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AIBU?

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Original poster

Distressing thread titles.

83 replies

itsmeafterall · 05/02/2026 16:07

I don't think iIABU but there seems to have been a recent sharp rise in really distressing thread titles -without a trigger warning. By the time I've read them it's too bloody late.

There is so much terrible content on the internet at the moment - especially with the Epstein shit in spades so, sadly, plenty of grim material to discuss. Not saying it shouldn't be raised, but a TW should be used.

AIBU in asking people to be a lot more
Thoughtful when posting - MN can't be asked to be in top of editing with immediate turnaround.

TW coming up of a recent example below.

Im referring to titles like the one I just saw about a woman having her spine broken on video. Seriously grim.

@mnhq please can I ask you to issue a reminder to people to be more careful?

OP posts:
HonestShark · 05/02/2026 18:17

Frannyisreading · 05/02/2026 17:00

I agree with you OP. Some of the news these days is absolutely beyond belief and I brace myself before going on a news site. I think it's reasonable to give a warning of graphic content without the details. "Violent crime against woman in news" would suffice for the one that's been mentioned.
Yes we are all adults, this doesn't mean it's good for anyone's mental health to be exposed with horrific details of crimes without warning.

Totally agree - not everyone wants to read some of the stuff posted on here, so its not exactly unreasonable for OP to say about having something in the title. We don't all want to read heavy and depressing shit when we come on here even if "we are all adults"

Jadzya · 05/02/2026 17:59

Tbh I thought the same about the example you gave, I wish the thread title hasn't been so explicit. Not sure much can be done though.

auserna · 05/02/2026 17:57

FrodoBiggins · 05/02/2026 16:33

How would you suggest that a thread like that (about the broken spine) be titled OP?

Also news headlines are just as graphic aren't they? "Coventry", "Drone attack kills 20" etc? Do you avoid the news, and if so, how?

Edit - lol sorry the first example was meant to be "man stabbed in Coventry". The concept of Coventry does not require a TW

Edited

The concept of Coventry does not require a TW

Having been there, I'm not so sure...

auserna · 05/02/2026 17:47

5128gap · 05/02/2026 16:21

I think YABU. This is a forum where we discuss the world we live in and many things that happen in the world are distressing. A woman did have her spine broken on video. That upsets me too, but my sensibilities matter far less than the facility to bring this to peoples awareness and to talk about it. I also think 'grim' is more appropriate for describing a grubby bathroom than a violent attack on a woman police officer.

...my sensibilities matter far less than the facility to bring this to people's awareness and to talk about it...

Exactly. People are such namby-pambies these days. Unfortunately some people suffer awful experiences, but it's not going to kill you to read a thread title referring to them.

Nobody gave Virginia Giuffre a trigger warning, or Dominique Pelicot or Dr Hamdi al-Najjar. Stop being so bloody wet.

BlimeyOReillyO · 05/02/2026 17:44

StrawberryJamAndRaspberryPie · 05/02/2026 16:22

Tbh if you can’t read words that frighten you then you should probably not be on the internet.

This

IwishIcouldconfess · 05/02/2026 17:17

Merryoldgoat · 05/02/2026 17:10

Are you serious? How can we have got to the point a bloody thread title is triggering? The sensitivity and anxiety some people suffer from day to day is breathtakingly disproportionate to the content they are currently consuming.

I agree, it is bloody ridiculous!

I do wonder how people get through bloody life, being permanently offended and too bloody anxious to open a thread on a forum!

If people weren't bloody pandered to and told to get a bloody grip we might not be where we are now!

Merryoldgoat · 05/02/2026 17:10

Are you serious? How can we have got to the point a bloody thread title is triggering? The sensitivity and anxiety some people suffer from day to day is breathtakingly disproportionate to the content they are currently consuming.

Frannyisreading · 05/02/2026 17:08

EmeraldRoulette · 05/02/2026 17:03

@Frannyisreading if the title had been

"Violent crime against woman in news" as per your suggestion

Nobody would've known which violent crime was being referred to! They'd have to open the thread to find out.

Well presumably if they open the thread they're happy to read the details. That's the point. It gives a choice.

IwishIcouldconfess · 05/02/2026 17:06

itsmeafterall · 05/02/2026 16:07

I don't think iIABU but there seems to have been a recent sharp rise in really distressing thread titles -without a trigger warning. By the time I've read them it's too bloody late.

