What is trolling?

Question

I have heard this term used quite a bit but don't understand its meaning. Is it just for adoption. Please advise so I understnad the lingo better.

Cheers,

jenn

Answer 1

People that are trolling are basically people that flame and cause trouble. They join forums or jump into chatrooms with the sole intention of offending people or stirring stuff up.  For example, someone that is anti-religion pops into a Christian chat to heckle and mock the beliefs of the people in the forum or chat.

Answer 2

Oh my gosh!  I feel so ancient.  I thought that trolling with respect to adoption related to trolling in as in fishing.  Meaning, "to fish with a moving line" or "a line trailed behind a boat".  When I was a kid we trolled on our boat as a cheap, lazy way to catch a fish.  Hmmm.  I think my ancient way of thinking is quite accurate in adopto-land.

Answer 3

Yahoo defines it as:

A "troll" is someone who intentionally and persistently posts inflammatory messages about sensitive topics to bait users into responding or provoke a confrontation. We also consider people to be trolls when they persistently misuse product features such as the ratings system to negatively target others.

Answer 4

Trolling is a form of Fishing. Gee wiz

Answer 5

Ditto kim, I couldn't have said it better.

Answer 6

"Trolling" is internet message-board lingo for when someone pops into a conversation for the sole purpose of stirring up trouble or causing drama.

It's not adoption specific, or even Y!A specific.