[tetraca]

> Sometimes I wish I could get an honest answer from trolls about what they hope to achieve, but of course that will never happen.

It's usually not that complicated: They enjoy provoking people, particularly people that can be reflexively upset by reading words. It's a game to them, against a party that they do not respect. The words they say might upset you, but the words ultimately mean nothing to them outside of provoking you, and the more chaotic they can make the situation the more amusing it is.

[maksimur]

2 possible additional explanations for trolling:

    1. Spite/damage a community for perceived or effective injustice/discrimination. I remember this happening on Reddit and Stack Overflow circa 2010-2014.
    2. Actually a neurodivergent person mistaken for a troll. I remember this happening on HN. Remember him being either schizophrenic or autistic. Another example might have been the creator of Temple OS.