what is a troll


In Usenet newsgroups and email discussion lists, a troll is not a grumpy
monster that lives beneath a bridge accosting passers-by, but rather a
provocative posting intended to produce a large volume of frivolous
responses. The term can also refer to someone making such a posting ("a
troll") or to the action ("trolling", "to troll").

The content of a troll posting generally falls into one of several
categories. It may consist of an apparently foolish contradiction of common
knowledge, a deliberately offensive insult to the readers of a newsgroup or
mailing list, or a broad request for trivial follow-up postings. The result
of such postings is frequently a flood of angry responses. In some cases,
the follow-up messages posted in response to a troll can constitute a large
fraction of the contents of a newsgroup or mailing list for as long as
several weeks. These messages are transmitted around the world to thousands
of computers, wasting network resources and costing money for people who pay
to receive Usenet news or download email. Troll threads also frustrate
people who are trying to carry on substantive discussions.

People post such messages to get attention, to disrupt discussion, and to
make trouble. The best response to a troll is no response. If you post a
follow-up message, you are contributing to the resulting clamor and most
likely delighting the troller. Before posting a response, consider the
following questions:

a.. Have responses already been posted by others?


b.. Will my post add any information that others are not likely to be
aware of already?


c.. Is the issue resolvable, or will discussion turn into name-calling?


d.. Should I send private email instead of posting publicly?


e.. Will I later regret the contents of what I am posting?
Please deal with trolls constructively, and do not participate in trolling.
You will help make Usenet and mailing lists much more enjoyable forums for
discussion.

http://kb.iu.edu/data/afhc.html


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