When did trolling become a noble enterprise?

In my day, the most disgraceful thing you could be in a public forum was a troll. Trolls were wastes of space who contributed nothing positive to the information superhighway, as it was called in those days.
But [i]these[/i] days..! I've seen guys talking about trolling like it's an almost neutral pastime, and others even bragging about being trolls, of all things!