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Identifying trolls is not as hard as one might think. In fact, with only a little work, one can actually get trolls to self-identify.
The technique is simple: merely mention the word "troll" in a thread to which a suspected troll has posted. Don't name anyone in particular. Very often, the troll will assume the troll reference is about her or him and become very defensive. And then there you have it - the troll has self-identified.
This can be particularly entertaining when done in a thread started by a different troll - it demonstrates that the self-identifying troll is aware at some level of consciousness that she or he is a troll (otherwise she or he would assume that the reference was to the original poster).
Due to the highly contextual and subjective nature of what a troll actually is, one can argue that the only really reliable way to pick them out is through self identification. See the Wikipedia entry on Internet Trolls for more information. One particularly interesting piece of information from this entry is the following:
Frequently, someone who has been labelled a troll by a group may seek to redeem their reputation by discrediting their opponents, for example by claiming that other members of the group are closed-minded, conspirators, or trolls themselves.
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