troll v.,n.
1. [From the Usenet group _alt.folklore.urban_] To utter
a posting on Usenet designed to
attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. Derives from the
phrase "trolling for newbies" which
in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", 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 YHBT. 2. 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 the 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, "Oh, ignore
him, he's just a troll." 3. [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.
Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a
narrower category than flame
bait, that a troll is categorized by containing some
assertion that is wrong but not overtly controversial. See also
Troll-O-Meter.
The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that
readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For example,
one not infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed the troll" as
part of a followup to troll postings.
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Troll-O-Meter n.
Common Usenet jargon for a notional instrument used to measure
the quality of a Usenet troll. "Come
on, everyone! If the above doesn't set off the Troll-O-Meter,
we're going to have to get him to run around with a big blinking
sign saying `I am a troll, I'm only in it for the controversy and
flames' and shooting random gobs of Jell-O(tm) at us before the
point is proven." Mentions of the Troll-O-Meter are often
accompanied by an ASCII picture of an arrow pointing at a numeric
scale. Compare bogometer.