For this purpose I made snares to hamper them; and I do believe they were more than once taken in them; but my tackle was not good, for I had no wire, and I always found them broken and my bait devoured.
At length I set three traps in one night, and going the next morning I found them, all standing, and yet the bait eaten and gone; this was very discouraging.
1995, Aaron Weiss, The complete idiot's guide to protecting yourself on the Internet, page 224:
The newer user, less accustomed to the obvious troll, might take the bait and actually try to compose a response — which is, of course, just what the troller wants.
2001, Patricia Wallace, The Psychology of the Internet, page 101:
It begins when a veteran group member lays a little bait by posting a forceful but incorrect comment.
2003, Gary Marshall, The Cut the Crap! Guide to Music on the Internet:
A variation on the theme is “flame bait", which is a message that's posted – usually by a troll – with the intention of starting a flame war.
2016, Tobor Eichmann, The Fine Art of Internet Troll Slaying:
The Distractor Troll — The beast that constantly goes off on tangents that have very little (if anything) to do with the topic at hand, hoping you will take the bait.
