On sobota 28 duben 2001 1:19 Christopher Jones wrote:
Sorry, it's long -- ESR tends to be talkative.
> Is that what a troll is! I always wondered what people were
> talking about when they complained about them.
Not exactly -- the binding definition is not from me, but from
the most respectfull source, which is the Jargon File (v. 4.2.3,
11/23/2000, to be find on http://www.tuxedo.org/), of course:
# roll 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. See also YHBT. 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." Compare
# kook. 3. [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job
# for CS students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring
# that lab policies are followed. Probably so-called because it
# involves lurking in dark cavelike corners.
# Some people claim that the troll (sense 1) is properly a
# narrower category than flame bait, that a troll is categorized
# by containing some assertion that is wrong but not overtly
# controversial. See also Troll-O-Meter.
# The use of `troll' in either sense is a live metaphor that
# readily produces elaborations and combining forms. For
# example, one not infrequently sees the warning "Do not feed
# the troll" as part of a followup to troll postings.
Sorry, for long off-topic message, but hopefully, it will make
you happy on the weekend (or in the bleak Monday morning).
Matej Cepl
