Can you define trolling?

Fishing in a motorized boat without casting.

The ugly creature that watches the bridge in the Grimms Fairy Tales. Ooops…that’s toll.

Saying something you don’t believe (or is a lie) just to start a fight.

What my partner and I do at sleaze bars.

@Sueanne_Tremendous How do you and your partner troll at sleaze bars?

Someone who ruins a thread, quip, chat room, on-line game, etc. on purpose. Someone who relentlessly tries to FSU.

I’ve never done this but way back when I was in college friend told me that he and his friends enjoyed trolling by a groups college women. “How do you do that?” I asked. He explained that one of his buddies would somehow stick his penis out the window as they drove by. Somehow they never got in trouble for it.

Pushing peoples’ buttons in different ways just to see their reactions and hyuk-hyuking about it. They seem to target people who are honest, open and feel strongly about their values. For some reason troll seem to look down on those traits and feel vindicated for using those traits against others. Maybe they can’t get satisfaction in other ways than to ridicule others and thinking others are stupid for falling for their trolling.

I have teenagers at the high school where I work that troll, in person. They set things in motion to cause trouble and emotional distress, then sit back and watch the show unfold and hyuk-hyuk about it. I’ve watched them and talked to them about their motives and I don’t think the ones online are much different.

An 16 feet tall monstrosity that uses tree trunks as weapons, and really can’t be dealt with unless you’re a pyro, or Gandalf. They usually have names like Fgprtmpfghrrtftpmfrtks, or seiferSEPHIROTH77jamesBONDlulzdethz.

Either that, or some online bullshit, I dunno.

Online, trolling is posting something deliberately offensive or controversial, purely for the purpose of getting a rise out of other people or starting arguments.

Because for some people, even negative attention is better than no attention at all.

Those big dumb pug ugly fuckers out of Harry Potter?
Or…...internet undesirables swimming in their own shit for kicks?

Well there are two types of trolls from my limited online experience. The first type of troll is the one that will change the subject of a thread to try to start arguments. The second type of troll is the one that will not offer any productive counter responses but instead result to name calling, using terms such as “ridiculous” or “pathetic” without offering a counter response on the reasons why and talking down to other users because their views are different the person they are attempting to offend (this is not debating but insulting). Unfortunately the latter category frequently gets away with this, even on fluther, especially on the social questions. There is a large difference between debating by countering another person’s points with actual data in a civil manner vs just blindly saying that somebody else’s ideas/opinions are ridiculous without offering a counter response as to why.

@Paradox25 It’s unfortunate but a great way to always deter the black and white facts in debate is to throw in emotional cause which is a tactic that always riles up the opponent. But a strong argument for me always recognizes the opposing statement yet has more evidence to back up its own.

@whitetigress I post my questions (except in rare circumstances) in general now and with good reasons. I’ve been on this site much longer than you so I’m speaking from experience and I would hope that you listen to some of my advice.

@Paradox25 I was agreeing with you…Lol not asking for your advice or giving any for that matter.