AIBU in suspecting that MN start threads to increase site traffic

[Newbutoldfather]

When I first looked at MN, the best part of 20 years ago, the popular threads were on parenting, health, FWR and a couple of others. And there were loads of posters!

Now there seem to be fewer posters and the ‘normal’ type threads that were the stock-in-trade of MN seem to get little traction. I think AI has had a role here. Many of those questions are well answered by an AI query.

OTOH, there are a lot of ‘exciting’ threads started where the OP contributes relatively little for a few hours and then disappears, and they keep going until often full. Sometimes they are deleted later. There are at least two that I contributed to early now which are still going.

Of course there are loads of genuine trolls (if that isn’t a contradiction in terms!) but it’s also great for MN, increases the value of advertising and, if the site is for sale, will increase the value.

Of course, maybe they are all trolls, but Occam’s razor kind of says that it wouldn’t be hard for employees of MN to quietly and anonymously start these threads which are very helpful for the site.

Of course we can never know the answer, but it is odd.

AMA is probably copied from Reddit.

Even if they do admit it, it boils my piss. People post on here to get responses from real people, not "I asked ChatGPT and it said..."

I agree - but when posters post a long post (too many posts? 🤣) from ChatGPT as though they are the oracle or so clever - really irritates me! I come here for the human interaction (good and bad) and the different opinions and have done for nearly 20 years - if I wanted a ChatGPT response I would ask it myself. I’m going to start calling it out everytime I see it 🙈

There are definitely a lot of posters who keep banging on about misandry. Do you think that's sort of programmed in ?

I think it's frustrating when a thread that is really interesting seems to be abandoned by the OP and they do stand out but I guess the OP would need to get stuff done so maybe there's a genuine reason there.

@EmailsaysOOO ,

I do think there is some misandry on this site in that the same scenario from two different sexed posters does get treated very differently.

i used to get worked up about it, but it is a women’s site (predominantly) so I don’t care any more.

These days I think there is a trend to critique the OP harshly so an ideal thread is a man whose wife had had an affair (say).

You always get the defence of ‘oh, you must be useless around the house. She must have had a reason’. Then comes the accusation of misogyny (which is kind of true).

OP doesn’t come back much, just enough to hook the crowd.

And on it goes for 1,000 posts.

*misandry

@Newbutoldfather Yes the same scenario would indeed be treated quite differently if the sex were reversed. i think the levels of misandry on MN is depressing, especially how it's seen as normal. I'm not saying misogyny must be accepted but it's always sexism in one way that seems to be a problem here.

Yes there is a lot of harsh tackling of the Op. I've really only lurked for a very long time so maybe my memory isn't totally reliable here though. A bit of confrontation must spice things up a bit ( so long as I'm not involved).

And yes, frustrating when you wish the Op would return to a busy thread. Sometimes they do, after a long gap. Expect I miss some of those .

I don't think I'm good at spotting the bots or AIs. I don't understand who is behind the bots and why? There are some absolutely bat shit threads but I think they are actually crazy people or funny trolls because they are so unsubtle. The recent one saying Meghan Markle shouldn't have released a product after Dolly Partons death was bonkers, also a recent one where a poster kept insisting UK was in the midst of civil war.

How are you defining a huge percentage?

I don't know how many threads are started every day across of the different topics, there must be hundreds, you really think the majority are started by MN staff?

That cant possibly be true and how would they keep it quiet?

There must be loads of ex employees yet noone has ever confirmed they did that have they? Do you think there's a special highly confidential group of thread starters?

It annoys me too. Also the people who Google the definition of a word or Google a stat with little context and make a whole argument out of it. Because they are sooo clever they know how to use a Google search and no one else would think of that

The Meghan Markle one was likely real, there are proper obsessives on the Royal board

I’ve noticed the same, recently.
I’m actually going to flounce…

MN has been great, good advice.
But I don’t like this new reality!

It’s not just MN. It’s everywhere.
Most social media is quite boring.

I’ve decided to quit scrolling…
More reading, writing, chatting.

Yep totally agree. Been there a few times.

Just thought - if the OMG I shagged the vicar thread is a product of AI then it may not be such a bad thing.

@EmailsaysOOO ,

‘Just thought - if the OMG I shagged the vicar thread is a product of AI then it may not be such a bad thing.‘

That is quite ambiguous! Which isn’t a bad thing: it being a product of AI or shagging the vicar?!

Oh, the civil war type ones are very suspect. I have seen a few posts like that too. There is a lot of that sort of fear-mongering. I am sure the frequency increased after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Shagging the vicar - vicars need a bit of healthy exercise, as much as anyone else 😃

If they want to increase and maintain engagement they need to fix the app so you go to your last read, or last posted reply on a thread. I lose interest if I have to scroll through hundreds of replies to find where I left off.

I'm absolutely certain they do. It's fairly obvious.

@Ileithyia ,

I have always wondered why they failed to sell it while the going was good!

Intelligent, generally affluent loyal client base…,but terrible IT and moderation. Crying out to be integrated into a larger social media company where they can manage it as a sub brand.

I guess it might still happen but I think it is a depreciating asset.

Oh Justine didn’t sell it? I heard she was about to sell it, it might have been last year? Were we all too naughty or something?

I have noticed this on threads I have made. I get replies that get deleted when there was no issue with the replies

That’s because it’s all the same unhinged banned user. She makes multiple accounts per day, usually being absolutely horrible to OPs though occasionally she has normal posts sprinkled in. The other day she was ripping into a woman with a disabled child.

Obviously once reported they often mass delete all posts associated with the latest account.

Not a different opinion, they posted something that is factually incorrect and poster after poster has tried to explain why it's wrong but they just keep stating the same wrong response to everyone. To start with, I just thought they genuinely didn't understand but after other posters spelled the law out in fine detail and they still didn't get it, it has to be a troll either on the wind up or MN being controversial to trigger more posts.

One thing that infuriates me is the algorithm they use to decide which threads are shared on Facebook
Often these end up being troll threads that were designed to wind up and the thread link stays up on Facebook long after the troll thread.has been removed.

Or they are the kind of deeply personal threads where you think the op is likely to be quite upset to see it used by MN as a marketing tool on Facebook

I wish they were a lot more ethical and thoughtful about which threads they promote