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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
BrumBoo · 06/02/2021 16:29

@Hobnobswantshernameback

I remember the thread where someone claimed their child was newly diagnosed with cancer The hysteria was horrific to observe Worse still when posters who knew it was bollocks because the clinical information being spouted by the OP was bollocks they were venomously rounded on by the competitive "aunties" It was vile Posters changed their names to include the imaginary child's name, they became an "army" Seriously that's not normal behaviour
Yup, it was awful. Followed by the 'Fixin Saga' which was equally vile and took months/several threads for people to cop on.
Original poster
Happyone8 · 06/02/2021 16:29

@BigBadVoodooHat

I don't understand posters getting so deeply into other people's threads that they are crying, shaking, fuming and the rest, on behalf of strangers on the internet.

"Any update, OP? I couldn't sleep last night for worrying about you ..."

Hmm

Because some people are nice and care . They see someone with an issue , try to help them and hope to see a resolution. There are plenty of people supporting women who have found their dh cheating etc and I hope if I had the misfortune to suffer that I could reach out , for what is often, valuable advice from those who have experienced it themselves. I’m actually friend with two posters in real life as we went through similar traumas, from another site. I’ve been friend years with them , we regularly catch up on zoom etc . We helped each other get through our traumas. Yes , there seem to be a lot of weirdos on here , but there’s also evidently a lot of nasty smug women too !
OP posts:
Sadbadglad · 06/02/2021 16:30

"gullible idiots" is a bit strong.

I believed Dr Book woman for a while. I am not an idiot, just a new widow who is lonely and coming here for some company.

EarringsandLipstick · 06/02/2021 16:30

All the 'hope you're ok OP' posts when the fast moving live action thread goes quiet for day are just a way of saying 'Come on OP you owe us an update

Sometimes, yes. But not always. There are some very supportive threads, and posters who say that actually mean just that.

NoWordForFluffy · 06/02/2021 16:31

@Hobnobswantshernameback

And often if you read a lot of these types of threads the posting style is weirdly similar Hmm
Yes!

Weirdly, we kept getting targeted by trolls on a long-running thread on the Christmas board. They all had a similar story / writing style and stood out like a sore thumb. God knows what that was all about. Xmas Hmm

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 16:32

@EarringsandLipstick

All the 'hope you're ok OP' posts when the fast moving live action thread goes quiet for day are just a way of saying 'Come on OP you owe us an update

Sometimes, yes. But not always. There are some very supportive threads, and posters who say that actually mean just that.

You can generally tell the difference though. You can tell the ones where the OP is thinking about what they should post next in the story...
Sadbadglad · 06/02/2021 16:32

Now we are too stupid to vote. Some of you are not very nice

EarringsandLipstick · 06/02/2021 16:33

@Hobnobswantshernameback

The dating one was obvious from the start And anything that turns into a three thread saga is invariably a pile of screaming horseshit The critical thinking bypass surgery some posters seem to have had is quite frighteningly effective
That's pretty nasty.

That thread made sense in its ordinariness, and it resonated with many who have experienced OLD.

In fact, that's probably the only good point about it. People shared stories, some very good advice given.

I don't think it's fair to be so snide about people who believed in the OP (may or may not include me 🙈)

Staffy1 · 06/02/2021 16:33

I was just wondering yesterday, after a couple of threads I was on disappeared with the troll message, how they are proved to be trolls. How does anyone know for sure unless they actually admit it? Do they ever? Disappointed to hear the dating one was a troll thread, it seemed convincing as it wasn't wildly exciting or anything.

CharityDingle · 06/02/2021 16:33

@Sparklingbrook

I didn't read snapped and farted as it happened so to speak, but on the advice of some here a few months later I read the whole thing. Didn't crack a smile, and didn't really understand it. Confused
Same here.

I saw it at the time, and thought it was completely unfunny.

Maireas · 06/02/2021 16:35

Yes, many responses are obviously from genuine kind people who do want to help. The recently removed school thread got a lot of supportive answers and good advice. Until the inevitable message saying it was a previously banned poster and the thread was being removed. I kind of felt sorry for the nice people who were trying to offer solutions.

EarringsandLipstick · 06/02/2021 16:35

Because some people are nice and care . They see someone with an issue , try to help them and hope to see a resolution.

I agree Happy

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 16:39

@EarringsandLipstick

Because some people are nice and care . They see someone with an issue , try to help them and hope to see a resolution.

I agree Happy

But lots of posters think they are owed a resolution and when it's obvious the OP is long gone they are still all 'hope you are ok OP' bumping the thread etc because they personally want to know what happened and are a bit fed up that they aren't getting that.

I think you can tell the trolls from the genuine posters on the whole, and Hide Thread is a great function.

