to wish we could sometimes see the other person's pov on quite a lot of Mumsnet threads?

[Chicchicchicchiclana]

There's lots of threads I just don't believe at all, and then there's many more I take with a large pinch of salt.

I'd love to see the "other" person's posts. I know that, amazingly, some threads feature Person B suddenly popping up and giving their side of things, but I'm too cynical to believe this really genuinely happens.

But in the majority of cases I think that anything other than fence-sitting in a "I said and then she turned around and said" scenario is unreasonable.

Aibu?

I wonder about this too. The thing I’m very aware of is that a poster down behaviour has to be exemplary or they’ll be torn apart in AIBU. No matter how vile, rude, cruel or unreasonable person B is, if the OP reveals a hint of entitlement or whatever on their part, they’ll be told they deserve everything they got and more.

I think that leads some posters to exaggerate their stories - not to garner sympathy, but to avoid being pilloried by an audience that won’t empathise with a poster who has been anything other than perfect.

*Poster down = poster’s own

Oh yes! There are often hints in a post to the other side to be fair but there are some topics that just bring on the red mist in people and they respond without even considering that the OP may be in the wrong in any way.

To be honest I'm sceptical of 99% of what people write because it's ALWAYS going to be biased - especially when the thread is about the two most hated groups on MN - men and MILs

I hate it when there's a chain of responses with what I can only describe as a pack mentality, with no dissenting views.

Moot point as to whether MiLs are more despised than stepmums

I try to think of ways that an "I was treated outrageously!" story can be entirely factually true as first told, but turns out that the interpretation of events is completely wrong. It's quite an entertaining game...

Yes. And sometimes the OP will gloss over something which might actually be a big deal - such as they’ll say something like ‘I had a few stern words after their trolley bumped mine’ - does that mean you were a bit grouchy or shouted and called them an arsehole? Makes a big difference!