What are trolls

[buggsy23]

I see this often , probably all newbies see it, so who are they.

[PST]

I see this often , probably all newbies see it, so who are they.

The meaning of the term has evolved. If you go way back to the days of e-mail lists and usenet news groups, before the world wide web, it pretty clearly meant someone with a talent for eliciting an overreaction from others. The usage derived from the fishing term: to troll was drag a line through the water and see who would bite. The troll was not necessarily abusive. The New Hacker's Dictionary, which is a good source for old usage, defines the verb to troll:

"To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in turn comes from mainstream 'trolling', a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it."

These days, though, it is mostly used to refer to one who posts in any kind of abusive manner.

[6PtStar]

Here is one defination: In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum or chat ... Etymology. Generally they come in and don't register and stur everyone up and leave!!




Jerry

[Gerald]

I suspect that....if you could put a troll under a "psychological microscope"....you'd find a sociopath. The ones I've seen on this forum have been very hostile, cunningly smart, and very sociopathic.

Gerald

[Wulfman]

Google is your friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Den