Trollface

Trollface or Troll Face is a rage comic meme image of a character wearing a mischievous smile,
used to symbolise internet trolls and trolling. It is one of the oldest and most widely known rage
comic faces.[1][2]

The original Trollface

History
Trollface was drawn in Microsoft Paint on September 19, 2008, by Carlos Ramirez, an 18-year-
old Oakland college student.[3][4] The image was published on Ramirez's DeviantArt page,
"Whynne",[4] as part of a rage comic titled Trolls, about the pointless nature of trolling.[5][6]
Ramirez posted the image to the imageboard website 4chan and other users began to share
it.[3][7] In the following months, Ramirez's drawing quickly gained traction on 4chan as the
universal emoticon of an internet troll and a versatile rage comic character. From 4chan,
Trollface spread to Reddit and Urban Dictionary in 2009,[4][5] eventually reaching other internet
image-sharing sites such as Imgur and Facebook.[5]

In March 2021, Ramirez announced his intention to sell a non-fungible token for Trollface.[8]

Usage
Trollface shows a troll, someone who annoys others on the internet for their own amusement.[2]
The original comic by Ramirez mocked trolls;[3] however, the image is widely used by trolls.[9]
Trollface has been described as the internet equivalent of the children's taunt "nyah nyah nyah
nyah nyah nyah" or sticking one's tongue out.[9] The image is often accompanied by phrases
such as "Problem?" or "You mad, bro?"[10]

Copyright
On April 8, 2015, Kotaku ran an in-depth interview article with Ramirez about his now-iconic rage
comic character.[3] In the article, Ramirez estimated that since registering Trolls with the United
States Copyright Office on July 27, 2010, he had earned more than $100,000 in licensing fees
and other payouts associated with Trollface, including from licensing for shirts emblazoned with
the face being sold by the retail chain Hot Topic, with monthly revenues reaching as high as
$15,000 at its peak.

In addition, Ramirez also offered a backstory behind the removal of the video game Meme Run
for Wii U for copyright infringement for including Trollface as the main character.[3][11] Trollface
is protected by copyright, but is not trademarked.[12]
Impact

Man in Trollface makeup at Dragon

Con 2011

Trollface was described by La Tercera as "the father of memes".[4] A bust of Trollface was
exhibited at the Mexico City museum Museo del Meme.[13]

In March 2012, a viral video showed a banner emblazoned with Trollface and the word
"Problem?" being used by fans of the Turkish Second League football team Eskişehirspor to
protest a rule change.[14]

In the Black Mirror episode "Shut Up and Dance", the blackmailers send Trollface photographs
after they leak the victims' secrets in spite of their compliance.[15]

In February 2021, Rebecca Black released a remix of her 2011 song "Friday" to celebrate its 10th
anniversary, with the song's music video featuring several rage comic characters, including
Trollface.[16]

References

1. Hagedorn, Patrick (July 5, 2012). "Junge

Zeiten: Bitte recht freundlich" (https://ww
w.ksta.de/region/region-archiv/junge-zeite
n-bitte-recht-freundlich-5482250) . Kölner
Stadt-Anzeiger (in German). Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/2020052810355
9/https://www.ksta.de/region/region-archi
v/junge-zeiten-bitte-recht-freundlich-5482
250) from the original on May 28, 2020.
Retrieved May 28, 2020.
2. Connor, Tom (March 12, 2012).
"Fffuuuuuuuu: The internet
anthropologist's field guide to "rage
faces" " (https://arstechnica.com/tech-poli
cy/news/2012/03/the-internet-anthropolo
gists-field-guide-to-rage-faces.ars) . Ars
Technica. Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20210322130101/https://arstechn
ica.com/tech-policy/2012/03/the-internet-
anthropologists-field-guide-to-rage-face
s/) from the original on March 22, 2021.
Retrieved June 13, 2020.
3. Klepek, Patrick (April 8, 2015). "The Maker
Of The Trollface Meme Is Counting His
Money" (https://kotaku.com/the-maker-of-
the-trollface-meme-is-counting-his-money-
1696228810) . Kotaku. Archived (https://
web.archive.org/web/20200221101337/ht
tps://kotaku.com/the-maker-of-the-trollfac
e-meme-is-counting-his-money-16962288
10) from the original on February 21,
2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
4. Christiansen, Axel (September 20, 2018).
"Trollface: El padre de los memes cumple
10 años" (https://www.latercera.com/mou
se/trollface-memes-aniversario/) . La
Tercera (in Spanish). Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20200528102309/http
s://www.latercera.com/mouse/trollface-m
emes-aniversario/) from the original on
May 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

