Trolling of the Bereavement board

I was thinking 'relationships' too. I have my doubts about one at the moment, but I could be completely wrong so I err on the side of caution as I probably am wrong.

Some interesting ideas here. Bereavement is a particularly obvious place where trolls can cause massive distress, but Relationships is another area where it can happen too.

In future I won't hesitate to report if I smell a troll.

Any sensitive subjects where people post on very traumatic personal experiences,in order to help, shouldn't be easily accessible.

I now very rarely post on the bereavement boards because of trolls.

I wonder if a solution to the whole trolling thing, would be to make the bereavement board password protected, where the person wishing to post there would have to PM MNHQ to get the password. Obviously you'd still be able to read but just not post without the password. It might stop some of the trolls in their tracks if they can't get the immediate gratification of starting a thread, iyswim?

It doesn't make you a bad person though- it just let's MNHQ do their job.

I still don't like to report in case the person is genuine, especially when everyone else thinks they are genuine.

What would anyone get out of doing that?! It's just despicable.

I find it very difficult, I have seen several on sensitive subjects that I think are possibly trolls but don't feel that I can say so because the person might be genuine. I saw that thread at the start and it never occurred to me it was a troll. It goes to prove there are some very peculiar people about.

It's so sad that this happens, I saw the thread and the first thing I did was search the ops name because it didn't ring true, then I decided against posting.

There was once a time I would never have checked and tried my hardest to help, but it is so very painful to post the most heartbreaking details of the darkest times of my life in an effort to help, then find out some idiot is sitting reading it on a screen somewhere and laughing. It has happened too many times now. I know a few others who feel the same way. Sadly this means that some real people are probably missing out on support too it's so difficult to know what to do.

That thread was horrible, one of the nastiest & most inappropriate I've ever seen. I didn't post because there was something about it that didn't feel right & I was very suspicious, but I didn't report it at the time in case it actually was true. I wish I had now.

When I woke up this morning it was still bothering me and I knew I should report it, but when I logged in I saw that MNHQ had thankfully dealt with it. There are some seriously unpleasant individuals about.

I have always thought that bereavement shouldn't appear in active, last 15 mins etc. I don't think it appropriate to scroll down and see someone whose child has just died next to trivia like should people take off their shoes, use toilet brushes etc. Not only that but it gets a whole lot of 'sorry for your loss' which is not very helpful, but understandable. I think you should have to search for it and then you would get helpful people, with experience and trolls would, hopefully, stick to what has heavy traffic and is found easily.

Everlong, you are correct of course and sadly in a position to know that. Most posters would just answer in good faith simply because the whole idea of trolling about losing a child is so far beyond most people's comprehension.
I was just saying it could sometimes be difficult to judge especially by those of us fortunate enough never to have suffered such a unimaginable tragedy.

That does make sense tho, it didn't sound like a realistic scenario.

I cried reading that thread and have thought about it throughout the day. Told DH about it. Didn't enter my head it was a troll. How could someone be so Fucking sick. Bastards.

IMHO MNHQ would never delete such a thread unless they had total evidence.

Fuck me there are some sick bastards about. That thread really struck a chord with me as my dd fell of the sofa yesterday at my PIL(she found it hilarious), then I came home and saw that.

Of course they do! But the poster I was remembering was genuine. I see to remember her name was, amyjade and she was pregnant with her second child at the time.

I don't have an answer. Of course bereaved mums deserve not to be fooled into investing their emotional energy but I was just saying that I don't think being a new, first time poster automatically means troll as some mums may have googled and found the site and I've always remembered that poor woman and how she must have felt.

I was also taken in and was lying in bed last night thinking about that poor woman and her baby boy. I must be terribly naive. Just wanted to say thanks to MNHQ for the site feature that keeps the thread listed in Threads I'm On but with the deletion message. That was the first time I had posted on a thread that had subsequently and I would have been confused if it had just disappeared (and probably started a thread about a thread).

Thing is, it's the type of board that may well have lots of new posters who have joined specifically to find someone to talk to over the death of their child.
I remember many years ago on here, probably 7 or 8, when a young, bereaved mum posted about the death of her toddler from pneumococcal meningitis. She was understandably upset and bitter about the fact that a simple vaccine was available yet not routinely given in the UK. It has since been introduced (prevanar). Anyway, she was hounded, called an evil troll and a vaccine pusher. She was accused of working in pharmaceutical sales and all sorts. Yet her post was sincere and genuine. I felt so sorry for her. It was awful. I hope she still posts and found comfort.

Trolling on a bereavement site must surely indicate a mental health problem?

I guess I'm to trusting cos it never crossed my mind it wasn't true and was thinking about that poor( imaginary) family all last night. I am so pleased to hear it wasn't true but feel a bit stupid for believing it. Struggling to believe someone could be that sick.