to say hello to you all?

[PresidentOliviaMumsnet]

hello
Been on a few threads this evening and people wanting to know what troll hunting is and how we know whether someone's a troll
So thought I'd start a thread with a super handy link to our talk guidelines which explain exactly how we make decisions on whether to delete stuff that's reported to us and our policy (such as it is)on www.mumsnet.com/info/trolls

We all tend to be a bit suspicious of new folks posting things of a sensitive or inflammatory nature, but we would rather Mumsnetters erred on the side of giving folks the benefit of the doubt, and risked being made to look a bit foolish once in a while, than pounce on someone who may turn out to be genuinely in need of help. We hope you agree.

HTH
Peace and love
MNHQ

[Sparklingbrook]

YANBU

If in doubt report. TBH I don't think those 'User123456789' nicknames are helping matters at the moment.

[CrazyDuchess]

Olivia - what's the issue with a place marking?

[CrazyDuchess]

There is no andrord app and unable to book mark. Watching the thread doesn't show if there is a deletion message so why is place marking frowned upon?

[PresidentOliviaMumsnet]

@CrazyDuchess

There is no andrord app and unable to book mark. Watching the thread doesn't show if there is a deletion message so why is place marking frowned upon?

Fair point
There have in the past been folk posting things like "just marking my place to see what the deletion message here is gonna be" and we think that's troll hunting.

[JeSuisUnChocoholic]

I'm (relatively) new to MN. What made the medals thread seem not genuine? Maybe I'm missing something here.

[SuperFlyHigh]

JeSuis for me it was when the OP threatened to rip the other mum's hair off (out?) extreme even for MN! and when she switched from medals to antique watch too... It didn't ring true but was interchanging from bus to train so no time to report, then you have the black spot re Internet at Clapham junction!

[JeSuisUnChocoholic]

SuperFlyHigh Even if it was fake, it was fucking hilarious.

[WatcherOfTheNight]

Hello PresidentOliviaMumsNet

[Sparklingbrook]

I agree most placemarking is done to see the possible deletion message. If the message could appear on Watched Threads that would reduce it.

I missed the medals thread. Sounds

[JeSuisUnChocoholic]

This TAAT is being "looked at by MNHQ" for half an hour now!

[MerylPeril]

A deletion message on bookmarking would be so much better and would reduce the need to TAAT so much

Esp when I have read the odd message has been deleted by OP for other reasons - to stop thinking those are troll messages too when they disappear.

[JeSuisUnChocoholic]

I think non-genuine threads should be moved to a special section (called Humour perhaps?) unless they are truly hurtful in which case they should be obviously deleted.

[ghostyslovesheep]

YANBU people should just report

[MilkTwoSugarsThanks]

I still think deleted threads should be shoved in to their own topic with just the thread title and deletion message then whooshed off in to oblivion 5 days later. Anyone who wants to see the deletion message could check out the "Deleted Threads" topic. That would stop the TsATs too.

[NeedMoreSleepOrSugar]

Yes, a section for "Tall Tales" would be great - with an appropriate health warning that they're not to be taken seriously.

There have been some hilarious troll/spoof/not entirely truth based threads over the years!

[toffeeboffin]

Love the tall tales idea!

[PaulAnkaTheDog]

Mumsnet cause themselves a ridiculous amount of stress by just deleting threads and then not allowing people to talk about them. Curiosity is a basic human instinct.

[WetPaint4]

Olivia, I've not been on mumsnet for long so apologies if this has been asked already but if a troll is banned and the thread is not sensitive or upsetting, could MNHQ just leave it open but leave a message letting people know that the OP is suspected to be shady and the thread may not be for real? I've seen a few threads asking about a certain thread that was deleted this evening because people pop back on and just don't know why it's gone. I guess they could work it out but then it prevents several subsequent threads about the same thing and people can discuss how bad a thread it was

[PurpleDaisies]

Yes, a section for "Tall Tales" would be great - with an appropriate health warning that they're not to be taken seriously.

Surely that would just encourage trolls?

[Littlefuckers]

YABU.

[JeSuisUnChocoholic]

There were LOADS of TAATs after the £13k thread.

For those who don't know, the OP of that thread found £13k in a box in her back garden. It was zapped after the OP realised it wasn't a great idea telling the world that you found £13k of dirty money.

WAIT...... Isn't this a TAAT?

[WannaBe]

TBH I think there are some obviously troll threads which are harmless and don't necessarily warrant deletion. When I first joined MN it was back in the days of daisyMoo with the milk machine sex thread and the pirate sex thread from whoever it was who posted it...

And the hamster casserole one a few years later and some other obviously fake threads but which were amusing none the less.

Those types of troll threads pale into insignificance compared to the vampiric troll threads on relationships and bereavement. And TBH while posters are being occupied on those threads they're not being sucked into genuinely awful emotional troll threads.

And I do know that some troll threads are left to stand. I reported one recently and had a response saying that it was questionable but entertaining. It' so obviously bollocks and the plot of a novel and yet it has been left to stand. whereas this thread didn't have the power to damage anyone or emotionally take from anyone. Unless HQ were afraid it would end up in the DM?

[WannaBe]

"Yes, a section for "Tall Tales" would be great - with an appropriate health warning that they're not to be taken seriously." "Surely that would just encourage trolls?" and? If the threads are amusing, as long as there are no potential harmful elements, what does it really matter? People have always trolled and they always will. The majority of threads on here are unlikely entirely genuine, so if a thread was suspected then it could be moved into that section and people could go and read or comment of their own free will without feeling they'd been conned.

I actually suggested a few years ago setting up a topic for aspiring writers where they could still post as if it were genuine, and people could reply as if it was, but all would know that it wasn't. So the responses etc would be there, the poster could write their novel or fantasy or whatever it was, would still get some attention but without the emotional fallout or the name calling or suspicion.

[Sparklingbrook]

I don't think any trolls are entertaining.

I also think that the trolls must absolutely love the bajillion TAAT threads saying 'AIBU to ask what happened to the thread about...' as soon as their thread has been deleted. There's only really 2 choices. Troll or at OP's request.