"What an interesting first thread OP", "Welcome to mumsnet"

[lalala2]

Why do people say this??

I change my name so much, many of my threads probably seem like "first threads" but they're not! I've been on here ages and I just hate the idea of people rifling through my past posts and using it against me in a current topic but it seems having no past posts is equally vilified?!

OP, it is usually quite easy to spot trolls. A really unusual/bizarre story wouldn't make me think troll. It's not always the topic that gives it away, it's a mixture of things. And most people wouldn't call troll unless it was very obvious.

However, troll hunting is against guidelines and as you say it can be hurtful if the OP isn't a troll. I've seen a lot more hurt caused by trolls than troll hunting though.

Having been previously caught up in one or two troll threads, I am extremely wary of trolls. There are some really sick people around unfortunately.

oooh I see now thanks for that well ive just been nosing at other people's posts since I joined and added the odd comment and one woman's post just didn't add up at all since I made a comment she's not posted since.. vanished.
are you supposed to report them or something?

Trolls are cunts.

There's a 'tone' to MN that trolls often don't get right, if they're the kind who have just popped over from some other site, or at random, to cause trouble. And there's also a tone other trolls have when they know MN pretty well and can spot how to wind us up in a handful of sentences.

And there's a 'tone' to the trolls who want wank fodder!

Succinct and to the point Pag

loopylady - if you are fairly sure a thread is a troll, then you can report it to MNHQ and they will look into it. Same with individual posts that you think break the guidelines.

Of course many of the worst trolls were regular posters, and it would take 5 minutes to gen up on the "nc for this, red rug, judge flounce, penis beaker" shibboleth....

so am I a troll then cos im sure ive made comments that people dont like but im very blunt and honest and say what I think :/

love some of the words your coming out with im loling

You are welcome

I get irritated by all the whining about troll hunting/responses to trolls etc.
It's the trolls fault - posters react because these wankers make it impossible to believe anything on here at times.
If people post some astonishing sequence of events or their thoughts about fat people in Lycra under a brand new name then it looks dodgy

I don't troll hunt or post stuff but I don't blame the people who do.

The site is trolled a lot though.

Often people respond with a lot empathy and give effort and time to supporting posters who turn out to be ducks!

It's not saying 'Oi you troll' its more saying 'op your thread seems a bit odd for a first ever post on a site ...'

Again its not hard to say you have name changed is it?

As an aside I also think frequent name changing is dodgy as fuck ...

Yanbu it is rude and can put people off. Some new posters with difficult or unusual circumstances or situations may want an outsiders opinion, so come on mumsnet to get some objective advice to a problem. and this drip feeding nonesence, some posters might be writing in a hurry or distressed state, and unintentionally miss out some information, especially if there is a lot of bitty information to include.

No, a troll is deliberately doing it to upset people or wind people up, rather than just expressing unpopular opinions or being blunt.

So, it's fine to say "I chose to do x with my baby, because I think that's best" or "I think you should do x" or "You were stupid to do x". Even "How can you be such an idiot?" isn't trolling.

But if you start a thread saying "Anyone who doesn't do x is a moron who doesn't care about their child's welfare" or "Oh it's terrible, I was raped and now I'm pregnant and can't decide whther to have a termination" when that's not actually true, then that's trolling.

Have only seen it used when someone has popped up and posted for first time being outrageously rude...ie as a heads up to others not to get upset as it's a troll.

Strangely I don't blame the people saying that at all and blame the rude fecker they are talking about who is either a troll or someone who has namechanged to be rude.

I've been accused of being a troll. I'm not, I was just a bit too frank & had namechanged so it looked like I was a first time poster. But re trolls, how on earth do you spot them? Not that I intend to go troll hunting but I get dead confused with all the current threads & posts stating that there are loads of trolls. I've only ever spotted a couple of blindingly obvious ones.
I thought I was pretty internet savvy. Obviously not.

Is it really common, when faced with a complex and sensitive situation in real life, to turn to a website which you have never used before and by chance express yourself in a way which comes across as utterly goady?

Or is it vastly more common for a goady poster to be a troll?

People do cry 'troll' a bit too quickly sometimes.

But there's often a pattern to a troll thread when it is something unusual, in that they keep adding more details that make the situation more extreme in order to wind people up further. Of course nobody can put everything into the OP, but if they miss out the 'worst' aspects of the situation, and only mention them 50 posts in, then you do wonder...

So the thread starts "I'm pregnant and can't decide about a termination. Tell me about your experiences"
Then moves to "Oh, but I was raped"
then "Also, the rapist was my brother"
and "And it happened the day I got out of hospital for cancer treatment"
etc, etc, etc...

You can't help thinking "How come that wasn't the first thing in your mind when you started the thread?"

this troll stuff sounds ridiculous why would people want to make stories up.. they must have a really boring life..

Some are bored. There's always a rash of them in the school holidays!

Some like to feel superior, in that they can 'control' our behaviour by making us upset/sympathetic/angry/outraged. Those ones often like to gloat sooner or later.

Some are emotionally pretty troubled, and so desperate for any sort of attention that they make things up to get the attention and sympathy that they feel they can't get for their actual problems.

It's not just making stuff up though. It's deliberately posting inflammatory opinions just to wind posters up.

The whole 'I've name changed for this because I think I'm going to get flamed' is a triumph of stupidity and mindlessness.
You are going to change one anonymous name for another anonymous name because you are such a lame ass you don't want to be associated with your own opinions.

how very sad

Hmmm, if you are a real poster are you supposed to filter your posts and before you unleash the real you?

I have been caught by the untrue OTT thread through. How are you supposed to know?