Trolls

[SilverOldie2]

This is sort of about another thread, but not a specific one. AIBU to say that I simply cannot understand what people get out of coming on here and starting a thread which pulls on people's heartstrings when it is completely false. I've seen posters opening their souls on some threads where they are concerned for the OP and can't imagine how devastated they must feel when they discover that it was all a fake.

I'm not talking about those who post something so outrageous or funny, you sort of know it's not true and can have fun with it

Can there be any acceptable reason why they do it? Have you ever trolled and if so why? What the hell do they get out of it? I just do not understand.

It caught my eye that the 'car accident' thread started with indecent haste of the 'husband suicide' thread.

It seemed to be 'inspired' by that. Almost like the asshole that was involved in the missing daughter (Shannon Matthews) hoax just so they could get money.

Hmm... I used to troll when I was younger but it was never emotional manipulation.

It was more just general immature fucking with people.One time a group of us tried convincing a kid to get masturbation tips from his parents, insisting that's how we all had figured out the best way. He said he was going to then never came back to the thread ever again.

I did stuff like that because I thought it was funny. I occasionally still come up with outlandish things when I'm bored. But it's pretty easy to tell when I'm playing.

Being a longterm poster means fuck all though. All longterm non trolls van probably name half a dozen 'well known and well loved posters' who turn out to be faking scumbags.

Van=can

Usual I understood your hint. I also doubted the OP, too dispassionate and factual.

DixieNormas (marvellous name!!), I am so relieved to read that about Ophelia. I hope she's OK, I have often thought of her and tried hard to offer advice having gone through something similar. It is upsetting being accused of trolling but only you know you're not so head up and carry on is what I say! I hope she reappears with a flourish one day and has a wonderful life to tell us about

Wow I had no idea that was fabricated.Didn't even realise people do that. I still don't know how you guys worked it out. Thought it was real, although I was also confused by the 2 DC's or 1 DC bit

I think the OP's description of her children was just badly worded in the "car crash" thread...I had to re-read a couple of times and then deduced that the child who was killed was her eldest and she had another younger child. In any event, what a dreadful thing to do

Dixie it sounds silly but I can't stop thinking about the OP of that thread. It's just so sad that she was branded a troll when she was going through such a horrible time.

Right after that thread was deleted there were some comments about how it was obvious she was a troll, how her thread had troll written all over it, etc. All I can say is that those people's trolldars are clearly a bit shit .

I couldn't remember who the OP of the grief thread was so I've just accessed a cached version of the first page and did an AS of her username. AS is bringing up 0 results so maybe she wasn't a regular after all.

What was the update she posted. I missed that, maybe that would have shed some light on how you all guessed

I think I know exactly what thread you mean. To make up such a thing, well they must clearly need help with their mental health. As previously said. They're more to be pitied, or perhaps it's not mental illness. Perhaps. It's just down right evil

I'm surprised nobody asked her how she knew what sex her twins were if she only found out she was pregnant last month sooner.

Good point, Toad, and. I honestly never even thought of that.

DixieNormas, Ophelia doesnt post on the bereavement threads, think you mean someone else?

IMO the "they must have mh issues," is used too often to excuse trolling. I think it's a lot less simplistic than that, IMO they do it because they can, because the internet is a platform where you can be whoever you want, have whatever life you want, a good job, few kids, perhaps be a hero in the eyes of many.

Reality is that the vampiric trolls are just too calculated to be the desperate cries of someone, and even if they are, they leave so many potential victims in their wake that I fail to have any sympathy for them.

And of course the reality is that it's impossible to know whether someone really is or isn't a troll unless they have left specific evidence. I unmased a troll/s on another forum I used to moderate and the evidence was irrefuteable. but sometimes it's just not possible to know for certain, and by the same token sometimes it's possible for a troll to cover their tracks sufficiently that there is the possibility of doubt.

I've just reported one who has a previous posting history under a couple of usernames and whose previous posts are fairly innocuous but current thread has inconsistencies which leave me in doubt, and IMO others who are posting on her thread but are as yet not voicing those specifically only in a "I can't believe that x happened" sort of way iyswim. Mn hq may find something, they may not.

What was the deleted thread that turned out to be real?

When I was mid teens to early 20's I went through a stage of lying a lot for attention and sympathy and it became a bit addictive and I began to almost believe some of it. I can imagine myself trolling if the internet had existed then. I wouldn't necessarily say I was mentally ill at the time but I was definitely screwed up and deeply unhappy. I can understand how seductive it would have been to my younger self to have hundreds of people sending virtual hugs and telling me they were thinking of me and how easy it would be for the whole thing to spiral out of control. I find it more palatable to believe that most trolls are just deeply sad and insecure rather than evil.
However I totally get people's anger when they've shared deeply personal information or offered support and OP turns out to be a troll - it's happened to me a few times.

Here is some info on the deleted thread that turned out to be real.