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Puffball is a generic non-newbie online user, in a social or bvehavioral context. The word was coined in the early nineties in the Backstage host (moderator) conference (forum) on the WELL, to refer to anyone who was a real handful for a host to deal with or "moderate," including other hosts or oldtimers. (The term evokes the name of a wild mushroom, the idea of an enlarged ego, and the concept of being ballsy, but it is a pure coinage and not a derivation. It's semi-affectionate.)
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