Have I missed something?

[OracleInaCoracle]

Is it a half term and noone bothered to tell me?
full moon?
are people just bored and trying to poke a stick at us?

I know its probably related to the media attention (again) we had the EE thing where the media seemed to try to show MN as campaigning harpies trying to take on the beeb. then not long after we had R's situation and the craziness that started as a result of that, but the board seems to be going crazy! we've had a zillion controversial threads, some out and out nastiness, arguing amongst ourselves about pretty much everything, a series of trolls/namechangers and some serious weirdness. AIBU to hanker after the days when mn was just for idle chit chat about rubbish?!

That's right, and I think it gets people's hackles raised, more so than if they were just having a different opinion put to them. I don't think the name calling and nastiness achieves anything. Let's face it, when someone shouts at us we just switch off, we don't actually listen to what they are saying.

chipping, totally agree. chat threads are great! and can be a lifesaver for someone feeling v isolated in RL. I know the Tea Shop/Baaaarrr helped me enormously when ds was younger and I was suffereing severe PND.

fran, I agree to a point. name calling for its own sake is horrible. but I disagree with the threads calling for the banning of swearing.

Yep, swearing is absolutely fine in the right context.

Are we really on AIBU ?

shhhh, dont jinx it

Lissielou, no I don't object to swearing per se it's the personal slurs. I don't think swearing should be banned either tbh.

yep, agree. there are exceptions (i feel) such as particularly vile opinions (disabilism, racism, sexism), where no amount of reasoning has got through. at the point where someone has been purposefully awful right the way through the thread theres only so much you can take before you respond with "actually, you are a vile c*nt and I cant be bothered anymore" dislike the insults for the sake of it though...

can someone please tell me what the biscuit illustration means, and what being a troll means? i am guessing troll means someone making trouble? not sure about the biscuit, does this imply 'i am bored with your thread' ? not that i am new around here....

I've always thought of it as a 'whatever' sort of biscuit.
But I could be wrong.

bitofcheese, the biscuit means "no comment" usually used when what you actually want to say is too rude (although Ive used it when what I want to say has already been said)

a troll is someone who posts inaccurate inflammatory threads/posts to either wind people up and/or make money. google emma bowyer, THATS a troll. some of them are really harmful and suck posters into revealing their own pasts, thinking they are helping someone in need.

I know where you are coming from lissie. I "over" reacted on one of those dare threads earlier in the week and realised I wouldn't have done that a year ago, becasue I don't think that would have been posted a year ago.

Some people, not just newbie tr o ll s, are out to cause upset, in the name of fun. And some longer established posters are coming across extrememly oddly. IMO.

nutella, agree. and it seems to have slowed mn right down, its as if people are scared to post!

thanks, blimey, just read the article, i feel like a virgin when it comes to all this and yet i used to post constantly when i had a mc on two different sites, they were what you would call the old style whereby NOONE was EVER rude to you or agressive. tbh, i quite enjoy watching the agressive threads, can't believe some of the things some posters put, some are total bitches and swear to come over as 'hard' and scary. i like a good swear when i am angry and am trying to express myself sometimes but would find it hard to tell someone online to fuck off...... MN got me through a boring christmas and a boring january, cheers !!

I'm usually rather nice to people, so when I do let rip, I let rip

bitofcheese, i tried a coule of sites before mn and couldnt get on with them, i hated being moderated. we are adults ffs!

nutella, me too

Bitofcheese - hang around a bit longer and when you see a tr o ll hurt someone you like, who is quite vulnerable, you'll have no problem tellng them to fuck off and when they get there to fuck off again!

I don't mind the 'non personal' personal 'insults' such as 'don't be such a stupid cow' or 'fuck off you twat' - I think that's fine - the only thing I wouldn't like is if it gets 'actually personal' - so something like 'you're a short fat bitch and your kid is thick' - can you see the difference?

i think chippingin is right. trolls like s s, dzzymre and c v q have done a huge amount of damage and hurt a lot of people. then you have posters like t w r who screwed people financially. the fact is, mn is a bit of a bunfight at times and can get over the top, but we are very protective of our posters and will help each other out. Ive never known anything like it. look at the spookycharlotte threads, and the appeal threads. I remember when I had my ep 4 years ago, the support I had was amazing.

when trolls come in and try to disrupt that it can get quite messy. a bit like a big sis seeing her younger sibling being bullied.

it is almost like a family isn't it?

THere is a lot of "She's my sister so I'm the only one who can insult her" mentality going on sometimes.