is trolling a sin? *moved from Computer & Internet forum*

LinkxPeach said:

Psalm 77:9 Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?

Isaiah 48:22 There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.

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Sin is defined as transgression of the law. Find a verse in the 1st 5 books of the bible that says trolling is a sin.

While it may not technically be a sin, that type of behavior is depsied by God.

Proverbs 6:16-19

New King James Version (NKJV)

16 These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.

FreedByte said:

Nope, that is not trolling because there is no deception. Trolling is very specific: the use of deceit to cause someone else to be angry for one's own personal amusement or entertainment.

No, because there is no deceit.

Making someone mad by "ruffling feathers" and presenting your views to them has little to do with trolling. Trolling is always using deceit to bring about anger in another person for one's own personal amusement/entertainment.

No, not all deception is trolling, since not all deception brings about anger in another person, and even if it did, it may not be done for amusement/entertainment.

This could be trolling if you do not hold to those reasons and are doing it for your own amusement/entertainment

Not trolling unless done for personal amusement.

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Yeah I understand where you're coming from. I've seen what has been described as trolling even by the perpetrators, but I've seen others accused of trolling when they may not have been employing deceit. Maybe they got a kick out of riling people up, and maybe not. The problem, it seems, is that there isn't a consensus on the meaning of trolling, and I find the term used moreso by those who want to label and censor behavior or speech that they don't like.

Step back for a moment though and just do the math with me here. The internet allows people to share their thoughts with a greater degree of anonymity and safety, so of course people are going to say inflammatory things which they wouldn't otherwise say. To make it worse, some people intentionally try to get a rise out of people, but at what point does our labeling of free speech as sin become: "forcing me to be angry because I don't like what you're saying is a sin?" Even if the trolling tactic employed isn't completely truthful, so long as it does not involve personal attacks and insults, blaming the troll for anger and argumentation is passing the buck.

Trolling means demanding a price be paid or a kick. Evilness. "You cannot cross the bridge without paying the toll." Enters the troll.

yes it is flaming to call someone a troll . trolling is a form of flaming . so i guess fighting fire with fire isn't advisable anyway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7lEbeejgOE

14messenger said:

Trolling means demanding a price be paid or a kick. Evilness. "You cannot cross the bridge without paying the toll." Enters the troll.

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Actually, Trolling derived from the practice of fish trolling.

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water.

Part of Trolling is flaming people in order to bait their emotions and get a rise, like a fish rises to the bait.

Nanopants said:

The problem, it seems, is that there isn't a consensus on the meaning of trolling,

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That's because the term "trolling" entered the mainstream, which usually causes inaccurate changes to word meanings. The term "hacker" is another example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_(term)#Hacker_definition_controversy

Nanopants said:

and I find the term used moreso by those who want to label and censor behavior or speech that they don't like.

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Perhaps. I don't know what scenarios you are referring to so I can't really comment.

Nanopants said:

Step back for a moment though and just do the math with me here. The internet allows people to share their thoughts with a greater degree of anonymity and safety, so of course people are going to say inflammatory things which they wouldn't otherwise say.

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Well yes, but we aren't talking about plain insults here.

Nanopants said:

To make it worse, some people intentionally try to get a rise out of people, but at what point does our labeling of free speech as sin become: "forcing me to be angry because I don't like what you're saying is a sin?"

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It's not sinful because the other person doesn't like what the troll is saying. It's sinful because trolling always involves deceit and is done to bring about a negative reaction for personal entertainment (taking pleasure in someone else's pain).

14messenger said:

Trolling means demanding a price be paid or a kick. Evilness. "You cannot cross the bridge without paying the toll." Enters the troll.

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haha, that's a different type of trolling