When internet forums were just starting, a guy with the username “snopes” had one with many active users. New users would come in, not read the existing threads, and start claiming to know all about the subject. At first, he argued with these types, then he started leading them on, agreeing with them, telling them how smart they are. Then he would come in with this data and evidence, which was on the site already, so he just linked to it. This was when the term “trolling” was coined.
Now, trolls don’t bother with leading anyone on, they start right in telling others they are wrong and that something is wrong with their mental capacities and facilities, because they are wrong. They can retreat to their safe spaces of agreement and “sources” for their opinions and conclusions. The internet started out as a place for academics, so disagreements were settled using the tools of academia. Now it’s a free for all, with anyone being able to create a set and some good quality audio and appear professional.
But trolling still exists in its greatest forms. Here, a designer of an education display in Glacier Park starts out by throwing a bone to anyone who believes that “humans get a bad rap for altering the atmosphere”. By the end, it compares a billion years of providing life giving oxygen to 200 years of changing the atmosphere. Brilliant.
