To think some people come on Mumsnet solely to be the utter bitches they can't get away with being in real life.

[SynchOrSwim]

I just see so many posts where people seem to do everything they can to make others feel as small and stupid as possible.

I know there will be disagreement and debate on here but some people are so unnecessarily nasty they're like panto villains!

Undoubtedly some posters are the proverbial keyboard warriors. Others fall victim to goading. Some might overreact if a thread touches a particular nerve. Sometimes when you post something, it reads more harshly than you intended.

Completely agree

Also there’s a lot of jealousy on here.

I definitely think there has been an influx of bad faith posters over the last few weeks, just completely goady posters who add nothing but scorn or sarcasm to a thread unfortunately.

I keep thinking it's teenage boys who are bored and wander over here from Reddit to try and annoy women and get a kick out of it.

I think there's just a few who name change all the time - there's a few who post immediately with a very contrary viewpoint to the original OP - it's like there's a race to be nasty

So I take it you've challenged such posters on the relevant threads and reported personal attacks?

Not only on here, plenty of other places are just as bad.

Some people crash onto every thread determined to tell the OP they're in the wrong, no matter how sad or vulnerable the OP might sound. I'm sure they're discontented with their own lives, but maybe they should read a self-help book instead of trying to channel their rage into internet randoms.

This is exactly what I see on thread after thread.

Mumsnet has always had a reputation for being a nest of vipers but it used to be witty and dry, with a sarcastic edge. Never just mean for the sake of it, kicking people when they're down with smug superiority.

And in real life. Some people just love a sly dig.

And these kinds of comments too. Not to pick on you particularly @ilovesooty but if you really want to ask this question, you could say “did you know you can report personal attacks?” Or “have you been reporting personal attacks?”

It’s a mean argumentative way to post and makes assumptions (ie that people carp without going through the “proper processes”) based on absolutely nothing. I dunno about the OP here but I report personal attacks and suspected trolls all the time. But I agree that some (a TINY minority) do seem to enjoy venting their spleen on people here.

I’ve been personally attacked tonight on one thread already. The same poster attacked me on a thread (where I mentioned the same things) and enjoys being utterly vile as far as I can see.
Personal issues are no excuse for deliberately being a twat… and I must admit if someone personally attacks me, I bite back.

Discussion is one thing. Difference of opinion fine. But a lot of the “why did you not use your judgement before having children”/“you are crazy and delusional “/are you 12 etc comments are, I expect, just deeply unhappy people

Yes and then they come on here and try and justify why they behave that way. Must be very unhappy in themselves is what I think.

Absolutely!

Some people really enjoy being vile and the Internet is an easy way to get away with it.

Yep, absolutely.

🙄

I agree it’s the “kicking people when they’re down” that really gets to me. For example a omeone posts an emotional OP about their recent bereavement or worries about eviction and a number of people will pop up to tell them they need to format it into better paragraphs or they “don’t understand” some incorrect grammar or a typo that 99.9% of people could get their heads round no problem. It’s almost always when the OP sounds like they haven’t had the requisite oxbridge education and/or has English as a second language and/or are skint (as per their post) that this kind of “misunderstanding” happens and it does seriously smack of kicking someone who’s “beneath you”.

*someone posts

Totally agree. I've been here since dinosaurs 🦕 roamed the earth and back in the day it was edgy, sarky and challenging at times but there weren't so many name changing truly horrible posters.
I cannot believe some posters can be so mean and unpleasant especially when an OP is troubled and asking for support and help.
God knows how they sleep at night with what they dish out

And yes I do report

I take your point. I reacted to the irritation of these threads appearing several times a week but I could have made my point differently.

God, yeah. Some posts make me cringe. Literally no need to be a dick.

Agreed. A lot of the responses are horrible now. I don’t think I would start a thread

I noticed 2 thigs since coming on herr:

1. A goady poster often pops in about 20 posts in and causes a pile-on

And

1. When I've searched for advice posted like 5-10 years ago the tone was different and more respectful .

Whereas your tone policing is a-ok? It's not obligatory to express oneself in a fake saccharine way.

A lot of people like to pick holes in an OP, no matter what she’s said. It’s horrible, and it’s why we get reverse threads.