# What exactly is a troll? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 15, 2000, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333 "2000-09-15T18:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/1 "2000-09-15T18:15:29Z")
I’ve been on the internet for 12 years, and I really thought I knew what a troll was, and I was always pretty sure I wasn’t one. But lately, anything I post around here is accused of being a troll. Am I missing something, or am I being unfairly judged? Does troll have a more expansive meaning on this board than elsewhere online, or did this term make an evolutionary leap in meaning while I wasn’t paying attention? ---
**Author:** ![Bilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@Bilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilder)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/2 "2000-09-15T18:21:18Z")
Everyone who yells Troll is being somewhat unfair. They’re supposed to tell (via email) the mods of trouble, not fan the flames with insults. That’s why there’s the phrase DNFTTH. ---
**Author:** ![Bilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@Bilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bilder)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/3 "2000-09-15T18:25:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alphagene \* > \*\*Kelli, next time you get suspicious about someone being a sockpuppet, email a mod or admin. Clearly this guy loves attention. I’m sure he starts humping some guy’s leg the minute he sees his name being discussed. > > Don’t get me wrong. One of the things I love about us SDMB members is that we get ferocious when the integrity of the board is threatened by gastropods like trolls, sockpuppets and drive-by witnesses. Hell, we just recently scared off a pathetic infestation. But don’t waste any more board space than these guys already do. > > There are no awards, real or apparent, for publicly outing sockpuppets. Besides, chances are, we mods smelled a rat before you did. > \*\* ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/4 "2000-09-15T19:36:19Z")
Over the past few years, the term “troll” has begun to evolve from its origins. Just as “bastard” no longer implies an illegitimate birth, “troll” increasingly no longer implies one who trolls. It is becoming a handy insult, largely because of its double meaning of “one who trolls” and “little annoying thing with big hair.” I’ve been playing in the 'net for about as long as you, Joel. I have seen “troll” used as an all-purpose insult many times in the past, but until fairly recently the number of people who understood its original usage far outweighed the number who did not. To my understanding, if you post simply to get a rise out of people, you’re trolling. I’ve done it, and i think almost everyone has as well. But a single trolling post does not a troll make. I prefer to aviod the noun, personally. There are so many better terms one can use when one desires to flame someone. ---
**Author:** ![Fonz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Fonz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fonz)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2000, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/5 "2000-09-15T19:42:31Z")
And it’s not nice to watch Here’s some official words to consider: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alphagene \* > \*\* > … > But there has been a trend of posters publicly and falsely accusing other posters of not being who they say. It created a lot of confusion, to say the least. It also has the potential to piss a lot of people off. I wanted to discourage that activity in my forum. Especially since the negative aspects can be avoided by email to a mod. > > Let’s just say that you weren’t the first to notice similarities between Prism and Serlin, Drain. I’m not saying that your suspicions are unfounded. And I appreciate your initiative and your desire to point out a violation of board rules. I’m half Italian, I appreciate loyalty. > > I just don’t want a trend starting in the Pit. > > Alphagene \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2000, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/6 "2000-09-17T01:53:20Z")
There is a difference between a troll and a sock puppet. A sock puppet is one poster posting under dual names (now a big no-no) so that he can agree with himself: POSTER: I think X SOCKPUPPET: BRILLIANT POINT, Poster! etc. A sock puppet can also be a different human being (presumably) who nevertheless exists only to parrot the thoughts of a particular poster, or back up what that poster says, with no evidence of independent brain activity. A troll, IMO, is someone who posts disingenously, in order to rile people up or cause reactions, as opposed to posting to share experiences or learn. A troll may also be a person who posts from a position he or she does not believe in (outside of the obvious context of a formal debate, where we agree that I will argue “pro” and you will argue “con”) solely to get into gratuitous arguments with people. Examples of trollish posts, in my opinion, include the obvious “Why are fags allowed to live?” (not, to my knowledge, a real example); the semi-obvious “Hey fundie Christians! Come amuse me by trying to convert me!”; and the less obvious “Do not do [a particular thing], for if you do you are doing the work of Satan!” (backed up with scripture), from someone who neither believes in the inviolacy of scripture nor in the existence of Satan. These last two are real examples, and are, of course only IMO. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2000, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-troll/33333/7 "2000-09-17T02:08:16Z")
[What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtroll.html) a mailbag page by _SDSTAFF David and SDSTAFF Ed_