Don't feed the...

TROLL!

That means you.

The slang term "troll" is a clever Internet twist on Norse mythology that describes, as is posted by Wikipedia, "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

Yes, that about sums it up, but I've always thought it interesting and again, rather clever, that the noun and verb forms of "troll" are so suitable for this very common Internet phrase.

Sure, you have your troll, your bone-eating ogre who pulls children under bridges, walk three stories high, and smell like dung, but the verb, "trolling," well, if any of you have any fishing background, is a method of catching multiple fish by offering some delicious bait and then drawing them - hook, line, and sinker. Again, the omnipotent Wikipedia article explicates a bit better.

In my broad experience of message board use, it's safe to say that there is no shortage of trolls out there. And, to be honest, although many are out there for the lone sake of being assholes, many trolls are misinterpreted as people who are simply tired of seeing the same old threads, by the same moronic posters. In many cases, they're simply saying what you wish you could without being ostracized from this virtual community.

And who am I kidding? Every now and again, it's kind of fun being the troll.