Troll Face War
The Troll Face War was a series of major battles that took place on Canvas 41. On one side was Pride Faction supported by the League of Factions, and on the other side was a coalition of volunteers from Discord, 4chan, and 2ch loosely organized by members of The Refuge.
Timeline
October
First Battle - Oct. 14
Repelled by Pride with some LoF help. A projected 40 users were involved.
Second Battle ("Operation Backspring") - Oct. 17
The trollface got alarming progress but faced an overwhelming counterattack from Pride and the League of Factions. The largest battle yet, LoF was heavily involved, more than 115 accounts fought in this battle alone.
Smaller skirmishes - Oct. 18-23
Many griefs against the Pride template of varying intensity.
Third Battle - Oct. 24
A smaller battle which was won by Pride and the LoF after an intense and slow counter-invasion. Around 90 accounts were involved.
Trump sign attacks and griefing - Oct. 24-29
Pride made two concentrated efforts to cover a Trump sign made by some of the trollfacers; these were repelled. The Grilled-Scrung Fan Club and its affiliates also tried later but were defeated.
"Fourth Battle" and heavy griefs - Oct. 31
The smallest attack, repelled by Pride without LoF help. A projected 30 users were involved.
November
Fifth Battle ("Operation Iris") and attempted talks - Nov. 1
The troll facers flattened Pride resistance, and the LoF rushed into the conflict with not enough troops, leading to a defeat for the Pride-LoF side. This was the first time the trollface was fully completed. The defenders later reorganized and waged a grueling 9-hour counterattack to retake the template. During this time peace talks broke down between the two sides.
Sixth Battle, peace deal, and Turkish lira conflict - Nov. 2
While many Pride and LoF members were sleeping, a group of trollfacers rebuilt the troll face to somewhat light resistance. Peace talks restarted, leading to a non-aggression agreement and allowing Pride to build its template somewhere else--over the Turkish lira. However, the treaty faced immediate problems as 2ch rejected it and a large section of the other trollfacers followed Pride to their new location, spearheading continual attacks. Finally, Pride Faction announced that due to stress and it being so close to the US presidential election, they would temporarily stop Pxls projects. The League of Factions pulled out shortly after the announcement, effectively ending the war.
Aftermath
YOIB later started to cover the finished trollface with their own art, intending to move it somewhere else.
Analysis
Groups involved
Trollfacer Side (The Trollface Coalition, Troll Empire, Troll Ethnostate)
- Pxls Peaceful Protest: The main raid server for the Discord volunteers. Approximately 115 members. Spawned several subgroups which are detailed below.
- Trollistan: A subgroup closely aligned with the main raid server that also acted as a kind of network between the other splinter factions of the trollfacers.
- Trollface Peaceful Protest: A distraction/trick server that was meant to lure in Pride members and defenders so they could be "boofed".
- Taco Bell Clan: Another subgroup... exact purpose and size unknown.
- 2ch: A decent chunk of 2chers were recruited to join the raids late in the war, starting with the Fifth Battle of The Trollface and taking an active role from then on.
- 4chan: During at least two of the trollface battles, the attackers turned to 4chan as a measure of gaining reinforcements to stop a counterattack. Later, they directly recruited from 4chan in order to grow their numbers for the Fifth Battle of the Trollface onward.
- The Refuge: Members of the Pxls faction The Refuge played a key role in organizing the Coalition, and The Refuge also officially fought in the First and Second battles of the Trollface.
Defending Side
- Pride Faction: Fought against the defenders in every battle.
- League of Factions: Supported Pride Faction throughout the war, launching four operations to ward off the trollfacers.
- Grilled-Scrung Fan Club: Acted as co-belligerents during the war, protecting a rainbow sans template against trollfacers but eventually being defeated. Also offered minor support during the various battles of the trollface.