# What is a Troll? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 26, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481 "2010-08-26T00:21:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/1 "2010-08-26T00:21:48Z")
I am a member on a few forums and I’ve heard people calling others “Trolls” for something that they post. I was just wondering what the term was and how it came to be. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/2 "2010-08-26T00:24:13Z")
[The Straight Dope.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1764/what-is-a-troll) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/3 "2010-08-26T00:26:09Z")
Check this thread from About This Message Board > **[What is trolling?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568299)** > > I’m apparently on thin ice in regards to trolling, and I may get banned if I continue to troll. Trouble is, I’ve got no fucking idea what trolling means exactly. So let’s discuss it. IMHO, “trolling” means the act of taking on a persona or... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/4 "2010-08-26T02:03:42Z")
Before the internet: A Monster from mythology. > **[Troll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll)** > > A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. > In later Scandinavian folklore, trolls became beings in their own right, where they live far from human habitation, are not Christianized, and are considered dangerous to human beings. Depending on the source, their appearance varies greatly; trolls m... Also a monter in a number of Fantasy Role-playing games, esp D&D. After the internet: (wiki) _In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[3] In addition to the offending poster, the noun troll can also refer to the provocative message itself, as in “that was an excellent troll you posted”. While the term troll and its associated action trolling are primarily associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels highly subjective, with trolling being used to describe intentionally provocative actions outside of an online context. For example, recent media accounts have used the term troll to describe “a person who defaces internet tribute sites with the aim of causing grief to families.”[4][5]_ ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/5 "2010-08-26T04:56:01Z")
I think Cecil’s column cited by **DCnDC** is correct: The term comes from the fishing technique, not, as most people seem to assume, from the monster. ---
**Author:** ![Livardo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/43a26b/32.png) [@Livardo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Livardo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/6 "2010-08-26T12:10:26Z")
This thread sucks and you suck … Sorry, I thought this question needed an example. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/7 "2010-08-26T12:11:31Z")
Yhbt yhl hand ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/8 "2010-08-26T12:43:01Z")
Someone you disagree with. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/9 "2010-08-26T14:46:26Z")
[This](http://www.timelesstrinkets.com/Other/Images/TrollHotPinkHairBaby.jpg), sir, is a troll. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/10 "2010-08-26T17:37:06Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I think Cecil’s column cited by **DCnDC** is correct: The term comes from the fishing technique, not, as most people seem to assume, from the monster. If you want strong evidence for that, dig up old USENET discourse in alt.folklore.urban, as referenced in his column: > [@](#): > > To be fair, not all trolls are slimeballs. On some message boards, veteran posters with a mischievous bent occasionally go “newbie trolling.” On the Usenet newsgroup alt.folklore.urban, as of a few years ago anyway, it was fairly common for pranksters to post known urban legends as fact in hopes of getting novice users to go, “No, REALLY?” Gotcha, sucker. From LONG before Cecil is referencing it. While AFU was a tight enough community for it to be maintained as sort of an amusing sport, it was clearly meant to refer to the fishing technique. If somebody was too obvious about the game, they would get accused of “trolling with a bare hook”, and so on. \A couple of the “old hats” were trollers par excellence, who actually raised the art to something more equivalent to fly-fishing. See the AFKAC.\ ---
**Author:** ![Punisher\_11B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9de0a6/32.png) [@Punisher\_11B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punisher_11B)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/11 "2010-08-26T20:38:49Z")
Thanks, your answers confirmed my suspicions but I had to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/12 "2010-08-26T23:09:22Z")
If you see DNFTT, it stands for “Do Not Feed the Troll” (ie, don’t respond, if you do you’re only giving them what they want) ---
**Author:** ![MeDrewNotYou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@MeDrewNotYou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeDrewNotYou)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-troll/551481/13 "2010-08-26T23:50:30Z")
I think the best way to learn is by the very NSFW\* [Encyclopedia Dramatica.](http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Main_Page) You can kind of think of it as Wikipedia written by trolls. [The article on trolls](http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Troll) gives a decent idea of what trolls and trolling are all about. It’s certainly a bizarre article, but trolling is often like that. \*-“Not Safe For Work” in Internet lingo