Troll

A troll is a person who deliberately posts inflammatory, insincere, off-topic, or provocative messages in an online community in order to upset other users, derail discussion, or elicit an emotional reaction for their own amusement or to disrupt the forum. The term most likely derives from the fishing technique of "trolling"—trailing a baited line to see what bites—rather than from the folkloric monster, though both associations are now common. Trolling ranges from mild bait and contrarian needling to coordinated harassment, doxxing, and organized influence operations.

On Reddit, trolling is woven into the site's culture and is explicitly addressed by community rules and moderation tools. The long-standing maxim "don't feed the trolls" reflects the belief that withholding attention is the most effective response, and many subreddits ban bait posts, brigading, and bad-faith argument outright. Moderators rely on AutoModerator filters, report queues, and user history to distinguish trolls from genuine but unpopular participants, while Reddit's sitewide policies prohibit harassment and coordinated inauthentic behavior. Because votes and karma can be gamed, trolls sometimes farm reactions or pose as sincere members to manipulate sentiment, which is why distinguishing trolling from honest disagreement is a recurring moderation challenge.