, that is, there's some hidden functionality that I've not yet found (entirely possible, I use it mainly for ... Extremely minor pedantic point: I don't think that Harald and Peter mean FireBug. Unless, that is, there's some hidden functionality that I've not yet found (entirely possible, I use it mainly for debugging CSS). At least, if there are two programs with the same name then some clarification should be made so that those of use with FireBug installed don't get all antsy and uninstall it for fear of being branded a cracker instead of merely a hacker.

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WillieWong comments on "Possible Troll" (11899) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11899#Comment_11899 2010-12-14T05:18:20-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 WillieWong http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/288/ @Peter: Harald's description is the one I understand to be the case. The authentication process is not the problem. The problem is that then you are granted a cookie stating that you've logged in, ... @Peter: Harald's description is the one I understand to be the case. The authentication process is not the problem. The problem is that then you are granted a cookie stating that you've logged in, and shouldn't be checked again for your identity.

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Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Possible Troll" (11893) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11893#Comment_11893 2010-12-13T23:05:14-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harald Hanche-Olsen http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/18/ Doesn't firebug work by stealing cookies? They are transmitted unencrypted, after all. And so long as you're logged in, someone else who got a copy of your MO cookies should be able to pose as you. ... Doesn't firebug work by stealing cookies? They are transmitted unencrypted, after all. And so long as you're logged in, someone else who got a copy of your MO cookies should be able to pose as you. It should be possible to thwart this attack by presenting the browser with a cookie that changes on each interaction with the site, though. Then the site could at least detect the fact that the login session is used by two computers and could terminate the session, forcing the legitimate user to login again while the impostor is left out in the cold. I don't know if this is actually done.

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peter.krautzberger comments on "Possible Troll" (11886) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11886#Comment_11886 2010-12-13T19:01:27-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 peter.krautzberger http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/427/ @WilliWong: logging it should not be susceptible to firebug (which only works in completely unencrypted wireless networks btw). Even though MO does not encrypt properly (forcing https gives me a ...
Even though MO does not encrypt properly (forcing https gives me a warning since the certificate belongs to stackoverflow), it only redirects your account name to your openID provider where you then enter your password.

Most OpenID-providers use encryption via https to actually log you after that redirect. So unless the openID provider is really bad and is not using https to log you in, firebug should not work.]]>
Noah Snyder comments on "Possible Troll" (11885) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11885#Comment_11885 2010-12-13T18:59:47-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Noah Snyder http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/59/ I consider upvoting to be a pretty mild endorsement. Lots of upvotes is good for the health of the site. It's bad for the site if technical things get too few upvotes, so I try to upvote technical ... Spiro Karigiannis comments on "Possible Troll" (11877) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11877#Comment_11877 2010-12-13T17:38:42-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Spiro Karigiannis http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/396/ @Noah: There is a big difference between "checking everything in the answer" and "understanding the answer". If you believe that you have the ability to check the ... Noah Snyder comments on "Possible Troll" (11874) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11874#Comment_11874 2010-12-13T16:50:27-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Noah Snyder http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/59/ I certainly don't consider an upvote to mean I've necessarily checked everything in the answer. Yemon Choi comments on "Possible Troll" (11871) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11871#Comment_11871 2010-12-13T14:44:20-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Yemon Choi http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/81/ Quoting Todd whoever votes up answers that they don't understand? I'm convinced that the answer is "lots of people". Amen. And I speak as someone whose fairly banal ... Quoting Todd

whoever votes up answers that they don't understand?

I'm convinced that the answer is "lots of people".

Amen. And I speak as someone whose fairly banal observation about expressing the trace of a matrix as a weighted average of its numerical range continues to get occasional upvotes ;-)

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Gerry Myerson comments on "Possible Troll" (11870) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11870#Comment_11870 2010-12-13T14:41:22-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Gerry Myerson http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/370/ Once upon a time, someone came to interview for a job in the department in which I was then employed, and gave a colloquium talk. One of my colleagues, whom I will call X, who worked in an area quite ...
Perhaps it is people like X who upvote answers if and only if they don't understand them.]]>
Qiaochu Yuan comments on "Possible Troll" (11858) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11858#Comment_11858 2010-12-13T12:24:39-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Qiaochu Yuan http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/13/ I vote up answers I don't understand when I have some other reason to believe that the answer is substantially correct (e.g. the answerer has given other correct answers in the past, the answer ... I vote up answers I don't understand when I have some other reason to believe that the answer is substantially correct (e.g. the answerer has given other correct answers in the past, the answer already has a high vote count) and when I think that the answer deserves more votes (e.g. clearly a lot of work has been put in but it is hard to check). Maybe this isn't a good idea.