There is so much terrible content on the internet at the moment - especially with the Epstein shit in spades so, sadly, plenty of grim material to discuss. Not saying it shouldn't be raised, but a TW should be used.

AIBU in asking people to be a lot more
Thoughtful when posting - MN can't be asked to be in top of editing with immediate turnaround.

TW coming up of a recent example below.

Im referring to titles like the one I just saw about a woman having her spine broken on video. Seriously grim.

@mnhq please can I ask you to issue a reminder to people to be more careful?

If as an adult, you cannot decide that a thread will upset your delicate nature then maybe the internet isn't for you.

IwishIcouldconfess · 05/02/2026 17:04

Your triggers are your issues, it is not up to the world to protect you from them

If you're that bloody sensitive then move on somewhere else!

EmeraldRoulette · 05/02/2026 17:03

@Frannyisreading if the title had been

"Violent crime against woman in news" as per your suggestion

Nobody would've known which violent crime was being referred to! They'd have to open the thread to find out.

Frannyisreading · 05/02/2026 17:00

I agree with you OP. Some of the news these days is absolutely beyond belief and I brace myself before going on a news site. I think it's reasonable to give a warning of graphic content without the details. "Violent crime against woman in news" would suffice for the one that's been mentioned.
Yes we are all adults, this doesn't mean it's good for anyone's mental health to be exposed with horrific details of crimes without warning.

Cheesecake53 · 05/02/2026 16:46

YANBU.

ToriMounj · 05/02/2026 16:35

It puts me off when I’m feeling a bit anxious, because I’m then thinking about that woman having her spine smashed with a hammer even though I would never have opened a thread like that. Sad

Sofado · 05/02/2026 16:35

YABVU.

ToriMounj · 05/02/2026 16:34

I agree

ItsTimeToChang3 · 05/02/2026 16:34

StrawberryJamAndRaspberryPie · 05/02/2026 16:22

Tbh if you can’t read words that frighten you then you should probably not be on the internet.

Yeah I agree

OneNaiceSnail · 05/02/2026 16:34

Op you’re literally on a forum for women asking for help. If reading words scare you then I’d advise you put parental controls on your device and stick to cbbc newsround for the news.

Chiseltip · 05/02/2026 16:33

itsmeafterall · 05/02/2026 16:07

I don't think iIABU but there seems to have been a recent sharp rise in really distressing thread titles -without a trigger warning. By the time I've read them it's too bloody late.

There is so much terrible content on the internet at the moment - especially with the Epstein shit in spades so, sadly, plenty of grim material to discuss. Not saying it shouldn't be raised, but a TW should be used.

AIBU in asking people to be a lot more
Thoughtful when posting - MN can't be asked to be in top of editing with immediate turnaround.

TW coming up of a recent example below.

Im referring to titles like the one I just saw about a woman having her spine broken on video. Seriously grim.

@mnhq please can I ask you to issue a reminder to people to be more careful?

If you need a "trigger warning" before you read something, you shouldn't be using the Internet unsupervised.

FrodoBiggins · 05/02/2026 16:33

How would you suggest that a thread like that (about the broken spine) be titled OP?

Also news headlines are just as graphic aren't they? "Coventry", "Drone attack kills 20" etc? Do you avoid the news, and if so, how?

Edit - lol sorry the first example was meant to be "man stabbed in Coventry". The concept of Coventry does not require a TW

Mrstawnyowl · 05/02/2026 16:33

FWIW, I need a tw for thread titles that “disturb” me. Since they are not the sort of things other people are sensitive to, I can’t reasonably expect to be pre-warned about them.

FreshInks · 05/02/2026 16:33

You need to toughen up. Finding a thread title that distressing is ott.

BlueJuniper94 · 05/02/2026 16:32

Did they not do research into trigger warnings and found that those most prone to reacting adversely to the content were more drawn to them - they had the opposite effect

Pepperedpickles · 05/02/2026 16:32

StrawberryJamAndRaspberryPie · 05/02/2026 16:22

Tbh if you can’t read words that frighten you then you should probably not be on the internet.

This. It’s an adult forum. You can scan down the titles and hide things quickly that you don’t want to read.

ColdAsAWitches · 05/02/2026 16:31

It's not possible to have a trigger warning and a few words title and not read it. That's not how our eyes work. We don't read linearly, our eyes bounce all over the page as we go. So just having the trigger word in the title, you will see it. And if you don't include what the thread is about, then it's pointless.