# What is a troll?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [April 15, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707 "2000-04-15T00:16:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\
**Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/1 "2000-04-15T00:16:00Z")

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Well, the SDMB is getting even more prominent on [www.straightdope.com.](http://www.straightdope.com.) Not only are they pointing the casual visitors to the more interesting threads here (in the new ‘Threadspotting’ link), but the most common scourge of definition and confrontation was addressed in this mailbag article: [What is a troll?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mtroll.html)

I think the definition given pretty closely fits with my sense of the word.

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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:** [April 15, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/2 "2000-04-15T00:52:00Z")

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As was pointed out just yesterday by **2sense** in General Questions ([State Borders](http://boards.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/007536.html)), a Troll is a resident of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. They live below the Macinac Bridge.

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Work is the curse of the drinking classes. (Oscar Wilde)

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**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/3 "2000-04-16T08:44:00Z")

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One troll in all of recorded history lived under a bridge, and they’re all typecast for the rest of eternity. Sheesh.

Real trolls generally live inside mountains.

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/4 "2000-04-16T18:55:00Z")

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Yeah, let’s not have an stereotyping around here! That’d be speciesism, that would!

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**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/5 "2000-04-16T19:14:00Z")

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I heard he was leaving the bridges and going solo, irreconcilable artistic differances I believe.

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**Author:** ![troll3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9f8e36/32.png) [@troll3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troll3)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2000, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/1707/6 "2000-06-26T16:49:27Z")

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Trolls are not gone. Don’t talk of them in the past tense.