To wonder how to spot a troll so I don't keep investing my time?

[PRILK]

It's not time, really, just emotional responses.

This is the 3rd thread since joining that has been deleted. It's extremely frustrating.

How do you spot these trolls?

Can MN not track their IP and block it if they're repeatedly making new accounts?

Not to hijack a post but no. I asked for advice on a course of action that could be a safe guarding issue but it wasn't emotive particularly. People came up with an action I hadn't considered, so I clarified it and then the post would have ended there naturally. It seems that you are saying any post that touches on an unusual or possible safeguarding issue is automatically troll like. Obviously trolls aim for the emotive but I wasn't goady, drip feedy, or refusing to listen to other posters. Oh well, at least living under a bridge is airy and shadowy in this weather.

I agree Lemony. Not all emotive topics are troll fodder.
Often, as you say, the ones that are tend to pick a topic that's emotional and be goady or write an OP that's very much they ABU and then after a page or so suddenly it's all but mental health, sexual assaults, domestic violence, safeguarding.
As others have said you also get attempts at naivity "what's a drip feed? What's a troll? What's a PBP? too if questioned.

Not because it was an emotive subject. It ticked the troll boxes. You had porn, safe guarding and poo all in one thread.

There a a resident poo troll. I think it is good you posted. It's not that I think you shouldn't have posted. Simply, that I can understand why some were dubious.

Yes there's someone with a poo fetish who will bring all the threads back to the subject.

Ok, so no mentioning pooh in future, though I think the most comments about it were my spelling. I've managed to miss that troll. I stand by that queen should have just checked my name and reported me rather than face though.

I definitely agree it should have been a case of checking your username, or just not posting or reporting for mn to look at. I think people place mark with a on thread, so they can congratulate themselves on being right when they see the deletion message.

I can't really think why else you would bother.

I tend to search, then report to HQ if things raise my suspicions...

Then sometimes I go overboard on the thread and make myself look like a twat, but luckily that's getting less and less.

Part of the problem is that you don't seem to be able to express even polite skepticism or point out flaws in someones story without then being reported for 'troll hunting' and having your posts deleted.

This really annoys me when a post seems particularly designed to play on people's fears, or work up their anger - medical scare stories or legal injustices.

To me this is exactly the same as the fake news stories that do the rounds on social media and which are designed to illicit exactly the same responses, creating arguments, stoking feeling and polarising opinions. These threads are actively harmful.

It should be our responsibility to point out when either things are wrong or simply don't add up, as long as we do it calmly and politely - this is not 'troll-hunting'!!!

Mumsnet, I believe, it's hard to get back to where you answered (unless I'm doing it wrong), so I usually answer and never come back, because I can't get to where I was in the thread. It seems too basic. Unless it's something really serious or relatable, I don't come back.

I also find myself not answering posts anymore, but reading them.

It all seems so pointless.

I don't understand why people actually troll - whats the point? They get attention but then the thread is deleted. I don't understand

As a wank aid

I think I used to get sucked in more. It doesn't happen now because I rarely read anything that makes me care enough to feel I've invested anything. It definitely used to happen to me.

Low self-esteem manifests itself differently in different people, some people like me would have RACED to help and empathise and invest, time, energy, advice............ others with low self-esteem like to feel valuable by watching a shit storm kick off and knowing ''I caused that''.

So we 're all in it together! A troll is still a human being though. SOmetimes I read things about trolls and I think it's very dehumanising. Whatever gubbins a troll posts, they're not doing it from a place of contentment and fulfilment and wisdom.