- The act of deliberately posting inflammatory, provocative, offensive, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (like a forum, comment section, chat room, or social media platform).
- The primary intent is typically to provoke readers into an emotional response (anger, frustration), disrupt on-topic conversation, or generally cause trouble for amusement or malicious reasons.
Explanation
Origin
The term likely emerged in the early 1990s on Usenet forums.
Two common etymologies:
- 1. From trolling, a fishing technique of slowly dragging bait to lure fish. Online trolls bait users with provocative comments to get a reaction (take the bait).
- 2. From trolls of Scandinavian folklore, often depicted as ugly, disruptive creatures living under bridges (interfering with passage/communication).
Both images capture the disruptive and luring nature of online trolling.
Synonyms & Related Expressions
Alternatives
Slang/Informal:
- Being an asshole online
- Shit-stirring
- Getting a rise out of people
- Being deliberately obtuse
Milder/Descriptive:
- Being provocative
- Making inflammatory remarks
- Intentionally disrupting the conversation
More Formal:
- Engaging in disruptive online behavior
- Posting comments intended to provoke conflict
- Bad-faith participation
Situational Appropriateness
- Informal to semi-formal.
- Widely understood term when discussing online behavior, social media issues, community management, or cybersecurity.
Misunderstanding Warnings
- Need to distinguish malicious trolling (intent to disrupt/upset) from genuine (though perhaps unpopular) disagreement. Trolling implies bad faith.
- Sometimes used casually for playful teasing, which can be confusing. The primary meaning involves negative intent.
Examples
- Don't reply to his comments; he's clearly just trolling.
- The forum moderators had to ban several users for excessive trolling.
- Some people engage in trolling simply because they are bored.
- She was trolling her friends by posting obviously fake news. (Can sometimes mean playful teasing, but the negative connotation is stronger and more common).
Dialogue
Chris: Did you see the replies to your post about climate change? Some guy is writing absolute nonsense and attacking everyone.
Pat: Ugh, yeah, I saw that. Pretty sure it's just trolling. Look at his posting history – he does this everywhere.
Chris: So annoying. Should we reply?
Pat: Nah, best not to feed the trolls. Just block and report if it gets abusive. Engaging is what they want.
Social Media Examples
- Tweet: The amount of trolling in political discussions online is exhausting. Can we just have a civil debate for once? #trolls #politics
- Forum Rules: Rule #5: No trolling or personal attacks. Engage respectfully or face moderation.
- Comment: Ignore @User123, classic trolling tactics. Don't take the bait.
Response Patterns
- Ignoring the comment/user (Common advice: Don't feed the trolls).
- Blocking the user.
- Reporting the comment/user to platform moderators.
- Warning others not to engage.
- Occasionally, attempting to engage (often leading to frustration).
Common Follow-up Questions/Actions
- Deciding how to respond (ignore, block, report).
- Advising others: Just ignore them. / Block that account.
- Discussing the nature of the trolling comments.
- Expressing frustration about the prevalence of trolling.
Conversation Starter
- No. Describes a behavior. Can start a conversation *about* the topic: How do you usually deal with online trolling?
Intonation
- Emphasis on TROLLING: He's just TROLLing.
- Tone is often dismissive, annoyed, warning, or sometimes weary.
Generation Differences
- Understood by most internet users. The term and phenomenon are particularly familiar to those highly active online across various generations, but especially Millennials and Gen Z who grew up with interactive web platforms.
Regional Variations
- Universal term within global internet culture.