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The term trolling is such an umbrella term that it often encompasses legit acts of trolling to incite a reaction from a forum to those discussing a topic that may not be a popular opinion but is genuinely created to incite legit discussion on a topic that the person has interest in. I often see mods pass out bans or delete threads on internet forums and put for reason "trolling", but most don't go any further as to explain why they come to said to conclusion.

Even on forums when two people are at odds about a topic, a common tactic done by forum members is to label their opponent as a troll in an attempt to discredit everything they say and encourage other members and possibly moderators to see them in such light and take necessary actions.

Has the term trolling just been use to scapegoat abuse and silencing of unpopular opinion on internet forums? If this is true then what is the point of a forum if not just an echo chamber where people are basically agreeing with each other on similar issues.