I used to see MN as a supportive community. Now I think there's a lot of posters who gave joined just to kick others who are down.

[ssd]

I don't know how they manage it, but they seem to seek out posts where someone is clearly needing support and a handhold, and these posters go 'Yasss!! I can put the boot in right here!!!' and they swiftly do.

I imagine them as sad lonely gits with no pals or anyone who likes them and they take out their frustrations on mn by making someone who feels bad already, feel a whole lot worse. Then they're all chuffed with themselves for doing so.

I wonder if it's cos this site is so big now, they can hide and pop up when it suits them? There was always arsehole posters here, but lately I've noticed a lot more. It's like when I read a thread title asking for help I know the first few posts will be snippy put downs straight away.

I've noticed lately that there seems to be a culture of one person making an unkind or unsupportive remark,and the next thing you know,everyone else starts piling in to be rude and nasty. It's as if they feel that they've been given 'permission' to be rude,just because one other person has been.

I think sometimes posters genuinely can't see they might be in the wrong though. They think that all replies are "prickly" or "nasty" when in reality it's just someone posting an alternative opinion.

I also think subsequent posters have got better at asking for more background information which was not provided before. This can lead to more judgement which is away from the original problem.

@Cheeseandonionicecream
Exactly.
An American lady posted 2 days ago asking what people thought of a name and I was appalled at the way opinions were given, designed to be hurtful.

I told her to ignore the intellectual snobs and a woman had a go at me for supporting her.
It's unbelievable.

You can disagree and even argue with someone without being vicious.
Someone posted about a new pasta sauce they had cooked today, they were all pleased with it, and a few people were just so nasty about it.
You really do wonder what their lives are like.

Yes i also see the 'permission' thing, a bit grim. I posted about Christmas presents a few weeks ago and someone mentioned they sent hampers from Lidl- quite helpful, but then they got a mean comment about sending 'cheap tat' which was a bit of a shame. they were just being helpful.

I agree. Some posters clearly lack empathy, it’s as if they forget there’s a real person behind the screen.

There was a thread a few months ago where a woman posted about troubles she was having with her child. A helpful poster just commented ‘so glad I decided not to have kids’. Nothing helpful or constructive to the OP.

If you make a spelling or grammar error, you get some sarcastic comment, but apparently that’s ok, because you should appreciate the correction so you don’t make an arse of yourself using the same error in the future!

It's a shame if it puts people off posting - especially people who need support. Being a parent especially of small children can be isolating and lonely

Yes they are probably bone tired due to lack of sleep and then get told their spelling is not perfect or whatever