Okay - stupid question but what is a troll?

A troll is a question posted to irritate people and get their replies, not in order to actually obtain information. The internet equivalent of poking an anthill with a stick. It comes from fishing usage, ie. trolling bait to try to catch something.

Trolls guard bridges (see, "Three Billy Goats Gruff" any children's library) They probably originated in Scandanavia, and enjoyed a brief period of popularity as kids' toys in the mid '60s, not unlike "My Little Pony" and more recently "Beanie Babies." They are quite ugly and if someone calls you a "troll" you should probably take it as an insult.

Diane-Are you for real? What a stupid answer! If you meant it to be cute, it wasn't.

Diane is right. However, I don't think that is the context it is used in on the internet. Trolling for replies as in fishing is the correct response in THIS CASE!

Note to stupiddoes: there is often more than one right answer to a question. Those of us who read many of the threads in this forum (I suspect Diane is among them) have recently seen "trolls" discused briefly in the context of their identity as a "collectible" toy once popular in the 60's that made a brief rsurgence in the 90's. As for folks (possibly you?) who post unjustified and incendiary and insulting remarks in forums such as these, hoping for replies... please search elsewhere and leave this space for civilized discourse.

While Diane's description is accurate is has nothing to do with the usage of the word, troll in the context of the internet. Charles answer was correct, and IMO, Diane's while correct was merely flippant!

This has become a sort of self-fulfilling post, don't you think?

ipso facto