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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

to think that Mumsnet is being hacked / invaded by t****s and t***s?

156 replies

MrsGerardButler · 02/08/2011 21:34

It's more than a school holidays thing. It seems like a malicious attempt to hook people into a drama / DV / EA situation. It often seems to start with a dramatic first (ever) post and before you know it, it is 100 posts long and the OP is nowhere to be seen.

One of the things I love about MN is how supportive and ready to help people are when someone is in need, but I feel that perhaps we need to take a more cynical and questioning approach before offering our time and energy to support some brand new posters who take without giving back.

My hardhat is on and I have a Wine in hand.

OP posts:
BitOfFun · 03/08/2011 14:02

Members only? But what about all the staff Matthew Wright would be forced to make redundant? Grin

allhailtheaubergine · 03/08/2011 14:04

You don't have to give anyone the benefit when reporting them. That's MNHQ's call.

You could report me if you suspected me. No benefit of the doubt needed. I would never know about it, and MNHQ would soon see that you were wrong and get back to you with something non-committal like "thanks for being vigilant".

ShirleyKnot · 03/08/2011 14:04

Ive just reported you notinmypocket. just for a laugh.

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 03/08/2011 14:05

@allhailtheaubergine

I always get lovely replies when I report people to MNHQ.
wannaBe · 03/08/2011 14:05

I am possibly the most suspicious person I know.

I also don't think that first-time poster has anything to do with whether someone can be genuine or not.

I moderate on another site and the most damaging troll we banned was someone who was a regular, well respected member, who had in fact been a moderator herself, and yet had had three other personas on that site, and others on another site, two of which she had killed off, causing a lot of stress to users who had become close to these personas.

I think that regular member creates far too much of a false sense of security and the reality is that anyone could be anything online.

I don't necessarily think it right to say that mn has been "hacked" or "invaded", but that the bigger a site gets, the more likelyhood there is of there being more fakes there. That's just the beauty of the internet.

khaliwali · 03/08/2011 14:06

What is the Matthew Wright stuff? I live in the Gulf and I have to confess that I have never even heard of this guy.
I have just had a thought, for all I know without you people keeping a check on people the site would be full of weird and unpleasant people so I have decided to bow out and mind my own.

MmeLindor. · 03/08/2011 14:08

Trolls can be anything from a 15yo posting questions about sex, pretending to be a woman - I don't normally bother reporting things like that, unless they are really off.

Or someone who posts an innocent sounding query about something, such as the scared of childbirth ones we had a month or two ago.

These I would report as they may scare vulnerable pregnant women (when eg. a poster writes about a very scary birth in great detail).

Or the "OMG, what am I going to do. I messed up and we only have tuppence till payday and I have to feed 12 children" who play on the soft hearts of posters to get them to send money.

I would not say that I am a troll hunter, but if I see a post that seems a bit off, then I report it. As everyone should, without posting anything on the thread itself.

MrsCampbellBlack · 03/08/2011 14:08

Oh so glad the weirdy son and the erect penis thread has gone - was Shock on so many levels at that one.

And as well as trolls there's just some really unpleasent posters around at the moment - lordy - I was even abused in the sacred hallows that is S&B the other day.

GypsyMoth · 03/08/2011 14:08

Bye khaliwali.

MrsCampbellBlack · 03/08/2011 14:10

Oh and I think suspected trolls should be reported as many people are in contact with other mn'ers in RL and I'd hate anyone to get really hurt/taken for a ride.

LDNmummy · 03/08/2011 14:10

I am guilty of having started a couple of threads recently and not returning Blush

I thought I had the time to engage and then ended up having a shockingly busy day after all.

Sorry fellow MN's, I feel very ashamed

wannaBe · 03/08/2011 14:14

you see I have issue with the "just report and say nothing" stance.

My problem with it is that when you report a thread, mn hq say "oh thanks for reporting, we'll look into it." If the poster gets banned the threads rarely get pulled and most are never any the wiser as to the fact said poster was a troll.

And meanwhile lots and lots of posters are befriending each other offline, on facebook, via email etc. If it is never made public that they are suspected trolls then the troll can still continue to do damage even if they're not on the site any more.

Look at dizzymare. She had half the bereavement section on her facebook, and she'd been reported for weeks with mn hq "looking into it" before she was outed publically. It was only when she was outed publically that people took a step back.

