Trolls, why do they do it?

[Catmama123]

Started as yet another thread I'd commented on has been removed due to OP being a previously banned user for made up threads.
Why do people come up with these made up stories? I'd absolutely love if there's a troll on here who would tell us why you do it.
It's so frustrating when you've taken the time to try and give a poster advice along with so many others just to find out it's all fake.

People need to think before they reply to some threads.

Los of people seem to be having problems with their various bodily functions at the moment

It’s often about the most dull-arse shit, as well.

I tend to think, well, if trolling a load of Mums constitutes an actual good time for you, life has let you down very, very badly. 🤷🏻‍♀️

i had a friend at school, who when I went to her house, we would have been about 12-14 (don’t remember the exact age) would make me sit and watch her play things like the sims and habbo hotel, but she would also go on netmums, yahoo answers that sort of thing and make stuff up. It didn’t last too long, maybe like 4 different times when I was there, not sure about any other friends. But it was stuff I have like 8 + children called such and such. Or like suggest really weird names and ask the opinion on them. Nothing particularly sinister but looking back really weird. Had a seemingly happy family, albeit spoilt and protected, but she also had slanging matches with her mother at this age. I don’t think any particular special needs, she has a professional job, ba and ma. Though still lives at home, but travels by herself for work throughout the uk.

this was roughly 15 years ago, though.

it was bit more than the usual making up a boyfriend for msn in p7. So young teens do make stuff up, but not quite like people do on mumsnet usually.

I thought that was deleted due to inconsistent medical advice??

was it a troll in the end?

The troll aka dirty perv, who posts about children wetting themselves or not being allowed to go to the toilet in school really gets on my nerves.

So many people just jump in merrily sharing stories about their own kids. Gross.

Some are harmless and funny, other's are off their heads.

Attention. A little drama with themselves in starring role.
And I reckon the bodily function ones are just looking for wank fodder, like someone upthread said. Not all, but definitely some of them.

Because...they are sad fuckers with no life.

MN is easy to troll because of the NC facility and because MN don't allow any troll hunting. It's no wonder there are so many troll threads. Plus there seems to be a lot of posters on here who believe everything and beg for updates on dodgy threads as well as overshare on pervy threads.

A bit more caution and common sense it's what's needed.

I am not a troll but way back in the days of Yahoo Answers (anyone remember that?) I'd have been late teens - very early 20's and I used to post questions which were made up to some extent.

It was never really done for attention or to stir up trouble but usually because I was wondering about something, some situation I'd heard off like the friend of my parents who went off with another couple friend of theirs daughter who was 23 and he was in his 50's. It was all hush hush and I was about 17 at the time and really wondered about it and so I went on yahoo answers and would ask a few questions relating to that situation and people would reply with their take and I found it did help me understand it better from differing points of view.

I did initially start off saying "this person I know did x and I want to know what people make of that" but then you get responses saying "its none of your business" so I would then alter the question so that I was writing it from the POV of one of the people involved and found I got more interesting, insightful responses that way. Sometimes it was something totally made up but an idea that just grabbed me and I was just curious about other peoples thoughts on it.

Like I say it was never intended to make trouble or a cry for attention, it wasn't even really boredom more just be wondering and looking for different perspectives. As I got older and gained more real life experience I did it less and less and I also realised that some people would have been posting very personal replies and it probably wasn't fair on them if they were spilling their guts and it wasn't a real question. However I am fairly sure looking back that lots of the replies also fake or made up or what the poster imagined they would do or say as opposed to what they had done and I think its probably the same on any forum including this one, people can say all sorts, exaggerate, lie or present a totally different persona than the one they have in real life so I often find all the upset over trolls amusing as I suspect without the "trolls" the amount of online content would dwindle dramatically.

That thread is still there.

@Catmama123

Which thread which you had commented on was removed, Catmama?

It's both.

I did think that was a bit odd!

This. I often wonder about the need to update perfect strangers, when dealing with a crisis, such as being in hospital etc. I am not saying that some genuine posters in these situations never do that, but it would be the last thing on my mind, if it was me.

@TheSquareMile the one about finding texts on DH phone wanting to hit/punch foster child. That's the one today but there's been so many over the years

Exactly. A few years on MN has made me very sceptical about anything I read tbh.

Especially with random threads like: there's a weird noise in my house, or I'm currently stuck in a lift etc.. eh, why aren't you phoning someone to help you rather than posting on an internet forum. It would never occur to me to do that in an emergency. Why not tell friends and family instead?

So I just assume most of them are trolls bored and looking for attention.

Does anone believe anything on aibu or chat?

It would appear that they do, and some appear to get rather invested as well.

Have you never met someone in RL who likes winding people up? I'm sure you have.
I expect some trolls are like that, just like to set a topic going and watch the froth and see how far it goes. Bonus points if it runs into a second thread.

The ones who discover a text from their partner in the morning and by lunch time have packed their bags, with lots of updates, are going for the long game, but not keeping the time scale realistic.

And then you have the begging threads. No guesses why those appear. "I've PM-ed you" gives others the idea that they may get away with a bit of cash. Typically, some crisis not of their fault at all which has left them and their children (including inevitable twins and probably all, except possibly the devoted helpful eldest, have SEN) with only 59p found down the back of the sofa until the end of the month, oh and it's either the baby twins or the eldest's birthday coming up and they are heartbroken that they won't have much for them. Amazingly the peak time for discovering this is Saturday night when foodbanks and other places that might help may not be open until Monday...

Housewives of all these wealthy MN husbands with ‘outing’ hobbies have got to do something to keep themselves entertained.

Usually made up anti dog threads (no way do people get attacked this much in real life).