On 22 Aug, 09:10, %%ste...@malloc.co.uk (Steve Firth) wrote:

Got it now .... you're a TROLL !

I found this description of one of these strange, to me, creatures :-

" If you've spent any time in chat rooms, bulletin boards or posting
on Usenet you may have already come across one of these troublesome
creatures.

Often suffering from a mutant strain of compulsive posting disorder, a
troll's basic mission in life is to mischievously manufacture
inflammatory opinions in an attempt to stir up disharmony and
discord.

The most common breed of troll seeks attention by enthusiastically
posting up a stream of drivel or by being clumsily provocative.
Ignore them. The worst thing you can do is to try and engage them in
rational debate as this only encourages them to hang around.

And once they find themselves the centre of attention, they inevitably
become more and more 'controversial' before building up to a crescendo
of abuse, followed by a theatrical flounce.

But these are mere bagatelle compared to the Nasty Troll. Like an
unruly two year old in a perpetual temper tantrum, these destructive
keyboard bullies want to break everything and spoil everyone's fun.
A Nasty Troll has no redeeming features whatsoever and they'll employ
every dirty-no-good trick in the book in their tedious quest to wreck
an online community.

This usually includes hurling around oceans of gratuitous abuse and
defamatory comments, all delivered via a range of anonymous identities
- with a few forged ones thrown in for good measure.

Sharp eyed bulletin board editors can usually ban 'bad bwoy' trolls
before they can cause too much trouble, but on unmoderated newsgroups
the damage can be terminal, with some communities giving up in the
face of relentless attacks
Although an audacious and cunning troll can sometimes earn the
begrudging respect of its target audience, such levels of
sophistication are rarer than a Swansea City goal, and for most people
trolls are an irritation they could live without. "

Kind regards

Chris