trolling

Ted Frank (thf2@midway.uchicago.edu) wrote:

    > The purpose of trolling is not to "deliberately start a flame
    > war".  Deliberately starting a flame war is flame-baiting, and
    > requires absolutely no intelligence to post something obscene
    > that'll get people mad.
    >
    > Trolling is more subtle. It's a tactic to discourage flaming,
    > by posting intelligently and cleverly crafted (but marked)
    > inaccuracies; someone attempting to flame a posted troll finds
    > that he has acted too rashly and has succeeded only in making
    > a fool of himself. It's a device to teach people not to
    > immediately hit "F" to demonstrate how superior they are to
    > the great unwashed uninformed. It reinforces netiquette;
    > compare flame-bait, which encourages the breakdown of
    > netiquette.
    >
    > A good troll is an impressive thing.
    >
    > Anyone can start a flamewar. Go to group X and post "X
    > SUCKS!!!!". Trolling is much more difficult.