AIBU to think that MN need to come up with a way to stop fake posters?

[bbcessex]

It really is getting boring. Dull, dull, dull.

I'm not clever enough to work out a formula myself, but would removing the name-change function stop trolls being able to hide so much ? I appreciate this may have a negative effective on those who wish to remain anonymous, but maybe the upside would be worth it?

Another option - would having a flag that said "first time poster" help on an OP? or the number of posts an OP has made?

Too many times recently I read an OP and watch many posters fall into the abyss of answering honestly to a thread that has all the marks of a hairy keyboard sad twat.

Unfair troll hunting is obviously not good and could easily dissuade or upset genuine posters. Truth is stranger than fiction.

It is the really obvious shit stirrers that need called out to stop people wasting their time arguing and getting over involved with the nonsense thread. I think this happens more now because those of us who recognise it just duck out of the thread but they go on and on regardless pulling in the less savvy and feeding the trolls.

What if (in the manner of a recent incident) the community flags the thread and stops the troll by filling the thread up so it can't continue. If a troll they will hopefully get bored and be put off. If genuine they have the opportunity to post again and hopefully get genuine help not goady fuckers?

I propose a headdesk movement specially reserved for regurgitators of daily fail rhetoric!

Well done MNHQ.. Dodgy thread started, reported and deleted with 12 mins .. not v satisfactory outcome for the poster, me thinks 😆

Yes MNHQ were speedy off the mark there.

Teacher-pupil one?

Yes bumbley

Not only was the content hmmmm bit the writing style also Mills and Boon ! (Shows age)

This is an Internet forum. Trolls are a fundamental part of forums. And of the Internet. No forum could stop them. Sometimes I think MN has a lot of users who are quite niave about using forums.

I just typed out a lengthy post on the teacher pupil thread, but deleted it as I wasn't sure I was ready to share. I deleted and ended up putting some generic advice and boy am I glad as the thread was deleted. I feel a bit foolish and it will make me think twice before sharing something personal.

"a fundamental part of forums"

Not sure "fundamental" is quite the right word? It's a bit too positive, as if trolls are important and we couldn't do without them! Ubiquitous?

There is another forum i use, a video gaming website.

the use a "Karma" system, it works a bit like this:
A user makes an account.
That account is limited in funtionality and is set at 0 Karma.
Every day they log in to the forum they get 1 karma.
When they reach milestones they get more functionality.
EG: Karma 0-10 they can post 50 messages a day and start 1 thread
10-20 Karma they can post 100 messages a day and start 5 threads
20-100 karma, 20 threads, 200 messages a day.
(they're not the exact figures but something along those lines)
They then have a system where if someone reports a post that they have posted the moderators can "punish" them with a karma loss, so they lose 3 points of Karma.
If they lose more than say 10 karma a month, they get suspended for a period of time.
If they lose too much Karma in any given time then they get banned.

It doesnt stop the trolls but it does tend to keep them at bay a little.

It does cause issue with some posters being marked for moderation simply because they posted an opinion different to the thread OP.

But they are fundamental. Not only do they make up a significant number of posters but they are the ones that cause the drama, the humour, the memorable threads. Not only do they spark controversy they yield endless threads complaining about them and discussing them, like this one.

Seriously, you all love the trolls deep down

molyholy I'm glad you weren't caught up in it x

The easiest way to stop trolls would be to have a system whereby you could only start a thread / post after being a member for a certain amount of time / logging in on a certain number of days.
The problem with this is that sometimes people post for the first time when they are in a desperate situation, and they generally get amazing and sometimes life saving advice.
I think the trolling is a price worth paying for this kind of support, annoying and sometime upsetting though it is.

Also, it wouldn't stop the 'long-game' trolls who can sometimes be the worst!

I think the only realistic thing that can be done about trolls is:

1. No troll hunting on thread - report to MNHQ
2. Automated system whereby if a user gets say 20 reports from 20 different people their ability to post is suspended, and any threads they have started within say last 24hours are locked.

The problem at the moment is that quite often you report to MNHQ and while they are spending 6 hours looking into it nothing is stopped. This way anything suspicious could be stopped in its tracks while MNHQ investigates and then then the user/thread could be deleted/reinstated depending on the outcome, rather than a troll wreaking havoc for another few hours while investigations are ongoing.

Have to agree that some people end up in the most awful situations - there's more to life than KitchenAids in John Lewis and perceived MIL transgressions.

On this thread I've seen someone reference a story (baby/incubator/abusive husband at home) - my MIL lived that - but because it's outside the comfort zone of some she'd have likely been called a troll when she'd have needed instead to draw on the strength of kind strangers. :(

One could still be able to name change and have the total number of threads you had started ...

They don't bother me as they are often obviously trolled. Agree with others re signs to look out for. If the thread reads like a novel it probably is. If lots of people are desperate for updates it probably is.
I think don't pour your heart out trying to help someone. This isn't meant to be a site for counselling just a group of mothers and bored non-mothers discussing stuff.
You can't stop the fantasists from attention seeking.
I disagree with the person who said trolls don't get angry and antagonistic if challenged. Some do as it's spoiling their story.
If I'm posting I don't care if some people don't believe what I'm saying.

I think another issue is that MN are inconsistent. If a troll starts a "triggering" thread on a sensitive subject it will be deleted.

If a troll starts an inoffensive entertaining thread with an interesting narrative often the thread will stay, often at the request of users.

Or is a troll only counted as a troll if they make up something the majority would find depressing?

Agree, I suspect a lot of the classic threads are fantasies

I'm an occasional poster these days, I used to post daily on several ongoing threads - until I was outed and someone in RL used the personal info I shared quite maliciously against me. I often wonder if that person posed as someone on those threads. It shook me up terribly. I still read loads of posts and I'm not great at spotting trolls apart from the really obvious teenage boy ones that happen during school holidays.

Anyway I suppose my point is that we all choose the amount we share and the amount we invest in others stories. I also think that whilst people are rightly upset when they have invested and shared personal experiences on a troll thread, they should also remember that there are far more of us who aren't trolls and may well have benefitted / appreciated / been comforted from that sharing even if they didn't post themselves.

So even though I use MN in a very different way to how I did a few years ago, overall MN is a place with sensible and stimulating debate, practical advice, and a place for most of us to discuss what's on our mind or what our particular passions are. I appreciate having a space online to do that.

I also was accused of making it all up (a thread I started). The accusations and outright nastiness got so bad that I abandoned said thread. On revisiting it a few days after, I saw that the remarks were even more personal and offensive. But it's all part of growing up and sharing a web forum where there are doubtless, people that do make stuff up. Either for the attention or for goodness knows what purpose.

It's just something we have to accept I'm afraid. Some threads do well, others get ambushed as some of them deserve to be....

This thread came to mind this morning as I read a currently active thread where lots of posters are sharing very personal and presumably emotionally-draining details with an OP that's so full of holes it's like a block of Gouda.

Yes, I have reported it and no, I haven't been troll-hunting on the thread itself. There is an outside chance that the OP's really upsetting story could be true.

But it looks more to me like an emotional vampire who is after attention and, quite possibly, money.

The trolls don't bother me when they're making up amusing stories, but when they're encouraging parents who've been through hell and back to share their stories and offer support, it's rather different.