# Is this trolling?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [November 2, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168 "2001-11-02T18:31:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168/1 "2001-11-02T18:31:03Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> What I meant to say was the second question (negative mass), but saying Negative Momentum will probably get more people to respond to this thread.

I understand “sock puppet” but I guess I’m rather dense on the “trolling” concept.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [November 2, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168/2 "2001-11-02T19:13:47Z")

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[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=96752](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=96752)

No, that’s not trolling. Misleading thread titles are really frowned upon in the serious forums, but I think this was just his attempt to restate a not-very-easy-to-formulate question. Negative mass (if it exists) would imply negative “scalar momentum” (so called). I majored in physics in college and as you can see, I would have trouble formulating the question intelligently.

For the definition of trolling, see the Staff Report [What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtroll.html)

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168/3 "2001-11-03T03:29:22Z")

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It would have been trolling if the thread title had been something like, “Can a Big Black Stud Use Either Negative Mass or Negative Momentum on a Bound and Gagged Helpless White Female?” and _then_ had said, “What I mean to say was…but saying ‘big black stud’ will probably get more people to respond to this thread.”

The key words for distinguishing trolling, I think, are, “deliberately inflammatory and/or insulting”, and maybe it’s just because IANA physicist, but I fail to see anything inflammatory or insulting about either negative “mass” _or_ negative “momentum”.

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-trolling/91168/4 "2001-11-03T06:31:31Z")

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Thanks. I can see clearer, now.