Having been a member since early 2010 (having gone through 3 different accounts no less), I feel i have seen my fair share of regular users here at CBM, from the outspoken Intruder , to our very own Junior Model and Chris Hemsworth fanatic TheBlackWidow and then to our Editors. But None have received as much attention or notoriety as our very own Grif.
Having spawned a variety of knock-offs, parodies and sometimes genuinely troll accounts, he ( or she ) has been the target of hate, annoyance and just general ill feeling. But does s/he really deserve all the hate? is he really the terrible person he's made out to be? In my time, i've made two observations about him
1. He overstates his "hate" for a particular subject
If one takes the trouble to go through his posts, it becomes apparent that if one was honestly and seriously so offended by something, they wouldn't constantly and mechanically repeat the same thing over and over, and would actually troll with a pathetic sense of fervour, something our laid back Hater does NOT do.
2. He doesn't abuse anyone
This is the big one. Internet trolls are famous for one thing, Bashing and mocking other users. In my experience, Grif has NEVER done this. He merely states his trademark "bring on the re-boot" , posts a "Man vs" video and disappears. In fact, most of the time , you'll find the only ones every Truly trolling are his knock-offs, who in an attempt to mock him go beyond that and become trolls themselves.
So it appears that while his statements might not always be agreed with, Grif himself is a "character", a persona of sorts that someone chose to set up, A deliberate parody of depressed fans. He does not genuinely hate the matter at hand, but merely chooses to go against it. Just like the many characters that inhabit the CBM user boards, i think Grif must be acknowledged as a Resident. He offers an occasional laugh, and sometimes even someone to bash just for the sake of it. He isn't a troll, just plain ole Grif the Grouch!
