A poor troll argues with others. A good troll gets others to argue amongst themselves.

Trolling in its original sense can be extremely annoying but is ultimately harmless and easily and safely ignored (“Don’t feed the trolls”) because the troll will eventually be bored at not getting a reaction. The term has unfortunately come to be used for legitimate criticism that the speaker doesn’t like as well as actual harassment. Sending dick pics or calling out terfs is not trolling.

In the original sense, trolling is a forum post that attracts predictable responses from ignorant participants while being obvious to those who are more knowledgeable. In moderation, it’s a harmless practical joke.

It has come to mean internet harassment meant to make someone miserable, which is never harmless. Some might argue it’s justified if the target is harming others.

Trolling is a art

By my definition it’s harmless almost by definition. It’s meant to be fun mischief, otherwise it’s not really trolling. I suppose somebody could take it the wrong way but “I’m just trolling” should be enough to counteract that otherwise it’s something more serious.

The media latched on to the term in some time in the 2010s and equated it to serious online harassment but that’s not how it was originally used.

Theres a guy on insta who dresses in a Union Jack suit and goes to right-wing areas in the UK and proceeds to gently explains to bigots how ridiculous their beliefs are. They think he’s an ally and he talks like them, but slowly drops truth bombs on them. You can see them blue-screening in real-time. It’s wonderful.

Trolling, by getting fans of something pissed of can be quite fun and harmless.

Trolling by spreading missinformation or engaging in culture wars etc. Can be very harmfull.