Troll

**Nighthawk01** · 09-21-2013, 04:20 PM

What is a Troll. To my wee Scottish mind , its a nasty bugger that hides under bridges and catches you unawares. I get the impression you guys refer to these beings as really annoying , controversial folk who just want to cause mayhem or mischief. Wee refer to them as " Numptys " . Idiots who just want to put themselves in the limelight for effect. Go on , adopt it ..... they be numptys. I have lots more humerous Scottish phrases if you care to adopt them . I will try to introduce them when it is appropriate.

**Batch** · 09-21-2013, 04:25 PM

Type numpty in the site search feature. LOL

**WolfVanZandt** · 09-21-2013, 04:30 PM

It's also what you do when you want to get a lot of bites (from fish, of course). That's what trolls do. They drop a provocative line into a conversation and see if they can get a lot of people stirred up.

The ways to deal with a troll is to:

1) Ignore them. They get tired very soon and go away when they have to deal with mature people. Of course, that doesn't work with bots.
2) Try psychotherapy on them. People misbehave for reasons that are their own, but they are pathological reasons and if you can get into a therapeutic conversation with them, it may help them mature and if everyone else catches on to what you're doing it's very entertaining and exploitative.
3) Use them for entertainment. Just make continuous and incredibly humorous jokes out of what they post. They're not there to provide fun and, when they see that you're actually enjoying their posts, they will become disgusted and go away. Then, if you can track them down and get their email address, you can start begging them to come back because they were the funniest thing you'd ever seen since Saturday Night Live.

**Nighthawk01** · 09-21-2013, 04:38 PM

Ahhhh , I see you see Troll as more , literal than I do . a Troll is a mythical creature , in many cultures , but I see what you mean now. I stand corrected.

**hunter63** · 09-21-2013, 04:52 PM

If we get a real entertaining troll.......When the true colors have been reveled.....Then the "fruit cake toss" comes into play, with out calling names, parentage and orientation, of course.

**WolfVanZandt** · 09-21-2013, 11:57 PM

"Troll" is a complex concept with many dimensions. Some websites even have their "pet troll".

Aw, Hunter, names, parentage, and orientation are integral parts of troll baiting. You just have to be careful how you do it. Don't want to get snagged for hate crime violations, now, do we? Subtlety is that key.

**hunter63** · 09-22-2013, 11:53 AM

......just remember to add, "God Bless his little pea picking heart......" ...sorta a southern social disclaimer, the absolves the speaker of any blame or guilt.

**WolfVanZandt** · 09-22-2013, 01:45 PM

Aye, as in, "God bless his little pea-picckin' heart but he's dumb as a rock." That should make it through any Southern censors.

**1stimestar** · 09-22-2013, 04:34 PM

Fruit cake toss hahhahahah. Good one.

**finallyME** · 09-23-2013, 09:40 AM

Here is a definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_%28Internet%29

**hunter63** · 09-23-2013, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by 1stimestar

Fruit cake toss hahhahahah. Good one.

You can thanks Kyrat for that......But I like it.

**nell67** · 09-23-2013, 12:29 PM

Yup we bandied Numpty around here for several years,then being the Americans that we are,we slipped right back into calling a troll a troll

**finallyME** · 09-27-2013, 09:25 AM

Just to clarify a little. The term "troll" is the same in the States as it is in the UK. It is an international internet term, not a region specific term.

**Ken** · 09-27-2013, 01:32 PM

troll \ˈtrōl\

1. One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument

2. A large, brutish creature of European myth, often lacking in intelligence. Sometimes compared to the Japanese oni.

3. A Bus Driver from Illinois posing as a forum moderator