5. Lazzaro, Sage (March 30, 2016). "The

Origin Stories Behind 5 of the Internet's
Most Popular Memes" (https://observer.co
m/2016/03/the-origin-stories-behind-5-of-
the-internets-most-popular-memes/) .
Observer. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
6. Whynne (September 19, 2008). "Comic -
Trolls" (https://www.deviantart.com/whyn
ne/art/Comic-Trolls-98357844) .
DeviantArt. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20200220030016/https://www.d
eviantart.com/whynne/art/Comic-Trolls-9
8357844) from the original on February
20, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

7. Price, Rob (April 8, 2015). "How the creator

of the 'trollface' meme turned an MS Paint
cartoon into a six-figure payday" (https://w
ww.businessinsider.com/trollface-carlos-r
amirez-100000-kotaku-cartoon-meme-vira
l-success-2015-4) . Business Insider.
Retrieved May 28, 2020.
8. Viniacourt, Elise. "Comme le Nyan Cat, les
vieux mèmes d'internet s'envolent aux
enchères" (https://www.liberation.fr/lifesty
le/hightech/comme-le-nyan-cat-les-vieux-
memes-dinternet-senvolent-aux-encheres-
20210320_IVHAEU44AFERZHR4GJ6T2W
BFMY/) . Libération (in French). Retrieved
July 7, 2021.

9. Macale, Sherilynn (September 30, 2011).

"7 memes to know: Internet culture at its
finest" (https://thenextweb.com/shareable
s/2011/09/30/7-memes-to-know-internet-
culture-at-its-finest/) . The Next Web.
Retrieved June 13, 2020.
10. "Trollface (Racist Versions)" (https://www.
adl.org/education/references/hate-symbo
ls/trollface-racist-versions) . Anti-
Defamation League. Retrieved June 13,
2020.
11. Whitehead, Thomas (March 4, 2015).
"Copyright Owner of 'Trollface' Image
Explains Role in Getting Meme Run Taken
Down" (https://www.nintendolife.com/new
s/2015/03/copyright_owner_of_trollface_i
mage_explains_role_in_getting_meme_run
_taken_down) . Nintendo Life. Archived (ht
tps://web.archive.org/web/202105160153
43/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2
015/03/copyright_owner_of_trollface_ima
ge_explains_role_in_getting_meme_run_ta
ken_down) from the original on May 16,
2021. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
12. Edwards, Phil (July 24, 2015). "5 faces you
never realized were trademarked" (https://
www.vox.com/2015/7/24/9022381/trade
marked-faces) . Vox. Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20210515105145/http
s://www.vox.com/2015/7/24/9022381/tra
demarked-faces) from the original on
May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
13. "Museo del Meme estará abierto solo este
fin de semana en la Ciudad de México" (htt
ps://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/2
018/12/08/museo-del-meme-esta-abierto-
y-estara-abierto-solo-este-fin-de-seman
a/) . infobae (in European Spanish).
December 8, 2018. Archived (https://web.
archive.org/web/20181209114007/http
s://www.infobae.com/america/mexico/20
18/12/08/museo-del-meme-esta-abierto-y
-estara-abierto-solo-este-fin-de-semana/)
from the original on December 9, 2018.
Retrieved May 28, 2020.
14. Eördögh, Fruzsina (March 3, 2020).
"Problem? Turkish soccer fans protest rule
change with troll face" (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20200528102324/https://ww
w.dailydot.com/upstream/problem-turkish
-soccer-protest-troll-face/) . The Daily Dot.
Archived from the original (https://www.da
ilydot.com/upstream/problem-turkish-soc
cer-protest-troll-face/) on May 28, 2020.
Retrieved May 28, 2020.

15. "Black Mirror's "Shut up and Dance" is a

Nauseating Tale of Online Crime and
Punishment" (https://www.pastemagazin
e.com/tv/black-mirror/black-mirrors-shut-
up-and-dance-is-a-nauseating-ta/) .
October 24, 2016.
 16. "Rebecca Black Reclaims 'Friday' " (https://
www.papermag.com/rebecca-black-friday
-remix-anniversary-2650431797.html?rebe
lltitem=2#rebelltitem2?rebelltitem=2) .
PAPER. February 11, 2021. Retrieved
March 24, 2021.

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