A related term is "flame bait", which Netlingo.com defines as: An intentionally inflammatory posting in a newsgroup or discussion group designed to elicit a strong reaction thereby creating a flame war. NetLingo Classification: Online Jargon Alex alex.kuskis@utotonto.ca ----- Original Message ----- From: "jeremy hunsinger" <jhuns@vt.edu> To: <air-l@aoir.org> Cc: "'robert m. tynes '" <rtynes@u.washington.edu> Sent: Wednesday, March 20, 2002 10:06 PM Subject: Re: [Air-l] Lachlan Brown
troll from the jargon file: troll
1. v.,n. [From the Usenet group alt.folklore.urban] To utter a posting on Usenet designed to attract predictable responses or flames; or, the post itself. Derives from the phrase "trolling for newbies" which in turn comes from mainstream "trolling", a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite