When does trolling become good marketing? The Church of England today tweeted "Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family" after he was taken ill.
The tweet has been retweeted thousands of times, and has led some to question whether it is mocking, or trolling, the author's atheist position.
Others might, more generously, call it good marketing for the Church's message.
Trolling, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with the term, is where someone deliberately seeks to 'sows discord' online to provoke a response. It is, as the name suggests, not very nice.
Allegations of trolling now often extend to any uninvited online behaviour.
Does highjacking a conversation or online discussion constitute trolling? Or is it clever marketing.
I am sure that will depend of your starting point of view, but such activity has always been thus.
I recall a law firm in the North West taking advertising billboards outside its immediate competitor's office following a merger. Its message suggested clients might wish to stick to a 'local' firm.
Is that trolling, or just good marketing?
The Church tweeted on Friday "Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family" after the author fell ill on 5 February. It was retweeted more than 1,000 times and led some to question if it was mocking the British atheist's position. But the Church's communications director defended the comment, saying it was a "genuine tweet offering prayer for a public person who was unwell".
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