I know that a troll is a mythical creature, but I've noticed that people have been using the term a lot on here. Is this a new fad or something? Thanks in advance for your answers.
2007-02-21 14:41:06 · 3 answers · asked by Persephone 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, incorrect, inaccurate, absurd, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others. Trolls can also be existing members of such a community that rarely post and often contribute no useful information to the thread, but instead make argumentative posts in an attempt to discredit another person, more often than not based on what they thought was said rather than what was actually said by the other person, concentrating almost exclusively on facts irrelevant to the point of the conversation, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others. The key element under attack by a troll is the forum or groups hegemony. Hegemony refers to the recognized and agreed upon power structure of the said group or community. To this extent, a troll does not necessarily have to make malicious or incorrect comments. For example, a liberal minded person who approaches a forum frequented by right-wing neo-nazis, may be considered a troll, even if no lies or attacks are made.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
2007-02-21 14:45:36 · answer #1 · answered by Ben Aqui 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
a troll on here, like on most internet sites, is someone who comes on chiefly for the purpose of making trouble.
2007-02-21 22:53:23 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
asking a loaded question clearly designed to attack someone or get a heated response ... its a way to get attention.
2007-02-21 22:45:50 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