Definition

Before I start investigating into the darkest lurks of the internet, I just want to first give a variety of definitions on "trolling". This is because not everyone recognizes it, and may characterize it as "cyber bullying" which is considered a separate term since recently. Also, with the diversity of social networking contexts nowadays, each group may have a different definition.

The following are valid definitions coming from different sources, tracing back from old to new age interpretation of the term:


Troll definition: "Trolling is a type of fishing from a boat, where the bait (on a line) is dragged through the water in an area likely to contain the sought-after fish. The canonical internet troll is named because of the similarity to this fishing behavior - the troll is dragging the bait (argument) through the target area. The fact that trolls are also malignant faerie that live under bridges also plays into this name. [Trawling is net fishing by surrounding a school of fish with a large net - quite a dissimilar tactic]" http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TrollDefinition


Wikipedia: "In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

Urban Dictionary: "Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it's the internet and, hey, you can." http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trolling

The Online Slang Dictionary: "to attempt to incite a negative or argumentative reaction in an online discussion." http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/troll


By the looks of it, trolling definitely has a negative connotation. Personally, I still find these definitions problematic because, based on my experience, it comes with a wide range of elements: type of community, language, culture, discussion topic, gender, race, images, etc. This is why further exploration is needed.