to ask what the obsession is with conspiracy theories on AIBU?

[TheHouseWithTheBambooDoor]

Why do you get these unfathomable posters on every thread who inexplicably start declaring that they’re certain it’s all made up and that the OP has ‘gone into hiding’ and ‘it’s all a wind up’ when they’ve not delivered the masses on MN an update in over an hour. I’ve posted myself before, appreciated the supportive/critical replies, then returned later in the day (say, after work) to discover that it’s all been mysteriously deleted. AIBU to wonder what on earth the conspiracy theory obsession is all about?

...Genuinely perplexed

I'm with you OP. I had a post deleted recently for the same reason. Completely genuine, but MNHQ chose to delete it.

It seems some posters are out to pick holes and are determined to hunt trolls where there are none!

Yes, OP, but of course, you WOULD say that, wouldn't you?

I agree with you - there are some very disturbing and/or inappropriate threads and posts that really do need reporting and removing; but the number of people who act like Alan's special advisers on the Apprentice, when they pore through the business plans and every word the hapless contestants say, looking for everything they can possibly find any perceived fault with - I think some of them must be on some kind of power trip and possibly lacking purpose in their own lives. I wonder if they're the same kind of people who walk by a primary school at playtime and complain about the noise the excited children are making 'when they're supposed to be at school to learn'.

You even get the fun sponges with some harmless, jokey threads, which, true, embellished or completely made up, are hurting nobody - and giving loads of people a really good laugh at nobody whatsoever's expense. The hilarious Balonz one springs immediately to mind - classic gold! What difference would it have made in any way if the OP had happened to have a friend from Surrey whose name actually was Balonz?

I'm with you OP. I had a post deleted recently for the same reason. Completely genuine, but MNHQ chose to delete it.

Plenty of folk have very tiny little worlds that they inhabit. If it hasn't ever happened to them personally, it MUST have been made up. And once this has been established beyond any doubt by the firm evidence of their own very narrow little minds, it then becomes their job to warn everybody else that it's not true - FACT.

I also think the same with some of (not all) the people who come on and shout "HEY, EVERYBODY - ZOMBIE THREAD - STOP POSTING!!!" It makes sense when it's a very specific question asked by a poster with very particular personal circumstances, maybe about a concern they have with their baby who will now be at secondary school, but when it's a general discussion about a common recurring issue in many people's lives, it really doesn't matter if it's brought to more people's attention - it's often a good thing, in fact.

Incidentally, I often wonder with those threads that MNHQ take down to 'check behind the scenes' or 'look into further' if any of them are ever re-instated once the OP has genuinely been found to pass muster. If not, why don't they just say "We doubt the genuineness of this one" if there's no intention of looking into it with the possibility of restoring the thread if all checks out?