How to find a troll?

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mobygeek

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#18576 15-Jan-2008 11:32

I was just looking at one of the linux discussions and one of the moderators said it was obvioulsy started as a troll. Or however you put it, please forgive my ignorance!

I am pretty naive sometimes, not that you would know, but how do you know when someone is trolling?

I was looking at another web site with blogs and comments and a few pages down the track someone decides there is a troll a-foot, and everyone agrees!

Got some ideas for me? Maybe the correct lingo would help...

ZollyMonsta

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#104936 15-Jan-2008 11:41

From wikipedia.com:

Troll

A commenter whose sole purpose is to attack the views expressed on a blog and incite a flamewar, for example, a liberal going to a conservative blog, or vice versa. The word trolling means literally 'to fish', ie. when the troll fishes for a clashback from the blog writer and/or pro commenters. Many trolls will leave their remarks on multiple posts and continue to visit the blog, sparking spirited debate amongst the blog's regular readers. Trolls' verbosity can range from eloquent to crass, although most trolls probably fall into the latter category. Originally, trolling only meant the custom where someone was commenting just to get a flamewar going, by using exaggarated points of view not held by themselves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_blogging_terms

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rscole86

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#104940 15-Jan-2008 11:51

A good place to look is under a bridge. You can tell which bridge to look under, as the grass will be greener on teh other side.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#104943 15-Jan-2008 11:55

This definition is interesting because it associates trolls with blogs - when in fact trolls exist for as long as discussions exist, and the name came to be in some early days of the pubic Internet.

There's a specific page about Trolls on Wikipedia with a lot more information.

mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#104946 15-Jan-2008 12:04

Wikipedia says we like to believe ourselves a/an Utopian community. Interesting with my last comments on naughty Gizmodo...

Actually it's a really interesting article. I'll see you later when I finish reading it!

TTFN

mobygeek

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#104952 15-Jan-2008 12:20

Hm, halfway thru the wikipedia article I find that sockpuppet does not mean 'too much information from a parent on sexual matters'... What am I going to do now?