XPost: rec.arts.tv.uk.comedy, rec.arts.tv.uk.emmerdale, rec.arts   
   tv.uk.coronation-st   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv.uk.eastenders   
   From: me@my.place   
      
   "Vince"  wrote:   
   > "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".   
      
   Exactly. The advice should be "Don't rise to the bait."   
      
   --   
   Martin S.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)