As an aside, It seems like the definition of trolling has grown to encompass all manner of uncivil or argumentative behavior online, but it used to be more narr

As an aside, It seems like the definition of trolling has grown to encompass all manner of uncivil or argumentative behavior online, but it used to be more narrow than that. The ambiguity of text + the physical separation from others opens the door for all manner of 'bad' behavior, but also for more playful stuff like pranks, practical jokes, and garden variety "teasing". I think the April Fools culture on the web is an outgrowth of this, and from human behavior generally. Another example would be GroupOn's press releases. Or more locally, your friend's fake life announcement on Facebook. This is all different from people being incendiary and rude for the sake of their own attention or venting needs. It's just regrettable this scales better than someone pretending to argue something stupid as a joke for the amusement of others.