READY FOR FINAL GRADING

edit

No talk messages when added to live Wikipedia

Usage

edit

Application of the term troll is subjective. Some readers may characterize a post as trolling, while others may regard the same post as a legitimate contribution to the discussion, even if controversial.[1] More potent acts of trolling are blatant harassment or off-topic banter.[2] However, the term internet troll has also been applied to information warfare, hate speech, and even political activism.[3]

Origin and etymology

edit

The English noun "troll" in the standard sense of ugly dwarf or giant dates to 1610 and comes from the Old Norse word "troll" meaning giant or demon.

 
Internet troll popping out of the computer.

One of the most notorious AFU trollers, David Mikkelson, went on to create the urban folklore website Snopes.com.

The noun troll usually referred to an act of trolling – or to the resulting discussion – rather than to the author, though some posts punned on the dual meaning of troll.

In other languages

edit

Another term, xiǎo bái (Chinese: 小白; lit. 'little white') is a derogatory term for both bái mù and bái làn that is used on anonymous posting Internet forums. Another common term for a troll used in mainland China is pēn zi (Chinese: 噴子; lit. 'sprayer, spurter').[4]

Psychological characteristics

edit

Their ability to upset or harm gives them a feeling of power.[5]

Researches have shown that men, compared with women, are more likely to perpetrate trolling behavior; these gender differences in online anti-social behavior may be a reflection of gender stereotypes, where agent characteristics such as competitiveness and dominance are encouraged in men.[6]

Media coverage and controversy

edit

India

edit

Bollywood culture merged with online communities in the late 1990s.[7] Consequently, internet trolls took advantage of the online space to share political beliefs in the form of trolling. For example, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly banned all cattle slaughter in India.[8] Provoking the viral hashtag, "#BeefBan", to trend amongst Bollywood celebrities participating in hashtag activism.[7] In 2015, Salman Khan participated in internet activism regarding the death sentence of convict Yakub Memon. In response, internet trolls harass Bollywood celebrities that voice right-winged opinions and label them as traitors.[7]

References

edit
  1. ^ Leone, M. The Art of Trolling. [1] University of Turin
  2. ^ Baldwin, Zach (2018-08-24). "The distinction between 'trolling' and online harassment, and the law surrounding it". Griffin Law. Retrieved 2022-02-03.
  3. ^ Birkbak, Andreas (2018-04-30). "Into the wild online: Learning from Internet trolls". First Monday. doi:10.5210/fm.v22i5.8297. ISSN 1396-0466.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  4. ^ "Language Log » The toll of the trolls". Retrieved 2022-03-17.
  5. ^ Cheng, J., Bernstein, M., Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, C., & Leskovec, J. (2017). Anyone Can Become a Troll: Causes of Trolling Behavior in Online Discussions. CSCW : proceedings of the Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work. Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, 2017, 1217–1230. https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.2998213
  6. ^ Ferenczi, Nelli; Marshall, Tara C.; Bejanyan, Kathrine (2017-12-01). "Are sex differences in antisocial and prosocial Facebook use explained by narcissism and relational self-construal?". Computers in Human Behavior. 77: 25–31. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.033. ISSN 0747-5632.
  7. ^ a b c Mitra, Sreya (2020-09-15). "Discourses of Hindi film fandom and the confluence of the popular, the public, and the political". Transformative Works and Cultures. 34. doi:10.3983/twc.2020.1775. ISSN 1941-2258.
  8. ^ PUNWANI, J. (2015). Maharashtra’s Beef Ban. Economic and Political Weekly, 50(11), 17–19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24481479