To generally believe OP's?

[lesley33]

I don't know if I am being naive, but generally I believe OP's on here. I know they may edit so that they are seen in a better light, but generally I think most OP's are truthful. The exception would be some of the sex posts which I never believe. So AIBU in thinking generally OP's are truthful, or am I being hopelessly naive?

i take it all with a pinch of salt.

have you seen the sausage thread? not sex, bratwurst. I am sceptical

I take everything on forums with a massive bucket of salt

I read some and think but then I've posted some genuine (and not outhere OPs) and had people do the same.

I tend to reply with an answer giving OP benefit of the doubt.

The bratwurst one has to be a wind up.

Bucket of salt here too.

I try to believe that people would just make shit up but I am sure they do.

Initially I was skeptical because I have never had anyone shout at me for breastfeeding or randomly be rude to my child and I figured that there was a breathy indignation which smacked of someone enjoying themselves a bit too much. It seemed impossible that there were people who would shout at you in the street for no good reason.

Then I read a few ' an old lady touched my baby -how dare she and where do I get old lady vaccine !" and I realised that the world is actually full of very weird people.

I think I may have meant ' would not just make shit up....'

No i always assume they are portraying their own bias.
Op: I said politely but firmly "could you please stop that.". He totally over-reacted and got really aggressive, I swear he was trying to intimidate me, he was ranting away.

I read that as: 2 people had a bit of a slanging match

I believe the OP until something doesn't ring true. My favourite was the person claiming to have shat themselves in the loos at Victoria Station. That one got taken FAR too seriously.

Although the Shitting Elf in the Corner incident was, I believe, both hilarious and truthful. So you have to be careful about , er, scatological, topics.

I tend to give most posters the benefit of the doubt as well, unless something specifically doesn't sound right. I'm always genuine and honest on here, so I figure it stands to reason that others are the same. In fact I sometimes wonder if the reason some posters assume everyone is lying is that they're not 100% honest themselves.

That doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of liars, trolls, weirdos etc. But I think the majority of posters are mostly genuine. Maybe I'm naive too

the amount of people who post here wanting to be told yanbu means you have to be a bit sceptical. Especially when they are being told by everyone yabu despite having attempted to paint the story in the best possible light for them and refuse to accept they are unreasonable

I think most OPs are truthful (though biased!), but there are some which just instantly click my troll-dar to overdrive.

The current bratwurst one has to be a GCSE student pretending to be doing their revision.

And there are odd ones sometimes about children/teens and sexuality which have "give me stories to perv over" stamped all over them.

But I think most trolls give themselves away on their third or fourth post, when they try to up the stakes as they haven't got enough outrage going quickly enough.

YANBU. As an honest person myself, I find it very difficult to believe that people would waste their time putting stuff here that wasn't true or that they genuinely didn't need help with so I tend to believe what I read. I never spot a troll at all and I hate being accused of stuff by stealth. If I want to say something, I will say it, not hide behind something else.

Cosign everything CrapBag says. I find it especially difficult when someone accuses an OP with a particularly sad or awful issue of being a troll, usually on the relationships board.

the majority of posters are genuine

BUT some are jokers, or trouble makers, journos out to get opinions for an article, or just attention seeking liars, some I have no doubt have serious mental health issues

be aware not everoone is what they seem, and be cautious about what you say that may ID yourself
there is a fine line between wanting to remain genuinely open and honest and seeking to help, and becoming a victim of a scammer or stalker!

Thats true ashamed I am far too trusting and probably give too much away sometimes. I do namechange though.