Dear Just, <BR> <BR>Feel free to respond at length to trolls. Also feel free to take issue with whether something really is a troll. It's a free country, as they say. But trolling is rampant on this board, and perhaps it would decline if people let the post sink once it was proven to be a troll. <BR> <BR>In any event, just know that some of us will wonder about you if you respond to a troll after you've been warned that it is a troll. <BR> <BR>Baaaaa! <BR>

Bertha, if you wish to be taken seriously, please explain the part about saying you can walk all over seven European cities. Also, I'm curious about why you were so inexperienced about the size of airline seats. Understand the suspicioun here because there are a lot of trolls here and a lot of people who love to say bad things about fat people.

Someone who bites at troll-bait? A FISH, of course!

Listen, you BIG, FAT COW -- you aren't welcome in ANY country as far as I'm concerned!!!

The EEC has recently announced changes to the HWR limit (height/weight ratio), please check on the new figure. <BR> In addition, visitors who are below the limit are now being offered surgery as an alternative to quarantine.When you get to the immigration desk just ask for "emergency liposuction" & they will be sure to take care of you. <BR> Changes to the "Ugly Limit" are also in the pipeline, but black reebocks are still only permitted if accompanied by enough anklefat to hide them completely.

And you all call yourselves adults!!! Pathetic, listen to you......

Geez, you guys! Lighten up! What if this is a real post? It could be. Even if it isn't, there are bound to be overweight people in this forum and why insult them? I happen to know a few really obese people (no, I'm not one of them) who refer to themselves in this manner. Like she said, she attempts to have a little humor in her life. Even if this is a totally fake post, don't you think there are overweight people who are curious about traveling in Europe? The people who respectfully responded, or billy goats, could be offering useful information to SOMEONE, if not Bertha. Can't you just ignore a post if you think it's a troll? What difference does it make to you?

If this is a REAL posting, and the writing is concerned with flying coach, I hope the airlines instead of charging per seat will charge her (just as with overweight luggage) by the HxWxD, plus weight! I cannot imagine a sitting next to me in a small coach seat weighing over 400 pounds! That's just ludicrous and IMHO an outrage to think it's not an inconvenience sitting next to someone that heavy! <BR> <BR>Actually, I'm more concerned with that person's health (diabetes, hypertension, typical Sydrome X, etc.) and what would happen if in midair that person had to be administered to in a hurry! <BR> <BR>

Troll or not troll. <BR>It's when some of you begin responding in that totally uncalled for ,nasty way, that I feel like I am on the U.S. board. <BR>Those can be nasty people! <BR>and talk like this is just so uncalled for and juvenile (to be so mean ) <BR>what do you care if someone wants to troll? <BR>Does it ruin your day? <BR>Do you have to read the thread /respond to it? <BR>Does it ruin the fodor site for you so much you feel you must respond in such a manner? <BR>Do you really feel your responses are going to make trollers disappear? <BR>Actually, you are probably giving them more satisfaction than those who respond in all seriousness! <BR>nancy <BR>

Bertha <BR>You sound like my kind of gal. I do like my women big and soft. Will you marry me honey? I will take you to Branson on our honeymoon and we can spend a week taking in the great shows there like Donny Osmond, etc. Hugs and kisses. <BR> <BR>Bubba

I agree with Nancy completely! C'mon people, do you have to be so nasty? Why do you have so much hostility towards fat people? I'm sure they suffer enough without you giving them grief. And to Skinny, Bertha already said she was upgrading to business. I don't think her health is anymore your business than the person with a bad heart or whatever. <BR>Like my mom used to say, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Shame on you hooty, you really should have listened to your mom, even though she was overweight!

Admittedly, many people get their jollies by posting juvenailia in response to silly questions or obvious troll bait. In the case of Bertha, her question is clearly one or the other. A person her size gets gawked at no matter where on the globe she is. Europe would be no different from America. And she SURELY knows that she wouldn't fit into a coach seat unless she is so financially limited that she has never before been on an airplane. The whole "shoes/clothes/weight in Europe" thing is so overplayed on this site that it has become a standing joke. Why be surprised when people treat it as such?

The way I see it, trolling can be viewed either as an abuse of the forum or as a harmless game. <BR> <BR>One could believe that this forum is here to discuss real travel issues, not fake ones, so that makes trolling an abuse in the eyes of some people. If it is an abuse, people should not respond to it after it is a known troll, even if they think they have something interesting to say. <BR> <BR>If it is a harmless game (my own view), then I think the game should be played well. A clever troll should be on an interesting issue and plausible (eating weird food, Titanic, Toot Toot) and should not be readily detectible as a troll, like this one is. Once it is identified as a troll, the game is over, and winning troll is the one who generates the most responses. So again, people shouldn't respond once it is a known troll. I think it takes guts to call a troll a troll, particularly if you do it using your own name, and troll-spotting is a nice diversion. <BR> <BR>Sure, there are times when there is a real disagreement about whether someone is a troll (Plaza Hotel). That only adds to the fun. But to come on a thread like this and totally ignore the chance that this is a troll . . . That's just weird. <BR> <BR>So yes, it bugs me when people obviously do not read the whole thread and hop in to state an opinion when the game is over. And no, I'm not responsible for all of this trolling.

Another View: You obviously take this very seriously. <BR>I prefer to look at it differently. I see this as a place for people to ask questions and get answers from experienced travelers. If I don't have anything to offer (until now) I don't post anything. If I'm willing to spend the time responding to a post, I don't really care if it's 'real' or not. If it sounds like a legitimate question, I'll answer. If it's a stupid question, I just won't answer. <BR>It seems there are many people on this forum who think it's their duty to point out the trolls. Maybe some of us don't care. And how can you be so sure? The question may sound stupid, but still, who knows? And what's the harm in providing info that may be useful to some, even if the original posting was bogus?

Fair enough, Hooty. But I do appreciate having someone point out a troll if they actually provide good reasons to be suspicious. I don't want to waste my time crafting a thoughtful response to a fake question. Then I would be talking just to hear myself talk.

America has the highest obesity rate in the world. <BR> <BR>I 400 pound person would probably go un-noticed in the U.S. But on European streets, such a person would simply raise comments such as 'Look, there goes another American'. <BR> <BR>Large American tourists are very common in Europe these days, and we are quite used to them.

Jurgen, guten Tag! I think I have the answer to your puzzler. The reason most Europeans are thin is bacause the obese American tourists (like the great Bertha that started this whole thing) come over to your homeland, eat everything in sight, and then leave. Sort of like a swarm of locusts, stripping all cafes and shops of all food stuff. That means, of course, that you and your fellow countrymen must go hungry, thus staying slim. So you really should be saying Danke to Bertha and her ilk, since they are the ones that make sure you stay skinny. <BR> <BR>

Bertha, <BR> <BR>Are you sure your not a gun?

Didn't intend to respond to this one, but somethings must needs be said! First off, you simply can not NOT get in to a coach seat, let alone get out of one, so don't try. It is very harmful to sit tight and under pressure without getting up or moving about for long periods of time. People have died from this (no kidding). (Blood clots from the legs that travel to lungs and heart). If you are a serious poster (with a name like "Bertha" I doubt it) don't even attempt this feat. get into Business Class and enjoy the luxury. Best part is, they got lots of good EATS.