Previet Oleg,

As it applies to internet posting, the term troll is a double entendre. Two of those definitions apply.

The first definition is about fishing. To troll is to drive your boat across the lake or body of water with a fishing line dragging behind. It's a form of fishing where the fisherman goes out and actively seeks out the fish continuously. It is distinct from the other two types of fishing (that use poles and lines, not nets) which are cork fishing (where you sit in one spot with a line in the water waiting for the fish to find you) and cast fishing (where you move about looking for the fish, but only cast out and reel in where you think the fish are). Fly fishing is one form of cast fishing. Cast fishing is probably the most aggressive form in that you actively seek out the fish and try to entice the fish to bite. Cork fishing is obviously the laziest form, and trolling is sort of between the two.

A derivitive of this fishing definition is to use the term troll when applied to someone overtly seeking attention from others. It is often said that someone might be trolling for compliments, or trolling for attention. In these cases it describes someone who is engaging in behavior or conversation that is blatantly intended to evoke a response.

As it applies to internet forums, a troll is someone who posts blatantly inflamatory posts, or other posts that are overtly intended to evoke a dramatic response from others. In this case, it would be said that the poster is trolling for attention.

The other definition that applies is the third, and it is this one that makes the label particularly pejorative. A troll is a character in farie tales which is typically outcast from society because of his hideous nature. Trolls are not merely unattractive, but are characteristicly unkempt and unsanitary and generally disgusting to either see, smell, or just be around. Unwelcome in society, trolls are forced to live alone, usually in a swamp or under a bridge, but always in an area that the decent townsfolk would never choose to venture save for the rarest and direst occassion.

This is the double entendre. When it comes to forum posting, a troll is someone who makes themselves unwelcome on a forum by posting inflamatory comments that are perceived to be nothing more than a blatant attempt to foster attention.