Hobnobswantshernameback · 06/02/2021 16:40

If my child became so invested in someone that they had talked to online that they knew nothing about and had never met I'd be concerned.
If my child sent money and gifts to people they talked to online but did not know and had never met I'd have huge alarm bells ringing
If my child went to meet someone they had spoken to on an online forum with no safety measures in place I'd go nuts
But these are all things that adults on here over the years have done and not understood why it's probably not a good idea

EarringsandLipstick · 06/02/2021 16:43

@Hobnobswantshernameback

If my child became so invested in someone that they had talked to online that they knew nothing about and had never met I'd be concerned. If my child sent money and gifts to people they talked to online but did not know and had never met I'd have huge alarm bells ringing If my child went to meet someone they had spoken to on an online forum with no safety measures in place I'd go nuts But these are all things that adults on here over the years have done and not understood why it's probably not a good idea
What's the 'so invested' part? I think it's reasonable to feel peeved when you've invested some time & energy in a situation.

The other 2 scenarios I agree - I can't imagine anyone with a grain of sense doing it.

There can be a medium ground on this. And I spend too much time on MN at the moment. I'm a single parent, very little support, and I find the community that's on MN sometimes a distraction, sometimes a support & I don't think there's much wrong with that.

Original poster
Happyone8 · 06/02/2021 16:46

@Hobnobswantshernameback

If my child became so invested in someone that they had talked to online that they knew nothing about and had never met I'd be concerned. If my child sent money and gifts to people they talked to online but did not know and had never met I'd have huge alarm bells ringing If my child went to meet someone they had spoken to on an online forum with no safety measures in place I'd go nuts But these are all things that adults on here over the years have done and not understood why it's probably not a good idea
We aren’t children though. What about online dating - you have to invest in a total ‘stranger‘ , that’s a normal thing to have to do these days
OP posts:
Hobnobswantshernameback · 06/02/2021 16:46

"So invested"
People claim to lose sleep, lie awake worrying, sobbing etc
That's a little ott for someone you've never met
You can empathise and be interested and supportive whilst engaging your critical thinking and caution and keeping a sensible level of distance and perspective

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 16:48

I don't see posting on MN as investing 'time and energy', just reading what people have posted on the internet and replying.

It's a shame AIBU is used so much 'for traffic'. Some of the best help/advice/support will be found within a specific topic created especially for it.

Original poster
Happyone8 · 06/02/2021 16:48

Agree @EarringsandLipstick those slating people ‘investing ‘ seem to have been on mumsnet some time and have a lot of experience of it all . Who’s invested really??

OP posts:
Floridaflipflops · 06/02/2021 16:50

Most trolls post because they are bored and need attention. More seriously though some Trolls post to get off on other posters private negative experiences especially sexual abuse threads.

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 16:51

Slating? Or just offering an opinion perhaps.

I have been on and off MN for 9 years and there's been threads like this a lot over that time.
You can choose what level of investment you want to make to a Talk Forum on the internet I suppose.

Original poster
Happyone8 · 06/02/2021 16:52

And those saying about spending too much time etc on a thread - do you seriously post on a thread and never check back to see what’s happening or care about any of the posters or what the outcome is - I call that BS
Anyway , as I’ve found out how many are made up , I will be focusing on topic sections rather than aibu which seems to full of oddballs and cynics

OP posts:
VenusClapTrap · 06/02/2021 16:53

Balonz was my favourite troll thread.

BrumBoo · 06/02/2021 16:55

@Happyone8

Agree *@EarringsandLipstick* those slating people ‘investing ‘ seem to have been on mumsnet some time and have a lot of experience of it all . Who’s invested really??
Look op, you're the one bemoaning being taken in by a troll. It's been mentioned in many ways that many people get over invested at times on MN, either because they just love a bit of drama or are really naive to how forums work. We've all been there, taken in by some bull. There's no need to get defensive because certain posters have seen this just once too often now, and are making perfectly valid points about how certain behaviours like obvious over-investment just encourages more trolls.

Maybe people are just being kind with the 'you OK hun?' approach, but having been here a while I also only see it as posters looking for a juicy update/next part of the story. The 'shaking and crying' posts are now just infamous for silliness, a proper MN trope.

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 16:56

@Happyone8

And those saying about spending too much time etc on a thread - do you seriously post on a thread and never check back to see what’s happening or care about any of the posters or what the outcome is - I call that BS Anyway , as I’ve found out how many are made up , I will be focusing on topic sections rather than aibu which seems to full of oddballs and cynics
I have hidden threads mid way through after realising I wasn't that bothered. If the thread drops off my active/I'm on list unless it's that riveting I wouldn't go looking for it and assume it was either deleted or just stopped being posted on.