AIBU to wonder whether some clever dick sociology lecturer/teacher out there is encouraging students to post on MN (and possibly elsewhere) to then assess and write up the impact of the thread and responses? I've never studied sociology so might be barking up the wrong tree but it seems feasible.
Some troll posts are obviously a crock of shit I accept but others seem to have involved a bit more thought. Obviously some trolls are just sick fuckers preying on the vulnerable and others are just bored kids but is it too weird to wonder whether some are deliberate in the pursuit of study rather than just shit and giggles? Not that I'm condoning such an approach, making shit up online to trick people is wrong but I do wonder about the motives sometimes.