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AIBU?

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Original poster

Why trolls make up threads on here ?

246 replies

Happyone8 · 06/02/2021 11:20

I’m fairly new to Aibu and have been on two troll threads recently. One was about dating and was three threads long , where I took time giving lots of advice over several weeks . Ends up it was someone making it up and she/he had several other threads running too. Another thread from someone else has been shut down this morning for a similar reason .
Just wondering why someone would make stuff up ? It must be so boring and pointless! Also now don’t feel like investing time to freeing advice as feel that it’s all made up .
Is there a way to spot these people ??

OP posts:
Bowlerhats · 12/02/2021 09:30

@bruffin

So ok to leach off someone's emotions, or prey on the vulnerable, which is what trolls do. Im not talking about posters who clearly have MH issues who cant be helped online., but keep coming back But the grief vampires on here who "cant sleep" because of a strangers story on the internet are far worse than any "troll hunter" They are virtual signallers who pat themselves on the back , tell themselves how wonderful they are for doing absolutely nothing
I don’t think that many ‘troll hunters’ are doing it to be kind to other internet randoms. They often have a particularly smug way of posting and if you look at their other posts are not very nice on other threads (generally a bit sharp or tell it like it is type).

They do it because they think everyone else is a bit stupid and they are showing how clever they are, some are trolls themselves and are doing some sort of double bluff.

Most normal people dip in and out of here and don’t get obsessed by trolls or troll hunting.

Bowlerhats · 12/02/2021 09:34

I have spotted a returning troll to MN and reported, if they are happy for her to stay I couldn’t care less. I haven’t hounded her with lots of clever comments, it doesn’t affect my life.

Mittens030869 · 12/02/2021 09:34

Couldn’t agree more with this, I have realised that the ‘troll hunters’ are often trolls themselves, it’s strange to be so invested in it- very important monitors of the internet.

^This. They're often quite nasty with their troll hunting as well. And against some obviously distressed OPs as well.

Someone they're right, obviously. But they should report the thread in these circumstances. Mostly threads are zapped reasonably quickly.

bruffin · 12/02/2021 09:59

This reply has been deleted

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CharityDingle · 12/02/2021 10:20

@bruffin

And a poster saying they know the op in real life is meaningless. The could just be "socks" of the op. Ie the poster NC or using more than one account
Exactly!
BronwenFrideswide · 12/02/2021 14:14

Way back in the mists of time there was a well known long term poster other MNers had met at the MN meet ups (that used to happen when the site was much smaller) who was outed as being, shall we say, somewhat untruthful and had played a very long game to dupe MNers.

Being long term on the site and 'well known' is no guarantee of anything.

TheMoth · 13/02/2021 09:38

Trouble is with troll hunting, is that whole threads just become filled with comments about how the poster is a troll. And there would be many threads like that.

RootyT00t · 13/02/2021 12:11

@bruffin

And a poster saying they know the op in real life is meaningless. The could just be "socks" of the op. Ie the poster NC or using more than one account
No but in this particular case it is true , also @BigBadVoodooHat , so all I was saying was that it's unecessary to decide when people can post about grief when someone is doing just that.
bruffin · 13/02/2021 12:14

How do you know its true @RootyT00t

OhWhyNot · 13/02/2021 12:16

Attention, boredom, enjoying winding up MN posters

I think the winding mn posters up is high on the list why .... not a difficult task

RootyT00t · 13/02/2021 12:38

@bruffin

How do you know its true *@RootyT00t*
Excuse me if I don't spend time being as disgusting as to debate whether that particular thread is true.
RootyT00t · 13/02/2021 12:40

On another note , I can't believe the huge one has just been taken down! Weirdly enough a few posters did raise concerns and were shot down by other posters...what an absolute waste of days!!

StillCoughingandLaughing · 13/02/2021 13:55

Ooh, which one?

RootyT00t · 13/02/2021 14:11

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Ooh, which one?
Can I name it?

I don't know if I can.

The NC one?

FossilisedFanny · 13/02/2021 14:15

Give us a clue , I’m hopeless at remembering threads

RootyT00t · 13/02/2021 14:21

It was only taken down today. It's been running the past week and causing some hysteria on here.

Hernameisdeborah · 13/02/2021 16:41

I have realised that the ‘troll hunters’ are often trolls themselves, it’s strange to be so invested in it- very important monitors of the internet.

Absolutely this. If you're concerned that a poster isn't all they say they are, you can just report and get it sorted with no fuss. I tend to find most posters who troll hunt openly are doing so to show how superior they are, and to show off to others.

Mittens030869 · 13/02/2021 16:47

@Hernameisdeborah

Absolutely right. It's also patronising, the way they 'worry' about us all wasting our time. It's our own time to waste.

There's also never any guarantee that an OP is genuine, as they're randoms on the internet.

babbaloushka · 14/02/2021 22:42

@RootyT00t

It was only taken down today. It's been running the past week and causing some hysteria on here.
Wait which one was it?
RootyT00t · 14/02/2021 23:46

The one about going no contact with a husband's friend.

babbaloushka · 14/02/2021 23:51

@RootyT00t

The one about going no contact with a husband's friend.
Ahh thank you, thought it might've been the one where the bfs phone was off, thats disappeared too.
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