32 lines
4.2 KiB
HTML
32 lines
4.2 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="no"?>
|
||
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>troll</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="../../jargon.css" type="text/css"/><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.61.0"/><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The Jargon File"/><link rel="up" href="../T.html" title="T"/><link rel="previous" href="Trojan-horse.html" title="Trojan horse"/><link rel="next" href="Troll-O-Meter.html" title="Troll-O-Meter"/></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">troll</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="Trojan-horse.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">T</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Troll-O-Meter.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr/></div><dt><a id="troll"/><dt xmlns="" id="troll"><b>troll</b></dt></dt><dd><p> 1. <span class="grammar">v.,n.</span> [From the Usenet group
|
||
<tt class="systemitem">alt.folklore.urban</tt>] To utter a
|
||
posting on <a href="../U/Usenet.html"><i class="glossterm">Usenet</i></a> designed to attract predictable
|
||
responses or <a href="../F/flame.html"><i class="glossterm">flame</i></a>s; or, the post itself. Derives
|
||
from the phrase “<span class="quote">trolling for <a href="../N/newbie.html"><i class="glossterm">newbie</i></a>s</span>”
|
||
which in turn comes from mainstream “<span class="quote">trolling</span>”, a style of
|
||
fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite.
|
||
The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and
|
||
flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do,
|
||
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. See also <a href="../Y/YHBT.html"><i class="glossterm">YHBT</i></a>.</p></dd><dd><p>2. <span class="grammar">n.</span> An individual who
|
||
chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames
|
||
or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no
|
||
other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are
|
||
recognizable by the fact that they have no real interest in learning about
|
||
the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame bait. Like the ugly
|
||
creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics,
|
||
and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in,
|
||
“<span class="quote">Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.</span>” Compare
|
||
<a href="../K/kook.html"><i class="glossterm">kook</i></a>. </p></dd><dd><p> 3. <span class="grammar">n.</span> [Berkeley] Computer lab
|
||
monitor. A popular campus job for CS students. Duties include helping
|
||
newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed. Probably so-called
|
||
because it involves lurking in dark cavelike corners.</p></dd><dd><p>Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a narrower
|
||
category than <a href="../F/flame-bait.html"><i class="glossterm">flame bait</i></a>, that a troll is
|
||
categorized by containing some assertion that is wrong but not overtly
|
||
controversial. See also <a href="Troll-O-Meter.html"><i class="glossterm">Troll-O-Meter</i></a>.</p><p>The use of ‘troll’ in any of these senses is a live
|
||
metaphor that readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For
|
||
example, one not infrequently sees the warning “<span class="quote">Do not feed the
|
||
troll</span>” as part of a followup to troll postings.</p></dd><div class="navfooter"><hr/><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="Trojan-horse.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="../T.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="Troll-O-Meter.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Trojan horse </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Troll-O-Meter</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
|