Comment Define Troll (Score 1) 457
I mostly agree with your points, but I differ on the generalization that Trolls "care about the emotional anguish of their victim". Many trolls, and I have done it myself, are really just there to poke fun by getting a some response, I know I never wanted to cause anguish, and would always draw the line somewhere.
I do think words can be violent, as not all violence is physical. If the words are expressly directed towards either a physical violent conclusion, such as "kill all ****", or even are intended to cause psychic pain, such as seems to have been the case recently with verbal assaults on people who have just lost a loved one, then the people responsible deserve opprobrium, which can only happen if, in the context of the medium, the "attacker" can be identified.
I rather such people are not identified as Trolls, they may or may not be. Trolling != Violence
I see a lot of hate speech out there, and you can play with words and argue that one persons hate speech is another persons "constructive criticism" but is really isn't the case.