Page 3 | To think that Forum Foggers are a pain in the @rse

estrogone · 2025-09-07T02:29:30+00:00

Over and over again, I see threads where the OP is really clear about an issue or event. Then what I call the foggers come along and almost deliberately misunderstand the OP - I don't know why they do it. They go off on a tangent and no matter how hard the OP tries to steer things back to the OP - the thread is all fogged up with irrelevant and sometimes bizarre posts. AIBU to think it's happening more and more and to be really irritated by people who deliberately misread just so they can make a point?

Donotgogentle · 07/09/2025 05:59

JacquesHarlow · 07/09/2025 05:17

It is deliberate.

There are regular posters I see here on AIBU who revel in taking carefully worded, seemingly polite digs at an OP.

It is a legacy of the myriad of players who over the years have said that AIBU is a “nest of vipers” and that people should be prepared for “robust” answers

What that ethos has attracted are people who just want to argue with the OP for any reason whatever. They sense vulnerability in the first post so they have a little crack at something to see if it will kick off a bit in the comments.

I’m not saying that the comprehension and reading point you made is invalid, there may be a few posters who do this.

However when I see regular posters deliberately targeting a particular sentence in the OP to gaslight and confuse the person, it’s clear this is a cleverly formatted sport in which someone can ensure they’re never banned or contravene the rules of the forum, but they can disrupt the OP as much as possible to see if it “kicks off”.

Show quote history

I agree.

I think some op’s see what’s happening though and stop engaging with the disruptor posts.

Original poster

estrogone · 07/09/2025 05:55

Octavia64 · 07/09/2025 04:57

It’s not deliberate.

i used to be a teacher and humans are just not good at processing written information. After every test or exam, the most common feedback I’d give students was if you want to improve, read the question. Twice. Then read it again slowly.

so many students answered the question in their head not the one that had been actually asked.

I suspect forum posts are the same.

(to be fair, when replying I often have to check the post again to remind myself of details)

This is really interesting - I do give the benefit of the doubt that comprehension issues are at play. I agree that sometimes it is down to this. Sadly I think more often it's just posters being nitpicky and sometimes incendiary for the sake of it.

OP posts:

JustReal · 07/09/2025 05:36

There are some really rude, bored people who frequent this site and who get off on harassing, belittling and making keyboard warrior type comments to people.

They pick others up on grammar, punctuation, phrasing etc and follow particular people from thread to thread to annoy and derail and, frankly, it's so immature.

An ignore/block function would be very useful.

MikeRafone · 07/09/2025 05:18

Octavia64 · 07/09/2025 04:57

It’s not deliberate.

i used to be a teacher and humans are just not good at processing written information. After every test or exam, the most common feedback I’d give students was if you want to improve, read the question. Twice. Then read it again slowly.

so many students answered the question in their head not the one that had been actually asked.

I suspect forum posts are the same.

(to be fair, when replying I often have to check the post again to remind myself of details)

This ^

a recent alligator in a thread totally derailed a thread, it was a typo for Alsatian

JacquesHarlow · 07/09/2025 05:17

Octavia64 · 07/09/2025 04:57

It’s not deliberate.

i used to be a teacher and humans are just not good at processing written information. After every test or exam, the most common feedback I’d give students was if you want to improve, read the question. Twice. Then read it again slowly.

so many students answered the question in their head not the one that had been actually asked.

I suspect forum posts are the same.

(to be fair, when replying I often have to check the post again to remind myself of details)

It is deliberate.

There are regular posters I see here on AIBU who revel in taking carefully worded, seemingly polite digs at an OP.

It is a legacy of the myriad of players who over the years have said that AIBU is a “nest of vipers” and that people should be prepared for “robust” answers

What that ethos has attracted are people who just want to argue with the OP for any reason whatever. They sense vulnerability in the first post so they have a little crack at something to see if it will kick off a bit in the comments.

I’m not saying that the comprehension and reading point you made is invalid, there may be a few posters who do this.

However when I see regular posters deliberately targeting a particular sentence in the OP to gaslight and confuse the person, it’s clear this is a cleverly formatted sport in which someone can ensure they’re never banned or contravene the rules of the forum, but they can disrupt the OP as much as possible to see if it “kicks off”.

BotswanaBay · 07/09/2025 05:08

Octavia64 · 07/09/2025 04:57

It’s not deliberate.

i used to be a teacher and humans are just not good at processing written information. After every test or exam, the most common feedback I’d give students was if you want to improve, read the question. Twice. Then read it again slowly.

so many students answered the question in their head not the one that had been actually asked.

I suspect forum posts are the same.

(to be fair, when replying I often have to check the post again to remind myself of details)

That's interesting, I have always thought it was deliberate, maybe even an incel disrupters tactic. Often it is bullying as it centres around finding something small in the OP's post to critisize their character over. It really annoys me.

But re. your post, teachers always called me careless for misreading the question in exams, ditto one of my kids, although in exam situation there is a time pressure element. I'd never connected that with the MN disrupters.
Food for thought.

Octavia64 · 07/09/2025 04:57

It’s not deliberate.

i used to be a teacher and humans are just not good at processing written information. After every test or exam, the most common feedback I’d give students was if you want to improve, read the question. Twice. Then read it again slowly.

so many students answered the question in their head not the one that had been actually asked.

I suspect forum posts are the same.

(to be fair, when replying I often have to check the post again to remind myself of details)

LieutenantJumboJr · 07/09/2025 04:51

God yes! There was a recent thread where a woman was upset because her friends left the restaurant after the starters that was completely derailed by people like this because she had a few typos in the op. Hundreds of posts even after she had clarified the post.