Trolls be A’trollin

by Chris8866 in Issues, September 18, 2011

A UK male was recently jailed for 18 weeks for what the media refers to as “trolling”. Was he trolling or is this term just another form of bullying.

In the U.K Sean Duffy (25) has recently been jailed for 18 weeks for what many people/papers/organisations are referring to as trolling. What he was doing was leaving abusive messages on web pages set up in remembrance of girls who had died. As I see it because Duffy did not know any of the victims personally his actions are being attributed as trolling, but unless the definition of trolling has changed his actions are bullying. I thought that trolling was intended to be taken humorously hence the picture of the grinning troll that became synonymous with it.

Its common among a groups of friends to joke around with each other or troll for amusement, with the danger arising when it focuses to much on one or a few people. I myself will sometimes intentionally try to argue with friends when I get bored often exaggerating my argument and much I care about the subject, which to me seems worryingly close trolling considering it is rapidly becoming (in Britain at least) a crime. Yet my friends are doing the same thing and as we all know that no-one takes it seriously.

Definitions:

Troll

… an Internet user who sends inflammatory or provocative messages designed to elicit negative responses or start a flame-war. (As a fisherman trolls for an unsuspecting fish.) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/troll