Can we have something in place so that we can have a better idea if a namechanger is genuine?

faq, i am the mother with the ipod in, looking superior!

i only just noticed the exclamation mark button!! That is a pretty good alert tool, in truth.

I also agree that those "trip trap" type posts are wholly unhelpful and more than a little inappropriate, having had them aimed at me before too. If a poster is genuine, it can take some will power to not just run away when you see those.

Does it matter if we're all taken in by a story from time to time?

I suppose if you sent somebody hard cash you'd be pissed off if it turned out to be a scam but you ought to factor that into your decision.

You can alert MNHQ if you are concerned in any way.

"we could all exercise some judgement and stop being so bloody nosey."

"the majority of people can't be ar*ed to sit and monitor how many posts 100's of separate posters have made"

Unfortunately, there are a minority who would seek out and check, like the XH I mentioned earlier. Should this minority be helped in order to hinder a different minority? Especially when the minority trolls generally cause no harm and can be rooted out by MNHQ anyway.

I think that as we have that option of easily reporting a post to MN HQ on the right of the screen we should just use that more frequently if something is in doubt. That would allow MN HQ to quickly look into things and hopefully warn the troublesome poster to stop before things go too far.

FAQ perhaps the lack of name-changing on other forums means that the number of posts isn't such a problem? Speculation would only occur on MN because we are allowed to name change?

alternatively we could all exercise some judgement and stop being so bloody nosey.

trolls will happen, the mrsgg one sounded particularily unpleasant but she was outed and that is the end of it.

actually some trolls do hang around - there was one that stuck around for AGES on Babyworld a few years ago.......she came over hear for a while too once she/he was finally banned from there - a few of us that recognised her/them did try and point them out but were told it was nonsense.......she (seemed?) to disappear on her own though - perhaps got bored.

But as said before, regular posters could be trolling.
I could go do a thread on DV / horrible miscarriage / sick relative / shocking situation (I wont but you know what I mean) and the idea that I'm not flagged as "new" would give me more credibility, surely, which is not what is needed.

I agree that things being raised to MNHQ is the best route - I dont like to see threads which decend to "hmmmm" "trip-trap" "bored in the school holidays" "anybody else smell a troll" posts - they are not helpful. Report and wait. If 20 mumsnetters are suspicious then 20 clicks on the ! will get things rolling, surely? This means that the OP does not get a lot of doubt thrown at them, and MNHQ can do what they do to verify.

Out of interest - what do you do MNHQ to work it all out?!

I wasnt suspicious either I was worried about her

but I like being able to name change I like not being identifiable

I also agree with Jeremyvile though. I was accused of being a troll at the beginning (before I even knew what the term meant) so I just set about becoming an active member of the community and posting about other things too to show my, for wont of a better term, commitment... Trolls do not hang around, as JV says...

I said most of them don't have name change facilities .

And those that don't have the facility the majority of people can't be ar*ed to sit and monitor how many posts 100's of separate posters have made.........

The classic "UCM, is that you?" scenario

how about just a simple "NEW" logo next to anyone who is posting for the first time?

I think all wannaBe was trying to achieve here was a way of people who say they are name changers being found out just to be new posters. Every single other forum I know and/or website which requires content from the users rather than from the site itself has some way of showing the credibility of posters to other users.

I really like the fact that MN is self-policed and that there are not visible monitors and moderators lurking but I do think that if it is going to be self-policed, somehow it would help the community if more info was available, albeit discreetly so identities could not be rumbled...

FAQ, if, as you say, they have no namechange facility then clearly the no. of posts makes no difference as it's bleedin obvious that "SoupDragon" is, er, "SoupDragon"!!!

but then again I don't really have time for inane debate about decisions which will always go the way of the MN elite (whether they've been here for 1 week or 10yrs ).

I'm only on mumsnet and I like the idea that I can change to ask questions re work issues (as many people I work with are on MN and my mumsnet name is easily identifiable, or at least my old one was of ELF1981!)

At the end of the day, what alerts people to thinking they are reading posts from a troll?
I think if I had seen the last thread from MrsGG I may have been a bit suspicious - it took me over a year to put on pictures of DD and I never got around to posting a birth announcement, so I would have been a little shocked at the turnaround of it all. But I was not suspicious re her first thread

yes most of them are personal/serious....

I don't have time for inane banter about cars or painting

But FAQ are they as personal/serious?
I mean MN is great for a barrel of laughter but it is also a hive for desperate people needing support.
I doubt DP would give a toss about his name/posts on his car forum because he talks cars!

I think it works pretty well as it is.
I do think that sceptical voices have the right to say their piece too and not be accused of heartlessness or being 'Troll Finder General'.
There have been instances where people have suspected trollishness and if the poster is genuine, yes they may be pissed off (but, hey, you're posting to a bunch of strangers in the net, what level of faith do you honestly expect?) but they continue to post and prove themselves. The only ones I have seen cry off as a result of being suspected always end up being trolls anyway.

I would love, just for my own selfish nosiness, to know whether this MrsGG was a name changer or had another log in from the same IP. What's the chances MNHQ?

If someone really wants to come on here and troll they will, and that's without the money incentive people were expecting yesterdays fiasco to turn into.
We should just be pleased MNHQ takes it seriously.

obviously you don't post on many other forums online then Soupy......as none of the other forums I post on have "problems" with post numbers available to view - and most of them don't even have name change options LOL.

VictorianSqualor, I have 2 registrations registered to 2 different email addresses. Both are "old" registrations too.

FAQ, because on every one of those "Am I Pregnant" threads, there are large numbers of MNers doing just that - trying to guess the poster. Adding in No of posts etc just makes it easier.

How about the scenario where a XH is reading a MNer-s posts and she's namechanged to avoid him/post something personal? This isn't paranoia, it happens and happened to a good friend of mine. She has had to leave completely.