Schools broken up I see?

[OoooopsUpsideYourHead]

Whenever school holidays are approaching, "Schools broken up already?" or similar is always posted on dubious looking threads.

But why??

Yes, dubious threads undoubtedly appear more often (if that's even possible!) during the school holidays but come on, do people really think kids/teenagers have got nothing better to do than wind up mums on a parenting website, I mean really? and even if they did, whats wrong with evenings and weekends? Why would they wait till the schools break up?

Instagram, X, Youtube and endless gaming opportunities for bored DC who literally have the world at their fingertips? 🤣

Am I being unreasonable to think it has to be adults on a wind up and not bored kids?

I think it's a dated reference now - it might have been something kids did 20 years ago when Mumsnet was first around but as you say, they have waaaay better things to do on the internet now.

It’s not taken literally though. It’s a response to a post/comment that is risible so it’s used to imply that the comment is so nonsensical that no logical adult would have posted, ergo schools must be out comment.

Just like ‘you ok hun’, is obviously not used to ask if the poster is ok. It’s used in a response to an illegible/ ranty / no context sort of post. I assumed the comment your op was about is a similar internet forum nuance.

Hmmm possibly.

But 14 years on MN has taught me that some people actually do believe it, unless I'm reading them wrong.

But maybe you're right and it's designed as a strange insult such as 'Are you very young?'

I mean, I think most of the troll posts on here are from adult perverts and bots with certain agendas, but kids do troll forums like this - it's a thing. They often do it and post about it elsewhere. Kind of like prank phone calls in the past.

Yes, precisely.

It’s a very lazy and quite frankly boring response.

It is rather tedious isn't it? And I agree, most DC would probably not be seen dead on MN. In terms of teenage trolling and pranking, I imagine MN is most uncool, with zero kudos points.

I’ve noticed now it’s chat gpt. It’s so easy to get chat gpt write troll posts, and people fall for it. Only yesterday and today so many of the trending posts are chat got. It’s becoming really, really boring.

Yep, a huge number of the recent threads that have gone on for pages and pages have been ChatGPT this week. It's so easy to spot, but there are so many people wasting so much time replying to them.

I’m thinking of taking a break from MN because if it. It’s like talking to a robot.

I really wish I knew how to spot ChatGPT posts but I don't really know what to look for?!

It’s a put down and very rude

Can’t help but roll my eyes when I see “Schools broken up already”. As if a teenager or child is going to come and post on here.

I agree. I don’t have a clue how to spot them. Any clues MNetters?

The easiest thing to do is to ask ChatGPT to write a few things for you (not to post obviously). You can even ask it to write fake MN posts, and you'll get a feel for the writing. There are lots of subtle tells from being overly flowery to using too many em dashes, but it's rather hard to explain, and you kinda just know it when you see it if you're used to using AI a lot.

Children, no. Some teenagers do make a hobby of trolling various online spaces, and laughing about it on other platforms, but I agree that most of the trolls on here are adults!

I wonder if some people use ChatGPT because the SPAG police on MN can be brutal?

HQ used to delete posts pulling other MNetters up on it but they don't seem to bother much anymore.

I think most of the dubious posts are from regular MNetters because they know exactly which buttons to push.

I don't think many teenagers would really.

The thing is, you could just use Grammarly to correct your spelling. It's not just spelling that has been corrected, it's whole posts written in a particular style. You'd have to go to the effort of basically typing in everything you wanted to say anyway, if you want an AI post to accurately represent the situation, so why not just do that and use a spellcheck program?

I wouldn't actually be surprised if it's Mumsnet themselves posting some of the AI-generated content, actually.

No, they think it makes them sound a bit smarter. And don’t understand that it is obvious that it is an AI written post (even though some now remove the — before posting.

True @BedlingtonWillow

I'm going to have a play with ChatGPT at the weekend because I feel so out of the loop! 😳

Ask it to write a lengthy MN post on something. You will see what we mean. It’s a certain style.

So, I just asked it to generate a typical MN post, no other info. This is what it spit out. You can see how it would be easy to consider it real if you didn't know, right? But yes, have a play with it! You're not missing that much really, but it can be a fun way to kill time for a bit.

To think I’m not being unreasonable to ban MIL from bath time?
Post:
Right, I need perspective because DH says I’m overreacting and I genuinely feel like I’m losing the plot.

So… MIL (who is generally lovely but very overbearing and a bit obsessed with DS, 3) was babysitting yesterday while we went to a wedding. All fine. Except when we got home, she casually mentions she gave him a bath. Fine. Lovely. Except THEN she adds that she got in the bath with him because “it’s what she did with DH when he was that age and it’s the best bonding time.”

I didn’t even know what to say. DH just laughed it off like it was nothing, but I find it so inappropriate. He’s THREE. She’s nearly 70. Why would you get into a bath with someone else’s child, even if you’re the grandma? She has form for ignoring boundaries and saying I’m "too modern" and "reading too many parenting blogs."

She means well, I know she does, but I just can’t shake this feeling that it’s weird. I said she can’t do bath time anymore, and DH thinks I’m being ridiculous and “ruining her relationship” with DS. Apparently I need to “loosen up.”
AIBU? I’m happy to be told if I’m being precious, but it’s seriously unsettled me. Be honest.

(Posting here for traffic.)

Easy to spot.