What happened to people?

[Newpancake92]

Just a thought that might be worth voicing...
I've recently noticed a big change in dynamics on Mumsnet.
OPs are getting attacked in pretty much every thread and some people being really unkind to them.
People fighting between themselves.

I have always found Mumsnet to be such a nice place full of supportive people but it feels something has changed in the last year or so?
Would be scared to create any thread asking for emotional support/advice etc now as would most likely get shredded to bits.

Is it COL crisis that has done it to people? Wars? Being uncertain about their future?
Has anyone else noticed this? Do you think this happens more in real life too?

@Newpancake92 or the very basic level people just like to argue think they are correct etc sometimes its nice for academics to dress up behaviour in various academic reasons that then can be analysed and study and that sound respectable reasons but some times the public just either want an argument, want a debate or they just think they are correct etc

It largely comes down to the leniency of moderation. This is probably the least-moderated forum I’ve seen, especially of this size/level of traffic. While it’s good that the daytime staff get paid, it seems to have attracted people that want to deal with as little fuss and conflict as possible, which is simply not possible on a discussion forum. So things that are easy to moderate, such as spam or troll-hunting, are deleted within minutes. Blatant name-calling and insults are also gone pretty quickly. But anything more nuanced, such as fictional posts designed to cause outrage, are avoided. Moderation tools such as thread banning (when a user is banned from posting on a specific thread because they keep causing problems) are left unused. Banning is underutilized for repeatedly problematic posters. It’s possible that the ability to change usernames makes it harder for them to see the full history of the account and easily make decisions. Time is wasted sending waffling replies to reports rather than just taking action and closing it in the queue. Perhaps more training is needed; it’s hard to say.

There are quite a few trolls that take delight in specifically derailing a thread from the start. They’ll lurk around waiting for a new thread to be posted and then try to be the first response, usually attacking the OP or fixating on some mundane detail/wording from the post and trying to get other posters to fixate on it too. These accounts should just be banned but rarely are. There seems to be a lot of waffling about “maybe they’re genuine.” Of course they’re not. They’re just bored and causing havoc for the fun of it. Same thing with the occasional brigading from MRA types.

Those are the main issues I’ve noticed at least.

Not noticed a real change on here but IRL there is so much entitlement and selfishness. Too many people have also lost the ability to say please or thank you when seeking advice or assistance.

I’ve really gone off people in the past few years and I wasn’t much of a fan beforehand.

Several things going on I think. Just the platform to communicate with anyone about anything can be used by some to vent their spleen that's for some reason built up inside them. No danger of repercussion as in RL. The mindset we generally see arounds us in the media is negativity and nastiness, as is copious dramas about murders and the cross over to reality TV about serial killers or whatever it is.
Unfortunately some people thrive off negative 'drama'. We all wake up with the same choice every morning; either try to be pleasant to be people or don't be. Some people choose the latter and come on MN to nit pick the most benign posts. It's a sad way of life.
Other parts of Mumsnet are great, thank goodness.