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   From: vmelia@nospamblueyonder.co.uk   
      
   "Major Twitterington-Fotheringay, Bart"wrote   
      
   > Ah, but what then of the noun "troll"? People brand others as   
   > "trolls". If it were simply derived from your adjective "trolling"   
   > then a "troll" would be an act of trolling, not a person.   
   >   
   > I suspect that the definition of trolling has evolved from both the   
   > source you quote, and the word 'troll', a Scandanavian hobgoblin. In   
   > the childrens tale THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF a troll waits under a   
   > bridge hoping to rush on out to ambush any passers-by, in a manner not   
   > dissimilar to how an internet troll might maraude a newsgroup.   
      
   I suspect you're wrong.   
      
   Trolling evolved from the fishing term (which at least makes a logical   
   metaphor).   
      
   Then many usenetters, knowing nothing of this derivation, have assumed that   
   the term referred to the fictional creature and composed their own comments   
   accordingly.   
      
   E.g., "Feed the Troll", "Get back under your bridge".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)