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About etymology, this time. Where does the term 'troll' come from in reference to people who start trouble on mailing lists, etc, solely for kicks and/or attention? Is it just because they have a lot in common with the trolls of fairytales, lurking under bridges to suck down the unwary and devour them, or is there an acronym/other reason for the word to be applied?
Anyone know? Or anyone know of any good websites that look into these kinds of things? My searches on google have borne no fruit, probably because I haven't worded the search strings correctly to get the information I want :)
[Edit: Although, I forgot to mention, that I certainly came across stuff that suggests people think the same as me, and also suggesting that it's to do with trawling for fights to start, since the two are homonyms. But nothing, so far, that's definitive. Although the idea that it's a mispelling of trawl or a combination of the two words does appeal to my sense of the absurd.]
Just colour me curious today.
Anyone know? Or anyone know of any good websites that look into these kinds of things? My searches on google have borne no fruit, probably because I haven't worded the search strings correctly to get the information I want :)
[Edit: Although, I forgot to mention, that I certainly came across stuff that suggests people think the same as me, and also suggesting that it's to do with trawling for fights to start, since the two are homonyms. But nothing, so far, that's definitive. Although the idea that it's a mispelling of trawl or a combination of the two words does appeal to my sense of the absurd.]
Just colour me curious today.
