I guess I don’t understand trolling.

What’s the motivation in causing suffering for a person you don’t know?

You won’t even see them go through it. Is the fun in imagining them searching high and low for these clues made more pleasurable because it might actually happen?

I understand traditional revenge. An eye for an eye and so on. But why does someone want to create trouble presumably for the nice young couple who bought your house with the slightly tired kitchen?

Yes, I hate that motivation. More trivially there are people who enjoy baiting and winding other people up. Why?

I don't know. However I think I know the reason it's permitted to exist: because it makes its victims more resilient. The troll knows this at some level so his conscience is relatively untroubled.

Interesting take. I assumed trolls knew it was wrong and don’t care. You found an interesting logic where they might believe they were eventually a force for good

You're describing a different thing. In this context trolling = a practical joke. One of the things that makes life rich and worth living.

Yes there's also a kind of troll who is basically just an internet asshole.

Fair enough. Maybe trolling is a value laden term with negative connotations that don’t apply here.

What’s the thrill of the practical joke?

To share my POV, I never really found the banana peel or the pie in the face amusing. Guy fell down. She got hit in face. Seems bad. I wouldn’t enjoy receiving it.

This joke seems 99% invisible. Like most likely overwhelming likely, no one sees it. In some rare cases they find it and take some action. Maybe look for the money. Maybe email you.

If they look for it without contacting you, you never know.

Are we playing for the tiny corner case where they contact you?

Or the pleasure of telling people we did this funny thing?