R@ts

An evolution of internet trolls, born entirely of mobile social media. Troll behavior is derived from real life mischief for one's own personal entertainment such as prank calling, ding dong ditching, flaming doggie bag prank etc. Trolls online create chaos aimed at a single individual (or small group) for personal entertainment usually without outside observers. Online trolls rarely uses their real identity, because they do not want to be exposed. An online troll generally creates a thought out plan to troll. A R@t is purely a digital concept. R@tting is impossible IRL, because a human can never communicate with millions of people at once. A R@t has trolled so much that it affected their mental health and become a daily compulsion. Since they no longer get doapmine from the post itself, they resort to posting whatever shocking posts will get the most attention from others. R@tting is often nonsensical and not a response to the thread. They only get the doapmine boost from garnering notoriety and a personal status, so most R@ts use their real identity. It isn't clear whether most R@ts are human or actually an AI, since their posts are often seemingly impossibly timed for a human to do. R@tting is only possible with a mobile device. A R@ts main focus is to be the first to reply, or the first to be seen by most users, not for personal enjoyment. Spelled with an @ to both differentiate from other definitions of a Rat, and to signify it's digital only nature.