What is a troll?

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I've only been online about six months so I don't know what a troll is,I don't want to be one.The only trolls I know about live under bridges and bother goats and as for trolling that sounds like a fishing boat motor or guys looking for chicks in bars.Someone please educate me on this.

It's generally accepted that a troll is someone who posts controversial material with the sole intention of provoking the anger of others. Unfortunately, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to know with any great degree of certainty what a person's intentions really are.

Of course, some folks seem to think that anyone who disagrees with them, or who relies heavily on facts and reason is also a troll.

Fnord - stop trolling!

Thank you for the answer.I like to hear differences of opionion but I have noticed that a few people (just a few) can get somewhat nasty if they don't like the post,I hope I haven't been guilty of that.I try to keep my temper in check.

I didn't used to know what a troll was either. I figured it was some sort of American slang.

Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29

Thank you Cornflake,lots of info there.

It's a pretty vague word, but I think a "troll" is someone who posts an opinion primarily for the purpose of getting a reaction out of sensitive people.

The opinion doesn't have to be controversial everywhere, it just has to go against the grain of the particular context. For example, I could troll Stormfront by posting opinions about how race isn't very important.

It can be an opinion that the troll genuinely holds, or it can be an opinion that the troll doesn't actually hold. The point is that it doesn't matter whether the troll actually believes it, since the primary goal is to get a reaction. For example, a committed white supremacist could troll Stormfront just as well as I could. In fact, they could probably do a better job, since they would know exactly what to say.

So what is the difference between a troll and somebody who just has a controversial opinion? It all comes down to what their motive is. And that can be very hard to figure out sometimes.

Also, sometimes a troll will not use an "opinion" to do their work. There are other variants. One common strategy that a troll might use is to pretend to be ignorant about a topic in order to get a reaction out of people who are obsessed with the topic. Or a troll might intentionally use bad English in order to get a reaction out of grammar Nazis.

Troll usually means to post something in intent to provoke others like get a emotional response. But it can also mean anything like if I were to jump on a automobile forum and say they are polluting the earth and say how bad cars are for the environment, yeah that will get me labeled as a troll. Or if I jump on a forum about a movie and bash it, that will get me seen as a troll. It is considered trolling to jump on a forum and bash something the forum is about. Coming on here and posting about curing autism will be seen as trolling or posting how lot of people here don't have AS. Trolling can also mean someone who comes online and pretends to be something they are not. Someone may come on a forum and pretend to have social anxiety but really they don't. Someone can pretend to be a different person like a guy pretending to be a young woman and stuff he posts about himself are all lies. Some people use the internet as virtual reality as if it's a game because to them the internet is just a game and it's where they can be anything they want to be so they make up stories and all based on their fantasy. I also think arguing just to argue is trolling. If you don't care what someone thinks and you just decide to argue with them for the heck of it acting like you do care, trolling. Even regular members can troll.

I also have another word, "trollish" and it means someone who is acting like a troll but isn't. Instead, what they are doing is trollish. I am not the only one with that term.


But lot of people misuse the word troll because they throw that word around. They call you one if they don't agree with you, if you say something you don't like, if you win an argument and they lost or because they were losing an argument, you say something controversial and they don't like it. Lot of people get accused of being one. Sometimes it's hard to tell if someone is being a troll. As the poster above me said, a troll may use poor grammar intentionally but unfortunately people with learning issues get accused of being one due to it. Just another example of throwing the word around.

Thanks for all the replies,all this is new to me,I appreciate the advice.