I like to think I'm fairly internet savvy, but on some sites I visit I've seen someone describe another poster as a "troll", and I don't know what this is.

By Ilovetom on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 08:48 pm:

LOL. I post some at askisadora and trolls there are usually people who have other user names and like to come on as a made up name to harass someone else on the board.

Pretty funny sometimes, but sometimes it's ugly.

By Kate on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 08:55 pm:

In my experience there are not regulars using a different name, but strangers, or lurkers at best, who come on and try to stir things up, then leave.

By Jessicac1979 on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:44 pm:

my friend is a memeber of a twins message board and she was talking about the whole troll thing and i had no idea what she was talking about she had to explain it to me...so i didnt know either till about a month ago and i have been on the internet for about 7yrs now!

By Sunny on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 - 09:54 pm:

Troll
(v.) (1) To deliberately post derogatory or inflammatory comments to a community forum, chat room, newsgroup and/or a blog in order to bait other users into responding.
(2) To surf the Internet.

(3) To hang around a chat room reading the posts instead of contributing to the chat.

(n.) One who performs any of the above actions.

Also: Internet Troll

By Janet on Friday, April 23, 2004 - 09:49 am:

I post at a website/chat room where trolls run rampant! Some people have two or three names, just to make things awful. I wouldn't want to be a moderator there... you have it easy here, Ginny!

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, April 23, 2004 - 10:46 am:

Janet, one of the reasons we "have it easy" (which is occasionally open to debate) is that (a) there are rules and (b) 99% of the people here follow the rules. For example, members are only allowed one username (unless, of course, they register from a second email address and lie on the registration form), and we bounce people who "run rampant"

But mostly what makes the job fairly easy is the character and quality of the members.

By Insaneusmcwife on Friday, April 23, 2004 - 11:08 am:

Well I guess I'm a part time Troll because I read a lot of what is on here but I don't always post, and I enjoy a little surfing once and a while (when I have time, which isn't very often).

By Dawnk777 on Friday, April 23, 2004 - 03:28 pm:

Actually, someone who just reads and doesn't post is a lurker, not a troll. Trolls try to stir things up and then run away.