I must confess that - due to some linguistic reasons (I am german) - I have some problems following this disussion in detail.
In particular, I really don`t know exactly what a "troll" is ...
LvW

Wait a minute, .... I seem to remember from my childhood reading The (German) Brothers Grimm story's, they were full of 'Troll's'?

" Wait!' the troll said, jumping in front of him.' This is my toll bridge. You have to pay a penny to go across." B.G.

Maybe they used a different word in the German language version?
Max.

 

Still, an internet troll is nothing like a fairy-tale troll. The only thing they share is their name.

 

Still, an internet troll is nothing like a fairy-tale troll. The only thing they share is their name.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that, they both are seemingly obnoxious!
I suspect that the internet version was based on T.B.G. and old English versions of the word.
Max.

 

Still, an internet troll is nothing like a fairy-tale troll. The only thing they share is their name.

Yes - that`s true. As far as I know, the name of the fairy-tale "troll" comes from Norway.

 

Yes - that`s true. As far as I know, the name of the fairy-tale "troll" comes from Norway.

So do they use this word in the German version of T.B.G. tales?
Or have you not come across it.
Max.

 

So do they use this word in the German version of T.B.G. tales?
Or have you not come across it.
Max.

T.B.G. - mmh, it tooks about a minute until I realized the meaning of this - in Germany unknown - abbreviation.
Yes - now this word is used in german too. It is something like a "Kobold" who lives in scandinavian woods or dark caves.

 

Yes I should have said it was NOT The Brothers Gibb!!
I was curious what word the Brothers Grimm used in their German version of their Tales.
These are slowly being 'Sanitized' for children in the UK and N.A. (too much violence of all things).
Max.

 

Still, an internet troll is nothing like a fairy-tale troll. The only thing they share is their name.

But the original meaning of the word was from the fairy tale type.... which makes one wonder how the word troll ever got used as describing an internet poster.

 

scientific trolling is where you adjust the depth and speed of your bait to the typw of fish you expect to catch.

I think that's "trawling" not trolling.

 

When new situations and technologies arise that have never been seen before, rather than make words up, people often tend to look for a word that is presently or in past or present use that basically describes it and adapt it for the current situation.
Words on the internet are full of these, such as the origin of Spam (ala Monty Python), got nothing to do with the meat, but the usage in the sketch conveys the feeling of the originator.
Max.

 

I think that's "trawling" not trolling.

Do you think that folklore cares about spelling rules and proper etymology? Think again.

 

I also feel the word troll comes from a comparison to the fishing practice whereby a bait is slowly pulled behind the boat looking for strike. Instead of food for thought, the poor sap finds a sharp hook and a fight from an unintended foe.

Whenever I see a successful troll, it reminds me of the theme song from "Rawhide"...

Trollin, trollin, trollin
Keep those posties trollin,
trollin, trollin, trollin,
Now hide!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKC8pSFg1Vw

 

See this for the origins of the word http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)#Origin_and_etymology

 

It's like Shenanigans... some are cheeky and fun while others are cruel and tragic. One of the fun things to accomplish on ScubaBoard is to get people to Google the Warhammer maneuver. Warning: some things are hard to un-see. It started out as a joke on the site back in 2001 and it continues to this day: cheeky and fun shenanigans/troll for sure. Trying to get people angry enough to have an online meltdown is simply tragic and cruel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFZG8KQJni8

 

I think that's "trawling" not trolling.

It's OK.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolling_(fishing)

 

Here are a couple of links to abbreviated etymologies of both troll and trawl.

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=troll&allowed_in_frame=0

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=trawl&searchmode=none

As you will note, the words are related.

With regard to current usage as a verb related to fishing, trawl refers to using a moving net, while troll refers to using a moving line; both are towed with a boat.

 

... Think about it, if they are trolling, it usually means that they have grown bored with the actual subject of the forum and have devolved to using the off topic areas.
...

Exactly my point. Someone who is here to troll has little or no desire to be doing electronics stuff. Most of their participation is in off-topic (and often controversial topics) or new technology stuff (often controversial or damaging to old theories).

And those things are also topics they can post to numerous forums, because they are not specific to electronics. So they can troll multiple forums at once by posting the same pap.

If someone is here primarily to cause a big fuss and mess people up it should become pretty obvious.

 

Just using the word, "Troll"; gives one group too much power, over another group.

We all know what happens next. Gangs form.

 

And while most people scratch their head, techie nerds can be very passionate indeed about technical minutia. Vicious even.

 

See this for the origins of the word http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)#Origin_and_etymology

I hadn't read this when I made my post, but it's a good read.