Re: Trolls

The New Hacer Dictionary defines "troll" thusly:
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.
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 student.
Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are
followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking in dark
cavelike corners. (Check for yourself at
http://www.hack.gr/jargon/html/T/troll.html )

For a bit more information on the history of trolling as a practice,
and, hopefully, why it should be avoided, you can see the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll

And, so, in closing, let me say only, PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS!

Thank you,
Jim

          +-------------------+             .:\:\:/:/:.
          |   PLEASE DO NOT   |            :.:\:\:/:/:.:
          |  FEED THE TROLLS  |           :=.' -   - '.=:
          |                   |           '=(\ 9   9 /)='
          |   Thank you,      |              (  (_)  )
          |       Management  |              /`-vvv-'\
          +-------------------+             /         \
                  |  |        @@@          / /|,,,,,|\ \
                  |  |        @@@         /_//  /^\  \\_\
    @x@@x@        |  |         |/         WW(  (   )  )WW
    \||||/        |  |        \|           __\,,\ /,,/__
     \||/         |  |         |          (______Y______)
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
==================================================================

--
"Dost thou love life?  Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff
that life is made of."
-Ben Franklin