"Troll" may have a respectable lineage on the Web but, frankly, for some of us who joined later in the day, it seems like a quaint, medieval way of classifying anyone who's the least bit provocative, thought-provoking or even unorthodox. Recently, any forceful, strongly-worded attempt to spark discussion with a non-mainstream viewpoint, generally from the Left, has been lamely denounced as a "troll". Could it be time to give the
ye olde troll accusation a well-deserved rest? I hope so. The English language is one of the richest in the world and
troll sounds parochial, pimply, nerdish, cliquey, incestuous and, ultimately, meaningless.
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Aug 30, 2004 -
78 comments
