13-05-2003 02:24									#1
	Does Trolling Really Exist? Support Apolyton

I dunno, but to me it seems it is just a figment most of the time. I have a feeling that once people start to noticeablely lose an arguement or debate, they then take it to the extreme, in order to say, "oh, i was just trolling..." instead of admitting defeat. They use Trolling as a cover up to their true stupidity.

Or maybe im wrong. Maybe there are people who derive sick and sadistic pleasure from frustrating others with mock-hatred, stuborness, and stupidity. But im gonna stick to my hunch that trollers are just people looking for an escape out of a failed arguement, most of the time. Im not talking about those one liners mind you, but trolls that are lengthy and numerous posts.

thoughts?

	13-05-2003 02:27									#2
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Trolling is much more commonly an accusation, rather than an excuse.

	13-05-2003 02:27									#3
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It's more comfortable to label someone as a troll than admiting he's right. People label someone as a troll when they lose their arguments.

	13-05-2003 02:30									#4
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Can someone explain trolling to a person not familiar with every English slang word? Trolling to me means "drag the lure behind the boat and wait for the fish to bite".

	13-05-2003 02:34									#5
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When eep didn't post on comp.games.development.design It was sad day. And these days are withou spencer hignes and others, on history.medieval . Well everyone is wondering where are that fine trolls.

	13-05-2003 02:35									#6
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quote: Originally posted by paiktis22 It's more comfortable to label someone as a troll than admiting he's right. People label someone as a troll when they lose their arguments.

You TROLL!

	13-05-2003 02:45									#7
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quote: Originally posted by Olaf Hårfagre Can someone explain trolling to a person not familiar with every English slang word? Trolling to me means "drag the lure behind the boat and wait for the fish to bite".

Wow, that's surprisingly close to the definition being used here. When someone is trolling a thread, they are posting specifically inflammatory comments with the hope that they will provoke even more inflammatory responses. Basically, trolls are just trying to piss people off.

	13-05-2003 02:47									#8
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quote: Originally posted by Olaf Hårfagre Can someone explain trolling to a person not familiar with every English slang word? Trolling to me means "drag the lure behind the boat and wait for the fish to bite".

5. What is a Troll?

On Usenet, a Troll is someone who posts messages in newsgroups with the deliberate intent of provoking flames or heated discussion or, in the case of a destructive troll, an attempt to destroy the group.

	13-05-2003 02:50									#9
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I know I have genuinely trolled several times.

Anyway, it hardly a phenomenon that's restricted to the internet...

	13-05-2003 02:54									#10
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I always imagined the origin of trolling to come from Troll (the creature) and never once imagined that it could come from the fishing term...weird.

Usually, when I see someone call soemthing a troll, they found something offensive or inflammatory, and its their way of denouncing it without addressing it. Like the "troll rating"

	13-05-2003 02:54									#11
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Ahh, I remember trolling Finland's pre-eminent teen chatroom at kiss.fm... Namely playing a hardcore Christian in the goth/satanist section.

I have a feeling they didn't like me.

I tried the same in the RPG area but it wasn't as fun.

	13-05-2003 02:55									#12
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LINK!?

	13-05-2003 02:57									#13
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I actually think Bill Clinton and Al Gore were trolling when they accused Republicans of killing children every time some policy difference came up on virtually anything. Remember that?

	13-05-2003 02:58									#14
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Actually I have thought of trolling when looking at some of our politicians debating.

They are master trolls.

	13-05-2003 03:09									#15
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I think that trolling definitely exists. At least I hope it exists given the stupidity and ignorance of some posts.

I think it backfires whenever the troll gets involved in increasingly lengthy posts to defend their original trolling position. Then it is a question of who is trolling whom.

	13-05-2003 03:15									#16
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quote: always imagined the origin of trolling to come from Troll (the creature) and never once imagined that it could come from the fishing term...weird.

That's the beauty of the term. The verb, 'trolling' evokes fishing metaphors, while the noun, 'troll' evokes the picture of a smelly, ugly beast who lives under bridges hoping to eat children.

	13-05-2003 03:20									#17
	Re: Does Trolling Really Exist? Support Apolyton, buy Civilization: The Boardgame

quote: Originally posted by Kramerman Or maybe im wrong. Maybe there are people who derive sick and sadistic pleasure from frustrating others with mock-hatred, stuborness and stupidity thoughts?

It's called 'winding someone up' in the UK, and is considered both an artform and a form of entertainment. A sense of irony and an appriciation of sarcasm are essential which obviously excludes certain nationalities from participating.

	13-05-2003 03:23									#18
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It can be fun once in a while but even in the hands of a true master (cf. Julie Burchill, above) it gets tedious after a couple of rounds.

	13-05-2003 03:24									#19
	Re: Re: Does Trolling Really Exist? Inflate your Upload Space

quote: Originally posted by reds4ever It's called 'winding someone up' in the UK, and is considered both an artform and a form of entertainment. A sense of irony and an appriciation of sarcasm are essential which obviously excludes certain nationalities from participating.

Its called being a d!ckhead in here.

	13-05-2003 03:27									#20
	Re: Re: Re: Does Trolling Really Exist? Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Calc II Its called being a d!ckhead in here.

Many thanks, you've just proved my point!

	13-05-2003 03:31									#21
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is that what passes for clever in the UK reds? wow.

	13-05-2003 03:34									#22
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quote: Originally posted by yavoon is that what passes for clever in the UK reds? wow.

Where was 'clever' mentioned? or are YOU trolling ME.....?

	13-05-2003 03:35									#23
	Re: Re: Re: Re: Does Trolling Really Exist? Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

quote: Originally posted by reds4ever Many thanks, you've just proved my point!

	13-05-2003 03:36									#24
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quote: Originally posted by yavoon is that what passes for clever in the UK reds? wow.

quote: which obviously excludes certain nationalities from participating.

	13-05-2003 03:39									#25
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quote: obviously excludes certain nationalities from participating.

Stiff upper lip, and all.

	13-05-2003 03:40									#26
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Some people think I'm a troll. It's not true, I'm not trying to inflame people's emotions as stimulate their brain cells.

There's a difference. To me at least.

The UK pastime of "winding someone up" is more a form of our rather peculiar humour than an attempt to seriously hurt someone's feelings. It generally leads to a counterattack of the same nature.

It can occasionally lead to physical beatings... but hey, that's all part of the game.

	13-05-2003 03:42									#27
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Calc maybe i was wrong about 'certain nationalities'

	13-05-2003 04:53									#28
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heh, interesting. It might actually be fun to see a Troll thread where everyone tries to troll everyone else, and the best Troll wins...

	13-05-2003 05:01									#29
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quote: It might actually be fun to see a Troll thread where everyone tries to troll everyone else, and the best Troll wins...

Open your eyes! They're everywhere!

	13-05-2003 05:10									#30
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Of course!

what the hell am i thinking!?