word
also: Fairy Tales & Folklore
Troll
Someone who provokes online for the reaction.
Origin
The internet term derives from the fishing technique of 'trolling' โ dragging bait through water โ not from the Scandinavian folklore creature, though the creature reading came along for the ride and may dominate now. Early usage on Usenet in the 1990s described users who posted bait to fish for outraged replies.
Modern usage
Ubiquitous. The noun ('he's a troll'), the verb ('she's trolling'), and the adjective ('that's a troll account'). Often a defense ('I was just trolling') for behavior with no defense.
Tags
provocation
internet