whats trolling mean essactly?

Mistara

so when someone is trolling the forum, what are they doing?

i assumed it meant leaving spam, but not sure this is correct.

:roll:

WendyLuvsCatz

picking on others causing trouble, running amok, being a general nuisance

Richard Haseltine

Trolling in the specific context of online communities means posting to elicit a negative reaction - deliberately stirring up arguments and so on. However, it can also, more broadly, mean trying to get any response (trolling for participants in a creative project, for example). It doesn't have anything to do with spam.

robkelk

Consider somebody standing on a riverbank, fishing. He baits the hook, sends the line out, and trolls it in, seeing whether he's gotten any bites. That's where the term comes from.

The negative sort of internet troll writes a message designed to "hook" someone into an argument, baits it with a topic line that'll get people to read it, sends it out into a forum, and sees whether he's gotten any bites from other forum posters. This sort of behaviour can be distracting and disruptive on a forum, so it usually isn't particularly appreciated.

TJohn

The Urban Troll.

CypherFOX

Greetings,
There's a significant percentage of people who suffer from SIWOTI disease. Internet trolls often bait their hooks with controversial statements that are likely to pull out SIWOTI sufferers from multiple sides. Then as people disagree about what 'wrong' means, the trolls sit by the sidelines...occasionally baiting additional statements to roil the fires.

As per Urban Dictionary:

One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.

There are a huge variety of trolls, and some folks can end up being trolls without even realizing it.

-- Morgan

jestmart

My next nitpicking comment could be considered a mild form of trolling. Robkelk, in fishing trolling means to fish from a small slow moving boat, therefore your analogy is flawed. See wasn't that mean and petty of me.;)

Hera

Flooding the treads with nonsense stuff and totally unrelated stuff can also be considered trolling. Like those people who turn up and post about some believed injustice everywhere and cannot understand when they are supposed to stop, that no one cares. Sometimes these people tend to post loooooooooooooooong posts or several posts in a row. And if you block them they may return under another avatar and start all over again.

Spambots are not trolls however. Since they are not supposed to be bestoved with emotional intelligense but just post gazillions of junk about russian girls or viagra or stuff. However both bots and trolls can be sorted under the same header - annoyances.

Chohole

jestmart said:

My next nitpicking comment could be considered a mild form of trolling. Robkelk, in fishing trolling means to fish from a small slow moving boat, therefore your analogy is flawed. See wasn't that mean and petty of me.;)

Not always Although mostly used behind a moving boat, can be used for shore fishing by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. :coolsmirk:

So now I am nitpicking your nitpick. I am being petty on a jetty :coolgrin:

brainmuffin

Years ago we called them flamebaiters.

robkelk

chohole said:

jestmart said:

My next nitpicking comment could be considered a mild form of trolling. Robkelk, in fishing trolling means to fish from a small slow moving boat, therefore your analogy is flawed. See wasn't that mean and petty of me.;)

Not always Although mostly used behind a moving boat, can be used for shore fishing by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. :coolsmirk:

So now I am nitpicking your nitpick. I am being petty on a jetty :coolgrin:
Drove a Chevy to the levee to be petty on a jetty... no, that isn't how it goes. :cheese:

I suppose one could internet-troll from a cellphone, making the slow-moving boat analogy appropriate - but the term predates mobile computing.

StratDragon

the fishing analogy makes sense, but I always thought it was a Troll like the monster who lives under a bridge. Now does enjoy your ban have something to do with underarm deodorant for the Troll? As you know those things are quite smelly.

further reading (and boy I learned a lot!)
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/trolling

LeatherGryphon

One of the most beloved types of trolls is the grump. They harrumph and snicker their way into our hearts like the uncle never invited to family holiday dinners. Dedicated to pointing out flaws in anything they believe they are experienced at, their elevated point of view entrances their audience like a mangy kitten photo.

Mistara

Trolllalalala :lol:

Barubary

Thankfully, there are several simple images to explain a art of trolling: