“Trolling? What is trolling?”
“I have no idea. I think it's a type of fishing.”
1. (v.) [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To make a post, comment, or remark designed to attract predictable and/or angry responses; or, the post itself. The well-constructed troll is a post, comment, or remark that induces many angry or predictable responses, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it, which often includes participation.
2. (n.) An individual who chronically, or even casually trolls in sense 1; regularly, or even casually, posts, or makes remarks or comments meant for little other purpose than to do any of the following:
- Annoy, manipulate, or enrage others.
- Disrupt, divert, or end a conversation, argument, or something of that nature.
- Gain personal satisfaction or amusement.
- Distribute bad, misleading, or malicious advice.
3. (n.) The comment(s), post(s), or remark(s) that are intended to bait others into “biting”.
Etymology: From the phrase “trolling for suckers” which in turn comes from “trolling”, a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. This draws many parallels with trolling: a troll posts 'bait' where they are likely to get a 'bite'.
Note: Some people claim that the troll (in sense 1) is a smaller category than flamebait, and that a troll is categorized by containing some assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. Others maintain that this merely constitutes a 'sophisticated' troll.
This definition is from my understanding of the word as a troll raised primarily on IRC. For more, I would suggest reading any well-known and controversial forum. If you want to deal with them, read: Note to self: Ignore the troll.