Notes on  TROLL 

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.

2. n. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly
posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup,
discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy
someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact
that they have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand -
they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they
are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as
such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in,
"Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll." Compare KOOK.

3. n. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for CS
students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab
policies are followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking
in dark cavelike corners.

Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower
category than FLAME BAIT, that a troll is categorized by containing
some assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also
TROLL-O-METER.

The use of `troll' in any of these senses is a live metaphor that
readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For example, one
not infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed the troll" as part of
a followup to troll postings.

J3N Research Labs

---