Flag posts by trolls. If they are offensive, don't be afraid to use an offensive flag for them. If they are part of a larger pattern of trolling, use a custom flag and let us know that we should deal with the accounts involved.
Getting posts destroyed by community offensive / spam flags activates the anti-spam / anti-trolling system against these accounts and slows down their ability to post. Moderators destroying their accounts as trolls slows them down further (recreated accounts are immediately suspended by the system). It has been my experience that eventually enough friction builds up that it is no longer worthwhile for them to keep trolling and they move on.
Moderators rely on community members to be our first line of defense against trolls, so your flags really do matter. We can act proactively to catch new accounts as they are created, but community spotters are our best assets.
To your declined flag, the post itself seemed to ask a homework programming question and your flag consisted of only
Almost definitely a troll account. I was duped.
Out of context and looking at just that question, it isn't apparent why that post would be considered trolling. I can see why a moderator might have declined it. For posts that aren't obvious trolling, you might need to put a little more detail in your flags to make sure we connect them to other accounts or see why the question is considered trolling (fake programming languages, insulting wording in the code, etc.). Different moderators may handle different flags and not be aware of what others had acted on.
For the other posts you flagged, like the one where he threatened to blow up the White House, you didn't need to add much to get us to see what's wrong.
