To think mumsnet takes it overboard with troll hunting!?

[FuchMyLife]

Whilst trolls are annoying I can't help but feel many members of mumsnet get a little too carried away with verification of the authenticity of an OP.

when posting on a forum such as this the whole point is to express oneself freely without facing any real life repercussions without revealing one's identity so it's necessary to be evasive to an extent.

And so what if it's a fake story!? As long as people aren't transferring money to the OP or physically trying to rescue them what is there to lose by engaging in a hypothetical narrative?

It's a shame how many interesting threads have been killed off because of over zealous moderators ☹️

It's harmful because it makes other posters difficult and unusual situations more unlikely to be taken seriously when they need help.

"And so what if it's a fake story!? As long as people aren't transferring money to the OP or physically trying to rescue them what is there to lose by engaging in a hypothetical narrative?"

Because this isn't an outlet for your creative writing exercises.

Practically every other thread is being deleted these days getting bloody annoying.
We are taking this down while we look at this . Are you really mumsnet.
I suspect most threads are fake but that’s not allowed either . I usually scroll on but I’m quite surprised at the ones that are deleted.

@islockdownoveryet Thank you, glad I'm not alone in this

And yes it does seem to be getting worse

I was troll hunted here under my original name. It was a problem that probably sounded a bit far-fetched but was indeed genuine and was something I felt too embarrassed to raise with real life friends. The pile on took me by surprise and then another poster alerted me to the fact the thread was also being discussed over on Reddit, where they had also decided I was a deranged troll. It was a bit bruising tbh.

@MechantGourmet

It's harmful because it makes other posters difficult and unusual situations more unlikely to be taken seriously when they need help.

Exactly.

I’m not a fan of overzealous troll hunting either but I do think that trolls drawing people in with a fake story is shitty, it’s taking the piss out of those who engage and become genuinely concerned or invested in the OP. Especially when it involves abuse or mistreatment, and commenters who have genuinely been in similar scenarios reach out.

I know you should always take what you read on here with a pinch of salt, but equally commenters shouldn’t be props in someone’s fantasy.

I mean, some threads are taken down because OP doesn't get the reaction they're after and all of a sudden has 'RL concerns.'

But this is true about fake threads.

It's harmful because it makes other posters difficult and unusual situations more unlikely to be taken seriously when they need help

I also think one of the reasons AIBU has become so horrendous is people seeking entertainment (either thrill seekers making threads or readers vicariously getting heady on the misfortunes of others). This leads to threads starting off as merely outré but becoming increasingly extreme.

AIBU has become pornography for the judgemental.

People use MN in order to find solutions to their problems. Trolling ruins that for everyone.