23 Oct 12
2 edits
Originally posted by apathist1. A troll is someone who posts inflammatory or off-topic messages in an online forum, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response.
None of you can successfully define what a troll is.
2. A troll is someone who posts something for the sole purpose of inciting response or argument.
3. People toss the term around now for anyone they don't agree with, but that's just what the internet has done for society.
{all of the above are quotes from different web forums}
RHP posters use the word "troll" to cover all the various internet pests who disrupt the smooth flow of conversational chat in forum threads. We know the original meaning was narrower than this, but we're using it in its wider sense.
Posting racist, xenophobic or pornographic stuff earns a deletion and sometimes a forum or site ban, and rightly so. Posting irrelevant off-topic stuff, such as links to things which don't advance the discussion, is not in the same league and can be tolerated, provided that you don't have a short fuse. The General Forum is probably the only place on RHP where it SHOULD be tolerated, in my opinion.