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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder why people troll Mumsnet

31 replies

FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 00:46

All night long every thread I’ve been on seems to be a troll. Serious threads turn into nonsensical chaos. Certain posters getting away with it time and time again without getting banned…

When will Mumsnet take a stand against it and finally do something? Unpaid night watch volunteers don’t seem to cut it!

OP posts:
Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 00:52

Another thread I seriously replied to - gone poof! Honestly after 9pm this forum just isn’t worth it.

OP posts:
HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 00:53

Look, mumsnet has a rep for being a place where judgey women with no real pals come to tell everyone else they’re doing it wrong. If not that they’re common, chavvy, lower class etc. there are some folk - and I know a few irl that feel a lot of mumsnet folk are up their own arsed and could do with being the but if the joke. So they do it as a wind up, screenshot replies and stick you all in a group chat if their pals to laugh at you.

Macaroni1924 · 15/10/2022 00:53

It’s mad seems to be happening all the time. It amazes me people have the time and energy to bother 🤷🏻‍♀️

Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 00:55

HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 00:53

Look, mumsnet has a rep for being a place where judgey women with no real pals come to tell everyone else they’re doing it wrong. If not that they’re common, chavvy, lower class etc. there are some folk - and I know a few irl that feel a lot of mumsnet folk are up their own arsed and could do with being the but if the joke. So they do it as a wind up, screenshot replies and stick you all in a group chat if their pals to laugh at you.

Not denying that any of that is true!

But surely it’s time for MNHQ to crack down on this, take a stand, put tighter registration requirements in place. It ruins what is meant to be a place for women to come together when it’s filled with 17 year old male trolls!

OP posts:
Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 00:58

Macaroni1924 · 15/10/2022 00:53

It’s mad seems to be happening all the time. It amazes me people have the time and energy to bother 🤷🏻‍♀️

Agreed. And ruins it for the rest of it. I have my own theories about why they do it but it’s just a sad little life they live isn’t it!

OP posts:
2pinkginsplease · 15/10/2022 01:04

Total attention seekers who are feeling lonely in life and have too much time in their hands.

it puzzles me how some people have so much time!

Mamai90 · 15/10/2022 01:05

HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 00:53

Look, mumsnet has a rep for being a place where judgey women with no real pals come to tell everyone else they’re doing it wrong. If not that they’re common, chavvy, lower class etc. there are some folk - and I know a few irl that feel a lot of mumsnet folk are up their own arsed and could do with being the but if the joke. So they do it as a wind up, screenshot replies and stick you all in a group chat if their pals to laugh at you.

Jesus, that sounds fucking tragic. I couldn't be arsed. If one of my mates did a troll thread and screen shotted me it I'd think they were pretty pathetic with an odd sense of humour. Have some people nothing better to do? Obviously not I guess!

HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 01:05

The ones I’m talking about are actually mums between 20 and 40 who are more from my side of the tracks than most mumsnet folk.

I can’t really tell what is a troll or not if I’m honest. There’s loads of things I’ve read in here that I think “you’re shitting me right?” And they turn out to be true. If I can’t tell then how are moderators supposed to get it right all the time? I’m not the only one either. I wrote on that post about the alcoholic neighbour and a lot of others did too.

I suppose given the genuine stuff I’ve read it’s not inconceivable to me that someone in here would be a judgey old mare about someone having six bottles of vody in the bin. There was a post not long ago that descended into the most rotten thing I’ve read in a while all because a woman shortlisted a name for her baby that many thought was lower class.

Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:10

2pinkginsplease · 15/10/2022 01:04

Total attention seekers who are feeling lonely in life and have too much time in their hands.

it puzzles me how some people have so much time!

But why can’t mumsnet just ban them? Surely that would solve all the problems here!

OP posts:
ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:12

FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:10

But why can’t mumsnet just ban them? Surely that would solve all the problems here!

Show quote history

They do ban them. The trolls just create new accounts unfortunately.
At night, the volunteers cannot ban. They haven't been given the permissions to do so. They have to hide the posts till staff come in in the morning.

HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 01:12

Mamai90 · 15/10/2022 01:05

Jesus, that sounds fucking tragic. I couldn't be arsed. If one of my mates did a troll thread and screen shotted me it I'd think they were pretty pathetic with an odd sense of humour. Have some people nothing better to do? Obviously not I guess!

