from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
Troll-O-Meter
n.
Common Usenet jargon for a notional instrument used to measure the
provocation level of a Usenet {troll}. "Come on, everyone! If the
above doesn't set off the Troll-O-Meter, we're going to have to get
him to run around with a big blinking sign saying `I am a troll, I'm
only in it for the controversy and flames', and shooting random gobs
of Jell-O(tm) at us before the point is proven." Mentions of the
Troll-O-Meter are often accompanied by an ASCII picture of an arrow
pointing at a numeric scale. Compare {bogometer}, {Indent-o-Meter}.