why do some people troll and how does mnhq weed them out ?

[mrsfuzzy]

a huge thread has been deleted today due to consensus at mnhq the poster had been previously banned, how does mn work out these things when a lot of us lovely peeps get pulled in ? why on earth do trolls do what they do and what do they get out of it, sorry being a bit naive i guess.

[Petal40]

Well I'm well thick then as I commented on that thread...giving the daughter in law advice and saying don't worry....no idea that was a troll...why even bother trolling?? What on earth would someone get out of it...I suppose a lonely person with nothing exciting in their life...or a daily mail reporter trying to get a thread worthy of a newspaper column ....I've just read a whole thread 33 pages about a teenager not wearing a bra..I offered advice and understanding...now I'm wondering if I wasted my time😩.20 minutes I can't get back

[mrgrouper]

is the teenager not wearing a bra thread a troll too?

[Cutecat78]

The bra one was removed, checked and then reopened - as is kosher.

[Shesinfashion]

I followed the "Oliver's Army" thread and couldn't believe the OP was a troll and it was all made up. There were so many offers of practical help, gifts etc. I feel very sorry for everyone who contributed to it and also very sorry for the OP. They must be so messed up.

[Shesinfashion]

Why do you think that? Has another similar themed thread popped up? The original had photos of her sick child in hospital. I don't know how she was so convincing.

[NeedACleverNN]

It wouldn't surprise me actually Navy

If they have been banned before and came back, there is no reason why they won't still be hanging around creating more threads

[Passmethecrisps]

While I completely understand the annoyance I am not sure calling posters who fell for the troll gullible and stupid.

As many have said above, genuine posters may be missing out on support as people have become afraid to post on a particular type of thread.

Where I think the real issue lies is when people start sharing details of their own lives so begin emotionally investing.

There is no harm in engaging in a thread at all or offering advice even if it does turn out to be a troll. But maybe we all need to be a little more circumspect with our own life experiences

[thisisafakename]

Oh, actually, looking back that thread did seem a bit unrealistic- she included way too much detail about the MIL's crazy behaviour.

But honestly, MNHQ are not psychic. They just don't know whether things are true or not, and in a way, does it matter? We are writing and interacting with people that we will never meet in real life. Even if they happen to be trolls, maybe reading the posts will help someone else browsing the forums. I think people who over-invest and offer money or to let someone stay at their house (batshit crazy) are the ones who get most upset by it. But if you stop yourself getting too involved, I don't think a 'troll' thread is necessarily the worst thing ever.

I think often MNHQ are too heavy handed and will just delete without scruples. That's a bit frustrating because it stifles free speech (and they seem quite selective over what they delete and what they let stand).

[Doggity]

It's only going to get worse over the summer holidays.

[callherwillow]

There was a thread removed tonight I'm confuddled about.

[Cutecat78]

Which one?

[zen1]

The poster of the thread OP refers to posted another obviously trolly thread a few weeks ago. Dont know if that one got deleted though.

[callherwillow]

About Angela Merkel. I thought it was quite interesting!

[Familyof3or4]

I would never recognise a troll. I need MN to leave a folder labelled 'troll alert' with the OP only so I can try and spot them in the future

[Mycraneisfixed]

I fell for the Oliver story. It seemed inconceivable that anyone would make it up.

[Boogers]

Why was the Angela Merkel one deleted? I was reading that and it was quite interesting.

[ArmySal]

Breaking talk guidelines, Boogers.

[LilacSpunkMonkey]

Let'a not forget the long-tern trolls.

We have a handful of those at the moment. Can't say anymore than that but HQ are aware and waiting to pull plugs on people.

And also posters who push it as far as they can under one name then name change when they're close to getting banned. I would consider them to be trolls.

[Boogers]

ArmySal I left the thread around 4pm and didn't see anything after that. I'm taking the OP had posts deleted? I know they were called a GF fromm the offset, is that the reason?

[LikeDylanInTheMovies]

I have pretty much stopped commenting on anything traumatic, controversial or generally out of the ordinary. It was getting to the stage where was convinced that they were 95% the work of trolls. As such I was inadvertently getting rude and dismissive in my responses as I was convinced that it was all the work of trolls. So rather than a) waste my time and effort responding to emotional vampires or b) run the risk of it being genuine making a person in a crap situation feel crappier I've just ignored the threads and let other people get sucked in if they are guidable enough.

[callherwillow]

I was genuinely puzzled as to how it broke talk guidelines.

[Sparklingbrook]

I do think the longer you are on MN the more obvious the trolls become.

I agree with Dylan. I do lots of thread hiding these days.