What exactly is a troll?

[Merryj]

I am serious - I see that on here but not really sure what the definition of a troll is? Someone who just stirs up controversy?

[LSAT]

I am serious - I see that on here but not really sure what the definition of a troll is? Someone who just stirs up controversy?

You Got It..

[DreamDiver]

From Urban Dictionary:
'Troll - n. One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument'

Fortunately it takes a lot to ruffle feathers around here, and most of the responses the troll has gotten have been along the lines of 'What can you possibly gain from being so negative? You're only harming yourself.' The current troll is somewhere between a Mr. Trololo and a rickroll - almost laughable, except it's not worth the energy, though possibly worth a head-swivel of mild derision.

[tschultz]

[Merryj]

Thanks! and thanks for the laughs this morning!

[DoriC]

I just had a thought! Since these trolls find their way here looking for trouble, is it possible that severe sleep deprivation is behind it all?

[Pugsy]

is it possible that severe sleep deprivation is behind it all?

You are too kind Dori...
A person doesn't have to be sleep deprived to be a butthead. Some people just like to pick a fight and revel in the disruption they cause. Some people are just nut jobs, sickos, want to be the center of attention even if it is negative attention. They don't care what response they get...just as long as they get a response to give them an excuse to keep stirring things up. Even telling them to go away feeds them.
This is why I don't even bother responding to troublemakers.

[DreamDiver]

I just had a thought! Since these trolls find their way here looking for trouble, is it possible that severe sleep deprivation is behind it all?

Health insurance doesn't cover trolldom. I think it's a separate diagnosis.

[SleepyToo2]

Isn't it a pre-existing condition, therefore excludes coverage by most insurance companies at present?

[DreamDiver]

Isn't it a pre-existing condition, therefore excludes coverage by most insurance companies at present?

Probably. More like a growth, eh? Perhaps it can be excised.

[chunkyfrog]

It is largely considered a moral weakness, not a physical disability.

[DocWeezy]

It is largely considered a moral weakness, not a physical disability.

That means that in the new DSM V it could be considered a "syndrome" and well on its way to becoming a true mental illness... I can see it now, permanent disability because of trolldom. Hmmm--we could have some fun figuring out what the symptoms would be that someone would have to meet in order to be diagnosed with trolldom syndrome.

Weezy

[DoriC]

What I mean is what attracts them to this specific forum unless maybe it's sheer anger and frustration that most of us have secured the knowledge and been able to obtain successful therapy and they're still struggling to get a handle on it and refuse to ask for meaningful help. Something like that? I'm not comparing these trolls to those who have true mental illness but the effects of untreated OSA can make people do strange things. I'm just curious why they come here if they're not connected to OSA in some way?

[PST]

I'm showing my age here, but I remember a pre-internet use of the word "troll" that was much narrower than the definition that is common today. This was back in the 80s (and started even earlier) in online bulletin board systems (BBSs), which were local online communities we dialed into using a modem, and Usenet, which was a sort of distributed collection of proto-forums where copies of all the posts were stored on each local BBS but were exchanged among the mainframes so everyone eventually saw posts from distant locations. The Jargon File, a dictionary of hacker terms dating from the mid-70s but frequently revised over the years, defines "troll" this way:

"1. v.,n. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. 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. See also YHBT."

Now it's more of a general term for bad online behavior, associated more frequently with Norse monsters than fishing. No one would talk about a brilliant troll these days the way they did then. I think of the old meaning, though, when someone makes an offhand comment about ObamaCare that leads me to reply by pounding out eight indignant paragraphs. I gotta learn not to always rise to the bait!

[SleepingUgly]

I thought a "troll" was anyone who said something we didn't want to hear. No?