The image is often accompanied by phrases such as 'Problem?' or 'You mad, bro?'. 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. The original comic by Ramirez mocked trolls however, the image is widely used by trolls. Trollface shows a troll, someone who annoys others on the internet for their own amusement. In March 2021, Ramirez announced his intention to sell a non-fungible token for Trollface. From 4chan, Trollface spread to Reddit and Urban Dictionary in 2009, eventually reaching other internet image-sharing sites like Imgur and Facebook.

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. Ramirez posted the image to the imageboard website 4chan and other users started to share it. The image was published on Ramirez's DeviantArt page, 'Whynne', as part of a rage comic titled Trolls, about the pointless nature of trolling. Trollface was drawn in Microsoft Paint on September 19, 2008, by Carlos Ramirez, an 18-year-old Oakland college student.

College rage comics