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Todd Trimble comments on "Possible Troll" (11835) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11835#Comment_11835 2010-12-13T08:35:39-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Todd Trimble http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/411/ > whoever votes up answers that they don't understand? I'm convinced that the answer is "lots of people".
I'm convinced that the answer is "lots of people".]]>
WillieWong comments on "Possible Troll" (11833) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11833#Comment_11833 2010-12-13T07:58:34-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 WillieWong http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/288/ @Spiro: now that's a thought. MO uses OpenID, which is, IIRC, susceptible to the FireSheep exploit of a month ago. So it is not completely inconceivable that someone was able to sniff log-in ... @Spiro: now that's a thought. MO uses OpenID, which is, IIRC, susceptible to the FireSheep exploit of a month ago. So it is not completely inconceivable that someone was able to sniff log-in credentials over wireless and posting as random users. But I do find it slightly unlikely.

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Spiro Karigiannis comments on "Possible Troll" (11831) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11831#Comment_11831 2010-12-13T07:24:19-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Spiro Karigiannis http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/396/ Could someone be hacking into other people's accounts and posting this stuff? I suppose that by also asking reasonable questions with the same user account, it makes it harder for us to find things ... Zev Chonoles comments on "Possible Troll" (11830) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11830#Comment_11830 2010-12-13T07:12:40-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Zev Chonoles http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/123/ I've flagged them as spam. However, given that this person has been posting these answers under multiple accounts, there exists the possibility that they voted themselves up, to lure more people into ... I've flagged them as spam. However, given that this person has been posting these answers under multiple accounts, there exists the possibility that they voted themselves up, to lure more people into upvoting than otherwise would (I'm thinking along the lines of a panhandler putting some of their own coins in their cup).

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Harry Gindi comments on "Possible Troll" (11829) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11829#Comment_11829 2010-12-13T06:59:21-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harry Gindi http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/55/ Is somebody trying to Sokal us? Anyway, it really annoys me that somebody voted up that completely nonsensical answer, when I had a correct answer already posted (that still has no votes). Come on, ... Is somebody trying to Sokal us?

Anyway, it really annoys me that somebody voted up that completely nonsensical answer, when I had a correct answer already posted (that still has no votes). Come on, guys (by which I mean the people who voted up that garbage), at least give credit where credit is due, and all that.

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Alex Bartel comments on "Possible Troll" (11828) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11828#Comment_11828 2010-12-13T06:42:21-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Alex Bartel http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/393/ The best explanation I can think of is that it's some student with some mathematical knowledge, who every now and then gets intrigued by people using so many words that he has never heard before. So ... The best explanation I can think of is that it's some student with some mathematical knowledge, who every now and then gets intrigued by people using so many words that he has never heard before. So he starts doubting whether these people are actually saying anything that makes sense to anyone but them and decides to conduct an experiment. He produces some Gibberish that is not immediately recognisable as such by people who are not familiar with the subject matter. Ironically, some of that Gibberish actually has - at the point of writing this - a positive vote count (whoever votes up answers that they don't understand?), so if my explanation is correct, then this student must be very content with the outcome of the experiment.

Edit: Something I in turn find curious is that now, that these examples have surfaced, nobody seems to be flagging them as spam. Anyway, I am going to.

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Harry Gindi comments on "Possible Troll" (11827) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11827#Comment_11827 2010-12-13T06:35:28-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harry Gindi http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/55/ Dammit, those two answers have more votes than a lot of correct answers I've given. Woe is me. Dammit, those two answers have more votes than a lot of correct answers I've given. Woe is me.

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Andrew Stacey comments on "Possible Troll" (11825) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11825#Comment_11825 2010-12-13T06:27:34-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Andrew Stacey http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/4/ Interestingly, the accounts that left those remarks have other activity which does not appear to be trollish. Interestingly, the accounts that left those remarks have other activity which does not appear to be trollish.

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Harry Gindi comments on "Possible Troll" (11822) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11822#Comment_11822 2010-12-13T06:21:27-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harry Gindi http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/55/ It seems kind of sophisticated to be a bot, but hey, maybe it is! It seems kind of sophisticated to be a bot, but hey, maybe it is!

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Andrew Stacey comments on "Possible Troll" (11821) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11821#Comment_11821 2010-12-13T06:10:00-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Andrew Stacey http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/4/ Zev, you're right. Here's the text: Yes. The criterion for a vector bundle on a connected paracompact space to be invertible is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in ... Zev, you're right. Here's the text:

Yes. The criterion for a vector bundle on a connected paracompact space to be invertible is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here). If the vector bundle has a total Stiefel-Whitney class invertible in its cohomology ring, the diagonal is a monomorphism, and a monomorphism is certainly unramified.