Show quote history

My friends sister is pretty hilarious with it. Not just the troll threads but the real ones too. She reads them out in funny voices and accents. You’ve got to expect it really when you’ve got posts that condescend normal folks lives especially when they end up on the daily record websites etc. where you all have a piley on here laughing about, I dunno, folk that called their baby Jaxon or Jacsyn (this really was one not that long ago) then you’ve got to expect it back. But they just do it amongst real life friends instead of strangers in the internet.

JustLyra · 15/10/2022 01:15

The do it because they get a reaction from people on here.

It is quite mad though that a website with 100 staff and a 350k a month wage bill (according to MNHQ on a thread about the premium thing when it was being said launching was in bad taste) rely on volunteers at the time of day it’s seemingly most targeted by trolls (probably because they know troll threads stand much longer overnight).

Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:16

ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:12

They do ban them. The trolls just create new accounts unfortunately.
At night, the volunteers cannot ban. They haven't been given the permissions to do so. They have to hide the posts till staff come in in the morning.

Show quote history

There must be some advanced IP tracking or site protection they can get. There must be a load of ways around it. However mumsnet just simply doesn’t seem to care? I suspect there’s a very particular reason why they allow it…

Also the NW being volunteers seems wrong! Almost encouraging the trolls to come out of the woodwork at night.

OP posts:
CallieQ · 15/10/2022 01:17

Posters get accused of being trolls if they disagree. There should be some rules about random thread deletion

ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:20

FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:16

There must be some advanced IP tracking or site protection they can get. There must be a load of ways around it. However mumsnet just simply doesn’t seem to care? I suspect there’s a very particular reason why they allow it…

Also the NW being volunteers seems wrong! Almost encouraging the trolls to come out of the woodwork at night.

Show quote history

I agree with you
I'm not techie at all but as you say, there must be some way, even if that just means giving night watch the ability to hide a poster rather than their posts till morning.
Takes the piss

HighlandPony · 15/10/2022 01:20

CallieQ · 15/10/2022 01:17

Posters get accused of being trolls if they disagree. There should be some rules about random thread deletion

This!! Seen that loads and also had it happen to me

BasiliskStare · 15/10/2022 01:22

I think MN attracts people who want to be mischievous because it it is popular and more posters - so more chance of getting a rise out of people.

NewBootsAndRanty · 15/10/2022 01:22

What's the very particular reason?

Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:24

NewBootsAndRanty · 15/10/2022 01:22

What's the very particular reason?

Advertisement revenue!

OP posts:
CallieQ · 15/10/2022 01:24

I got a post deleted because it was 'not in the spirit of MN' wtaf?!
Wasn't rude or offensive just didn't agree

ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:25

FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:24

Advertisement revenue!

Show quote history

Why would leaving trolls to post affect their advertising revenue? I don't follow

Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:26

ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:20

I agree with you
I'm not techie at all but as you say, there must be some way, even if that just means giving night watch the ability to hide a poster rather than their posts till morning.
Takes the piss

Show quote history

Yeah, think it’s time they paid a worker to do the graveyard shift! Would surely only take one moderator to do the shift and keep the forum under control.

They employ 100 people and can’t get one of them to work over night???

OP posts:
Original poster
FellowshipUndone · 15/10/2022 01:27

ofwarren · 15/10/2022 01:25

Why would leaving trolls to post affect their advertising revenue? I don't follow

Show quote history

The troll threads often run to 10’s of pages long and end up on top of the popular threads.. that’s a lot of extra clicks for them! As revenue on these websites is often done by page refreshes.

OP posts:
LetMeSpeak · 15/10/2022 01:29

This is trolls on every social media/forum. People looking for attention or “clout”. Unfortunately some end up getting what they are looking for.

EatingTrifles · 15/10/2022 08:24

Most of the trolls will be men who hate women, they don’t believe we should have rights or have a voice, it really winds them up that there is a place on the internet where women congregate & talk amongst themselves. I know of someone on another forum who bragged about moving another website forum to mumsnet for a while, called it a ‘board raid’ spoke of how enjoyable it was.