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Ask HN: What’s the origin of the phrase “Don’t feed the trolls?”

1 points by jcolman ↗ HN
It’s one of the best things that’s ever come out of the internet. But where was it first stated and how did it propagate through communities to become common wisdom?

From what I can tell, it seems to come from an Oscar Wilde quote. But I’m curious about where and how it was first applied to online discourse?

6 comments

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dredmorbius
I know this from Usenet days. It's difficult to search early archives these days, though this 2005 verion of the net.abuse FAQ contains a reference. If you can trace that document back earlier you'll likely get closer to the source.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq/troll-faq/

weare138
That's where I always thought it came from.
wrp
I always assumed it was inspired by the warning signs posted at national parks, "Don't feed the bears."