"Mumsnet Talk Policy
We thought it was about time we outlined and explained Mumsnet policy on the thorny issue of trolls. (For those who don't know a troll is someone who poses as someone else in order to stir up trouble, fulfil their own perverted agenda, or just for the hell of it).
Unfortunately it's not always immediately obvious whether a poster is, in fact, a troll. We all tend to be a bit suspicious of new folks posting things of a sensitive or inflammatory nature but we would rather Mumsnet erred on the side of giving folks the benefit of the doubt and risked being made to look a bit foolish than pounce on someone who turns out to be genuinely in need of help. We hope you agree.
Secondly in our experience trolls thrive on attention ? the more aggressively you or we attack, the more likely they are to stick around and cause mayhem ? ignore their posts and usually they'll go away. Ban them and there's nothing to stop them returning with a new email address and identity (no website can stop that happening).
Having said that, whether posted by trolls or otherwise, we don't tolerate any unnecessarily abusive postings and would certainly ban anyone who was persistently doing this of kind of thing. Please do [email protected] if you have any concerns at all and we promise take it very seriously and to closely monitor any troublemakers.
We are conscious that most Mumsnetters have enough stresses in their lives without finding more on here. But on the bright side, considering the number of users and discussions, disturbances are mercifully few and far between not least because you, the members, police the boards extremely effectively and with a good deal of common sense.
Many thanks and keep up the good work,
Best,
Mumsnet Towers"