Moses editing
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A prohibition against phishing would be covered by a small extension of the commandments against stealing, false witness, and coveting — probably it already is, even if the word is new.
And even a few thousand years ago, there was a version of "trolling", namely crafting verbal (or symbolic) communications with the goal of stirring up your audience and provoking unproductive controversy. Such actions, though obviously bad, are not clearly forbidden by the standard list of commandments in Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5, as far as I can tell. So maybe Moses should have left it in, despite the lack of a convenient word for the concept.
Matt McIrvin said,
December 22, 2024 @ 10:13 am
Bearing false witness is an accurate description for a lot of what we see around the Internet today.
natalia said,
December 22, 2024 @ 10:18 am
Proverbs 26:18-19: "Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'I am only joking!'"
Robot Therapist said,
December 22, 2024 @ 10:19 am
And if I recall correctly, both "phishing" and "trolling" derive from words for fishing. "Trolling" is unrelated to the creature that lives under bridges.
Mark Liberman said,
December 22, 2024 @ 11:12 am
@natalia:
Proverbs 26:18-19 is perfect — thanks!
Actually all of Proverbs 26 is relevant, since it also counsels us not to feed the trolls.
Gregory Kusnick said,
December 22, 2024 @ 11:17 am
"Trolling" may not be etymologically derived from the creature that lives under bridges, but clearly the two concepts are linked linguistically in such phrases as "Don't feed the trolls."
Philip Taylor said,
December 22, 2024 @ 12:10 pm
Or for those who had, until now, believed that the phrase "I am only joking" is unattested in the Christian Bible :
Sergey said,
December 22, 2024 @ 1:15 pm
I would define trolling differently, adding "communications that go contrary to your beliefs and knowledge". I.e. when people say something that they know to be false in their own belief and knowledge system with the goal of riling the other people. As opposed to saying something true that shows the ridiculousness of your opponents' statements – that has been an absolutely valid rhetorical device in the debates for all the human history.
Which means that the trolling under this definition would fall under "do not bear false witness".
Peter Taylor said,
December 22, 2024 @ 2:28 pm
The injunction isn't "You shall not lie" but "You shall not perjure yourself". I'm not defending lying, but "witness" here refers to judicial testimony.
C B said,
December 22, 2024 @ 5:34 pm
Such actions, though obviously bad, are not clearly forbidden by the standard list of commandments in Exodus 20 or Deuteronomy 5, as far as I can tell.
Even if you don't consider then banned under bearing false witness, they're still blatantly a violation of the prohibition against evil speech given in Psalm 34:14.