Dealing with the trolls

I've name changed a lot over the years, partly because my family situation makes me very recognisable in real life. I think MN allows name changes so that people can retain their anonymity.

I don't want to come over all pious, goady and scaremongering, but what seriously concerns me is the sheer naivety of the people seriously considering sending gifts, or money through Just Giving pages to a person with a heart-wrending story on the Internet.

FFs these people are parents, how on earth do they protect their own children from online dangers when they are so gullible themselves?

Mind you I suspect that many of the posters who were talking about sending money, may well have been socks designed to encourage that sort of behaviour.

Has it always been so easy to keep changing your user name on here? I am amazed by the number of threads which start advising a 'name change' - makes me suspicious straight away!

I too have become cynical, which is really sad as I probably end up not believing genuine posters - the site makes it so easy to troll, but I don't understand why.

I feel for everyone who invested their time, , expertise, worry and kindness in that OP, but also glad that there are those sort of people on MN. There's nothing wrong with being a good person. I hope that thread hasn't put you off supporting other posters who may need it.

I didn't post on the thread, but I didn't report because I think that I've become a cynical grinch, seeing trolls everywhere.

Nice post, Sodding

In my many years on this site, I have come across quite a few posters who seem like regular bods, plenty have met them in RL etc, who turn out to be not quite as they represent themselves. Scroungers, liars, serial saviours who love to attach themselves to a drama etc etc. I have also come across some of the most lovely, generous, helpful people anyone could wish to meet. There should be no shame in being taken in by a troll.

Thanks. So do they then change their names back again? Is that even possible?

You're right about the similar tone. I've been on here about 3 weeks and the interesting threads that I follow keep disappearing (playground hanging one, O Army one) and they do seem to have the same writing style.

Bad- sockpuppet. The OP namechanges and posts under another name to support themselves.

Thing is, it is very very difficult to change your tone of writing, certain words you use.

Plus socks generally will come onto an AIBU thread where 5 pages of posters have said the OP is BU and say she isn't. Even when she obviously is. It's a bit glaring.

IP addresses can easily be changed. Or you could use public wifi and post from there.

Can't MN HQ identify IP addresses? Surely that way we can stop repeated trolling from the same offender.

Also, it seems like it should be a criminal offence somehow.

I'm quite new to MN. Bit shocked by all this troll business!

What is a 'sock'?

I remember a poster I think her name was "hills " or something like that. She was supposed to be anorexic but eventually her " friend " posted to say she had died. But it turned out it was poster posting about herself.

Oh, which one is the new troll thread? PM pleeeaaasssseeee??

I've reported a current one now too - first time ever.

Just reported a thread. I'm so fed up with trolls.

Could be Mohze and you're right it became unintentionally comic.

Mozhe, WannaBe?

(I might have been here too long...)

No I never would either and I think that anyone who does is mad. Although if people have money to throw away my bank details are..... :D

Maz? Although I don't think that was how it was spelled. Thing is that thread was so obviously bollocks that it was pure gold in terms of entertainment.

That's a very good point MrsDeVere regarding putting pressure on OP's to update which is why I think those that do the "crying here thinking about you, what's happening today?" are doing it for their own validation/reasons and are as much emotional vampires as the troll. Those that do this also tend to get very snippy very quickly when they don't get the updates as and when they feel they should and often then accuse the OP of being a Troll.

The one really major troll thread I remember was the one about the woman with twins in SCBU who was going off on holiday, can't remember the name and didn't post on it but it was certainly a shocker.

I think that back in the day though we had a lot less posters and so longstanding posters' stories stood out.

I remember when misdee's DH had his heart transplant people donated money towards a holiday iirc. And when another poster's DH was dying of a brain tumour people donated towards supermarket shops if I remember rightly. And wasn't the Christmas appeal born out of that kind of thing. It's just that then posters started crying poverty to jump on the donation wagon, and as MN grew it became less personal...