As a verb it is harmless. As a noun it could be viewed as an attack in itself. James Neil Randall <nrandall@watarts.uwaterloo.ca> wrote:
I don't think anyone would disagree that a "troll" is someone who is violating the established, historical conventions of the listserv in an antagonistic fashion.
Except that "troll" was originally a verb in Internet usage. It was the act of injecting comments, often subtle digs, into a discussion for the purpose of getting people upset. It was the fishing sense of trolling. So in that sense, flaming is not troll-like behaviour. The names of actions and programs in the early years of the Internet showed a delightful creativity that I think we should avoid losing. "Lurk" still strikes me as perfect; and "ping", "finger", etc. had their superb moments. Neil Randall _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/ --------------------------------- We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love (and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list.