"yvonne scholl" wrote in message
...
what is a troll? what is a kill file?


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. The well-constructed troll is a
post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even
more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy
and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for
the joke, you get to be in on it.

2. n. An individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts
specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion
list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a
discussion. Trolls are recognizable by the fact that they have no real
interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter
flame bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no
redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form
of life on the net, as in, "Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll."

Above is reprint text extract from answers.com
--
Jonny