Similarly ethanchristopher was befriending young mums off board. If she hadn't been outed publically who knows who she might have befriended, in fact who knows who she even was.

Anniversaire · 03/08/2011 14:16

Sorry, just wanted to say that I'm not a troll if anyone thinks I am. I have a new name but have been here since 2007.

My threads probably seem outright weird though. I only come back here when I have a problem no one in real life would go near...Blush

ShirleyKnot · 03/08/2011 14:19

Jesus, that DizzyMare stuff was vile wasn't it?

I remember Korma (was it Korma) coming on in an utter panic because DM was threatening suicide on FB. Sad

And I agree with you wannaBe. I do try to report and hide, but sometimes it's hard.

MmeLindor. · 03/08/2011 14:20

I see what you mean, Wannabe. But at the same time, if we allow the posting of sceptical face on a thread, then it will be done on threads where the poster is not a troll. This could make someone who is truly in trouble and needing advice and support turn away from Mumsnet.

And everyone who uses the internet - whether on Mumsnet or other fora - should be aware that not everything that is said and written online is the truth.

I am really a 67 year old motor mechanic from Birmingham.

notinmypocket · 03/08/2011 14:34

Thanks Shirleyknot, finally someone did.
I am sure you gave me the benefit of the doubt though Wink

LineRunner · 03/08/2011 14:39

I agree MrsGerard.

I am now very wary of donating my advice (such as it is) to threads that seem to be artificially controversial.

wannaBe · 03/08/2011 14:47

mme I think I would be more inclined to agree if I had faith in mn hq to deal with suspected trolls but tbh I don't.

If we come back to dizzymare, she'd been reported for weeks before anyone said anything publically. Mn hq were "looking into it", and of course we have to appreciate that it's not always possible to tell whether someone is a fake or not. IP addresses can be changed/she might have been a first time member even with no IP history. We can't necessarily expect mn hq to ban a user off the back of some reports, but equally if enough users report someone (and iirc dizzymare had been reported multiple times) shouldn't that be grounds for mn hq to keep a very close watch on their threads? If the threads get so desperate isn't there even grounds for mn hq to gently encourage the poster to seek professional help rather than unburden themselves quite so publically? or to even advise on the threads that people need to protect themselves when getting too involved?

as it is I'm not entirely sure that such a high level of dependence on a website for support should be encouraged anyway.

MmeLindor. · 03/08/2011 14:54

You could be right, Wannabe. At the same time, the Dizzymare thing was such an extreme case. I think there have only been a handful of trolls that were are damaging as that one. Should we risk offending and upsetting genuine posters for the one a year who is really dangerously trolling.

deliakate · 03/08/2011 14:59

It must be terribly frustrating though, when you come on looking for advice, and get lots of cross-examination and disbelief from regulars. I think other posters then follow suit, its almost like a bullying mentality. Perhaps by then, the OP dare not come back.

I name changed once to come on and talk about DV, and got (mostly) helpful responses. But I have seen similar things going up, and getting slated, which often seems without foundation.

lubberlich · 03/08/2011 14:59

It is a great shame that khaliwali has bowed out because she speaks so much sense.
The proprietorial attitude some people have towards public forums is very peculiar.
FGS take a deep breath, turn the computer OFF and get some perspective.

bananasplitz · 03/08/2011 15:03

The proprietorial attitude some people have towards public forums is very peculiar.

yes thats true. Ive seen many flounces due to regs having their noses put out of joint by newcomers

Original poster
MrsGerardButler · 03/08/2011 15:10

I don't use many internet talk boards and certainly none as much as I use MN, so I do feel that I have an 'emotional investment' in MN, which is why I started this thread. Probably a bit unhealthy TBH, but this place does have a community feel for me, and recently it feels like a crazy family have moved into the street (no offence intended to crazy people before anyone starts Grin)

OP posts:
MmeLindor. · 03/08/2011 15:11

I don't know about that, Lubberlich.

The Dizzymare unveiling came about, iirc because a poster was worried that her RL friend was getting overly involved.

It is not about the website, but the posters who are being sucked in. And reporting a troll takes just a minute.

noddyholder · 03/08/2011 15:13

Mrsgerard you are so right and its not just relationships some dubious new posters all round.