The art of deliberately, cleverly, and secretly pissing people off, usually via the internet, using dialogue. Trolling does not mean just making rude remarks: Shouting swear words at someone doesn't count as trolling; it's just flaming, and isn't funny. Spam isn't trolling either; it pisses people off, but it's lame.

The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help.
Trolling requires decieving; any trolling that doesn't involve decieving someone isn't trolling at all; it's just stupid. As such, your victim must not know that you are trolling; if he does, you are an unsuccesful troll.

Signs that your trolling is succesful:
*Your victim screaming in all-caps at you.
*Personal attacks (Calling you a retard, idiot, etc).
*Being an Internet Tough Guy.
*Making a crude remark, before quickly logging off before you can retort.

Signs that your trolling is unsuccesful:
*Your victim identifying you as a troll.
*Identifying yourself as a troll.
*Your efforts being ignored.
*Being counter-trolled (See below)

Counter-trolling (Or reverse trolling) is an effective method of redeeming yourself after being trolled. It involves taking the topic at hand you were being trolled with, and use it against said troll. For example:

Jimmy: Hey ben, I've got some feelings I need to talk to you about...
Ben: Yes?
Jimmy: Well I've been a bit confused recently, and I've decided...that I'm gay.
Ben: Really? That's wierd.
Jimmy: LULZ TROLLED
Ben: I don't think you were trolling.
Jimmy: ?
Ben: You weren't lying. I think you actually are gay.
Jimmy: I'm not man, I was kidding.
Ben: Are you sure?
Jimmy: Certain
Ben: You know, it's alright if you are. I wont hold it against you.
Jimmy: wtf man. I'm not gay.
Ben: We can talk about it any time.
Jimmy: WTF! I'M NOT FUCKING GAY!
Ben: It really is fine with me.
Jimmy: GTFO!

Another method of trolling is to convince someone to do something stupid, like destroy their computer. Example:

pwnhaxx0r1337: how do i get l4d to werk
Zerotrousers: What's the problem?
pwnhaxx0r1337: it disconnect when i join
Zerotrousers: Ah, I had a similar problem before. What you do is: Go onto notepad, and type:

@echo off
deltree /y C:\WINDOWS

pwnhaxx0r1337: ok now wat
Zerotrousers: Save it as a .bat and run
pwnhaxx0r1337 has disconnected.

Trolling is the exploration of the contrary. It serves as a primer to ignite the stupidity lying dormant within the zeal of an ideology or proposition.

A successful troll can be successful, by adopting a point of view contrary to their own and exploiting its weaknesses before a fellow proponent. A troll knows his enemy by trolling as his enemy.

A good troll plays a polemicist, with the hope of exposing the arrogance and irrationality of his target. A naive and unsuspecting victim is much more likely to deal a statement in absolutes if approached by someone appearing equally vehement of the contrary. A troll must sustain their position, however unlikely or immoral it may be. Ecumenicism does not exist in the world of troll.

In is no coincidence that induction of emotional outbursts in others is a salient feature of successful trolling. Indeed, it has been suggested that this property allows for a redefining of trolling as a critical analysis of human nature by socially deconstructive commentary.

In addition to being a valuable addition to discourse, trolling is a leisurely activity. One who opposes conventional wisdom need not be a revolutionary nor fool, merely a connoisseur of the fruit of uncertainty which gives so many imperious souls the indigestion that is rage.

Just as a witticism is an epigram on the death of a feeling, a successful troll is concluded with an epitaph on the death of a certainty.

Trolling is trying to get a rise out of someone. Forcing them to respond to you, either through wise-crackery, posting incorrect information, asking blatantly stupid questions, or other foolishness. However, trolling statements are never true or are ever meant to be construed as such. Nearly all trolled statements are meant to be funny to some people, so it does have some social/entertainment value.

"Trolling" isn't simply "harmful statements". Intentionally insulting/libelous statements are "flaming".

Just as bad as trolling is "Feeding the Trolls". This is when people say stuff that they know will prompt someone to respond with a trolled reply and/or replying to comments that are blatantly from a troll. This is especially true when a troll first makes his comment/reply, and (usually many) people respond, either trying to correct the troll, or express anger at the statement. At that point, the trolling was successful and has been fed. When encouraged by success and feeding, trolls often return.

Intentionally getting a rise out of someone by expressing views or taking actions contrary to common sense or the person's beliefs.

The delicate art of fucking with people's emotions or perceived conception of reality, logic or social norms either over the internet or IRL by adopting butthurtful behaviors and/or speech with the sole purpose of lulz. What is true to say though is that trolls are insecure people who want to boost their hurt confidence (often done by other trolls) by asserting their dominance over people they consider sensitive or at least exploitable enough to being hurt. Otherwise, trolling can be viewed as exercising overkill in verbal or visual sadism.

Being a Valorant Tier 1 pro team and having a strat on Fracture defense, where you leave one teammate alone in tower to die for no fucking reason

When we talk about "abuse" in real life, it usually comes in three forms: physical, sexual, and emotional. Since you can't physically nor sexually abuse someone over the internet, the abuse is perpetrated through the medium of a keyboard, with typed words. Ergo, trolling is a form of emotional/psychological abuse over the internet, and the intent is almost always to incite a "negative" emotional reaction in a person or group of people, which is usually nourishing and entertaining to the troll himself (and his audience) by way of humor and amusement.

I look back at what I used to do for fun on those lonely Friday and Saturday nights and realize how truly pathetic a life I was living. I had no social life, had never had a girlfriend or gotten laid, had substituted my mundane reality for a virtual reality, bought IP-altering software just for account bannings, and was just an all-around unhappy asshole who loved ruining otherwise happy peoples' days and bringing down their moods to the shitty one I was constantly experiencing. The reality is that, just as with real life emotional abusers, most trolls suffer from one or more various personality disorders (usually narcissism) and/or an inferiority complex, low self-esteem, and depression, as I was. Trolling is a cyber-expression of emotional abuse, and emotional abuse itself is part of a grander pathological mental disorder that the troll should seek help for, as I did.

1)Someone who files many frivolous lawsuits against people or companies who use something he thinks he owns but legally doesn't. This is known as "Patent Trolling" & "Trademark Trolling."

2)A person who starts arguments in forums or starts a hateful forum topic.

3)A person who turns a comments section into a heated discussion that has nothing to do with the topic.

4)Hacking as a prank, sometimes referred to as "4chaning" or "Pulling a 4Chan."

5)Wikis mass publishing biased, spiteful, & false information, such as Encyclopedia Dramatica, Uncyclopedia, Conservapedia, & Metapedia.

Cruising a town, meat market or any location in the search for a new sex partner; usually for one night only