Troll

From iA wiki

See also: Sayings | People And Personae | Bad Guys

An internet user who posts messages deliberately degenerating a discussion. They may post numerous and often contradictory messages aiming to entice newbies into a heated discussion. Typical trollic posts will contain:

• Killer phrases - i.e. "Linux sucks"
• Lack real supporting evidence - i.e. "your operating system is slow and everyone knows it"
• Engage in ad hominem attacks - i.e. "you're an idiot, you suck at everything"
• Poison the well - i.e. "you Windows users can't possibly understand anything in computers"
• -isms - i.e. Racism, Sexism, Nationalism, etc.

They also tend to be rambling, dischordant, lengthy, and/or poorly written.

Also: Trolling (verb)

Related

• Flames / Flamebait

Links

• The Troll Thesis: A unique social movement? - itself probably to some extent a troll - "Simple Vandals or a Unique Social Movement? - A Psycho-Sociological Discourse on Internet Trolls"

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