In the comments, someone remarks that this is plagiarised. The original is here and the text is:

Yes. The criterion for an Artin stack to be Deligne-Mumford is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here). If the stack is fibered in sets, the diagonal is a monomorphism, and a monomorphism is certainly unramified.

For comparison, there's the "answer" to Harry's question:

Yes. The criterion for f∧g to be in An is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here). If An is a class of monomorphisms anodyne w.r.t. a separated segment on such a category of presheaves, the diagonal is a monomorphism, and a monomorphism is certainly unramified.

Two further occurrences of this remark:

  1. http://mathoverflow.net/questions/42109/semicosimplicial-totalization
  2. http://mathoverflow.net/questions/43537/property-t-and-subgroups-of-finite-index

(Apologies for cross-posting with Kevin - I got distracted by my hunt for further occurrences)

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Kevin Buzzard comments on "Possible Troll" (11820) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11820#Comment_11820 2010-12-13T05:54:38-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Kevin Buzzard http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/65/ @Zev: Regarding your edit: the following is a deleted answer to the question you're linking to.answered Oct 18 at 13:03 by ohai: "Yes. The criterion for a vector bundle on a connected ...

answered Oct 18 at 13:03 by ohai: "Yes. The criterion for a vector bundle on a connected paracompact space to be invertible is that it should have unramified diagonal (this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here). If the vector bundle has a total Stiefel-Whitney class invertible in its cohomology ring, the diagonal is a monomorphism, and a monomorphism is certainly unramified."

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Zev Chonoles comments on "Possible Troll" (11818) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11818#Comment_11818 2010-12-13T05:44:28-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Zev Chonoles http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/123/ I recognize the phrase "this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here" because Ben Webster recently noticed and commented "WTF?" on an answer (I can't find it at ... I recognize the phrase "this is somewhere in Laumon Moret Bailly, I don't have it here" because Ben Webster recently noticed and commented "WTF?" on an answer (I can't find it at the moment, perhaps it was deleted as spam) that was essentially ripping off this answer, in a similarly nonsensical way. There is also this answer, another strange copy of the same text, but under the guise of a different user; however that user appears to have given two substantive answers as well.

EDIT: I believe the answer Ben commented on was on this question, though it was deleted one way or another (could a 10k user or moderator confirm?)

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Harry Gindi comments on "Possible Troll" (11816) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11816#Comment_11816 2010-12-13T05:10:12-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Harry Gindi http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/55/ It's either a troll or a bot. It sucks though, because I was really impressed. I thought that Cisinski came up with the generalized theory for anodyne morphisms (in an arbitrary topos with respect ... It's either a troll or a bot. It sucks though, because I was really impressed. I thought that Cisinski came up with the generalized theory for anodyne morphisms (in an arbitrary topos with respect to a fixed cylinder functor ) in his thesis or a closely related paper around 2001-2002, but here was this guy telling me that such things were well-known to Laumon and Moret-Bailly 20 years ago, whence comes my comment that the answer is "bizarre".

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Andrew Stacey comments on "Possible Troll" (11815) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11815#Comment_11815 2010-12-13T05:01:44-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Andrew Stacey http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/4/ Yes, after posting this comment I noticed that that user had a non-trivial positive reputation so I went on a little trip and found those answers. I can't make head nor tail of them, though, so ... Yes, after posting this comment I noticed that that user had a non-trivial positive reputation so I went on a little trip and found those answers. I can't make head nor tail of them, though, so don't know how to classify them.

(The original answer that provoked this has now been deleted.)

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WillieWong comments on "Possible Troll" (11814) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11814#Comment_11814 2010-12-13T04:32:46-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 WillieWong http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/288/ Hum, it is a bit strange, that user's answer to this and this, to my inexpert eyes, look somewhat, possibly, reasonable. And then there is this one here Hum, it is a bit strange, that user's answer to this and this, to my inexpert eyes, look somewhat, possibly, reasonable. And then there is this one here

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Andrew Stacey comments on "Possible Troll" (11813) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/835/possible-troll/?Focus=11813#Comment_11813 2010-12-13T04:24:24-08:00 2018-11-04T23:22:48-08:00 Andrew Stacey http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/account/4/ The extant "answer" to this question: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/49244/give-an-example-of-monoid-with-property-m2-m3 seems to have troll-like characteristics. I got as far as ... The extant "answer" to this question: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/49244/give-an-example-of-monoid-with-property-m2-m3 seems to have troll-like characteristics. I got as far as writing a comment in reply (along the lines of mistaking cause with effect) and then decided not to.

I've flagged the comment as spam, I urge others to do so.

(Note that the question itself is highly likely to be closed, but that is independent of troll-like behaviour)

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