What makes a user a "troll"?

Another question: have you ever been accused of “trolling”? What was your response?

A person that comes ONLY to start trouble and/ or fights.

Yes, it’s being thrown around here a lot lately by a new user.

Yes, I have, because I’m a middle of the road fiscal conservative/ social liberal and come from a red state, so people like to call me a troll when I aggravate them by speaking my truth. I really don’t care tbh.

Yeah, I have…by a really newbie here who didn’t know me at all. She just didn’t like the answer I gave so she called me a troll! LOL!

A lot of people use the term “troll” when they disagree or don’t get the answers they want (i.e. answers that completely agree with them). In other words, the word is misused by people who don’t understand or appreciate the concept of an “open forum”. Sure, if I joined a Republican forum and posted Democratic propaganda, that would be trolling. But this is an open forum; it doesn’t have a set ideology. It has guidelines for behavior, but expression of certain opinions alone should not be grounds for being considered “trolling”. But I find the word is sometimes used simply because a user is going against the grain with their answers.

Sometimes people’s perspectives (and definitions) are so different that they think that someone else writing from their perspective is ridiculous or baiting them or otherwise just trying to incite people rather than trying to communicate.

The US political context has gotten so polarized (and actual trolling so common) that people often react to each other as trolls.

In my mind, a troll is someone who goes from site to site choosing a topic to disagree with in such a manner as to inflame the members of the site to the point of attack. They get their jollies pissing off people they don’t even know & then they leave to choose another site to repeat the process. As with many words, the meaning has degraded to the point it now means that your answer doesn’t agree with their answer & they can’t defend their answer any further so they call you names!!!

It’s a shit word it really is, I prefer the word ”cunt” & what makes people that way is, well…I don’t rightly know but still :D

There are different ways to troll.
We had one person here that told many different stories that contradicted each story he told. He was in rehab, his girlfriend was pregnant, he was in college, he was graduating from high school at the same time he was in rehab. Apparently he just wanted attention, or someone to acknowledge his existence. He finally confessed that he was 12 years old and just messing around. I think you have to be 13 to be a member and he left the tide pool.

Loli, and ucme… (With all love, and respect.)

A person purposefully cruising for figurative bruising.

I think people who post a question and then never come back could be called trolls.

Haha been called much worse, mostly from recently fired staff…which is fair enough.

Trolls use trolling for general destruction and usually for little more than their own petty amusement.

I think trolling is just a tool and there is such a thing as “constructive trolling” ® Trolling can be used to break apart ideological herding, echo chambers and long held beliefs to inject new ideas, facts and get real discussions moving when they have become stale but not yet fully resolved. The less obvious the better otherwise it does not work. wink wink

@ucme . I said “with all love, and respect.”...

Yes I can read dear boy & I said “Haha” which means I took it rather well does it not?

Indeed. Just making sure.

^I like the way he does it!! He and loli..both are some special kind for sure..)

Agreed.

@ucme and @ragingloli are not trolls. We all know and expect the wait staff and tentacle rape.

<—This.

You are not a troll @Blondesjon. You are the maker of the worlds oldest, longest Fluther question and it’s good to see you.