When I was six, my parents went on a trip to Norway while I stayed at my grandparents. My Mom brought me back a Norwegian troll. The thing was hideous. She told me unlike the mean troll living under the bridge in the Three Billy Goats Gruff ; Norwegian trolls were nice and friendly.
The real trolls are Norwegian trollsPhoto: Courtesy of SNS products
She also told me that my troll would watch over me. It looked too scary to be nice, but I still put it on my shelf with the notion that it would be my "protector" during the night.
Therefore, because of my Norwegian troll, I grew up with the concept that trolls were good. Internet trolls, however, are for the most part, generally bad. I'd like to maintain my naivety and just keep believing trolls are good, but with the rise of the bad internet trolls, it's putting a damper on my "good troll" image.
Internet trolls are rapidly hacking into other people's business at an alarming rate. The whole point of an internet troll apparently is to make computer life hell for the person they're disrupting. All an internet troll likes to do is roam the internet undetected and stir up trouble for people. Sort of like standing under the bridge and making trouble for the Billy goats that want to walk across.
I've personally never dealt with an internet troll (knock on wood), but so many people have that there's endless websites about how to spot a troll and what to do after you become victim to a troll.
The craziest thing is that this is such a big phenomenon/problem, the American Psychiatric Association has officially recognized and included in its fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Internet Troll Personality Disorder as an official mental disorder. My mental picture of an internet troll is of some creep who lives in their parents' basement and just surfs the internet making trouble all day. Of course they're scruffy, dirty, smelly and overweight.
So as of now, I can't really complain about internet trolls affecting my life. I'm sure once they find me, I'll be checking the how to help get rid of trolls website. For now, I'll just keep thinking of a troll as my Norwegian buddy, who still stands on my shelf to protect me at night; not an internet creep with internet troll personality disorder.
You have been had, Mary. The DSM entry you supposedly cite is actually a troll artifact in its own right. I do not sense any irony in your link. Have you actually read it? The first clue something is wrong might be the line: "Researchers have experimented with everything from shock therapy to furry porn to castration to treat Internet troll personality disorder with no success."
When I first read this, I was very intrigued that a DSM V was being created. Little did I know that three clicks into your links, I would be confronted with the image of a man removing his own penis. This is the danger of the troll. It can take you places you don't ever want to go. I wish I had your Norwegian troll protecting me this morning while clicking links.