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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that posters who self-importantly "call 'troll'!" at perfectly realistic thread scenarios, are the bane of Mumsnet?

116 replies

PadDad · 09/05/2009 10:13

If there is a thread that deals with something quite likely and pertinent to quite a few people's lives, who cares that you personally don't think it 'rings true'? Not everyone lives the same kind of life as you.

Just don't contribute! If you're that bored, don't bore me.

OP posts:
BigBellasBeerBelly · 09/05/2009 14:19

Thing is if it's an interesting topic or scenario, then it is kind of irrelevant whether the OP is genuine or not.

Although the cases where people have drawn people in over a period of time and garnered RL sympathy and support and used a lot of people's emotional time are obviously different. But those cases are rare and the people creating the porsona/situation are clearly not quite with it, so in a way it's pointless getting angry with them either.

Problem is when people shout troll, about something highly personal to the OP, and it's a genuine problem, that must be awful for the OP.

Benefit of the doubt always best IMO.

edam · 09/05/2009 14:25

I find it particularly tiresome where it isn't really relevant - someone posts something that is entirely reasonable and some idiot comes on and shouts troll just because it's outside their own personal experience.

As MissEdith says, person shouting troll is often a dull fucker. Who doesn't actually understand what a troll is.

mollyroger · 09/05/2009 15:45

And I also hate it when someone comes onto a very obvisouly joke thread and shouts ''troll'' before anyone has had time to play...

YanknCock · 09/05/2009 15:54

It's vanity, pure & simple. Might as well shout 'Loookeee mee!! I'm soooo much more clever than the rest of you people!'

BecauseImWorthIt · 09/05/2009 15:56

I think the reason it happens such a lot is that there was a time when MN had experienced some very unpleasant trolling and a lot of MNetters had been affected quite negatively about it.

Therefore the intention of calling 'troll' was to stop it happening again.

But I think you're right, it happens a bit too quickly too often now.

TsarChasm · 09/05/2009 15:57

Agree!

Also it's funny how those who shout it fastest aren't quite so fast to come back and apologise either when they're wrong.

InternationalFlight · 09/05/2009 16:02

Yabu. Trolls are the bane of MN.

If there weren't any trolls, people wouldn't be cynical and afraid of being made an idiot of.

Sometimes it goes too far but often it doesn't - haven't seen it done much lately.

I found it quite hard to understand why people (myself among them) cared whether a person was a troll or not to the extent that we felt moved to comment.

I realised that it was like I was watching one of those awful salesmen conning an old lady - I'd feel morally obliged to protect those being conned.

I'd not say it unless I was fairly certain though.

InternationalFlight · 09/05/2009 16:04

Oh and also a great deal of anger toward those doing the conning.

I can't just stand by and watch. It's not to feel 'clever' or anything. It's just painful to see someone taking the piss.

SummatAnNowt · 09/05/2009 17:14

I think it's just one of those funny internet things when people shout TROLL!

Oh well, it amuses me.

MintyyAeroEgg · 09/05/2009 17:19

I think its annoying (its happened to me).

But I'm not sure what can be done about it?

In my small list of things I don't like about Mumsnet "trolling" comes higher on the list than "people wrongly calling troll", tbh.

GumsNRoses · 09/05/2009 17:35

I have been on threads and thought I just dont post on them. I would rather sit back and be proved wrong rather then run someone who needs help of the board...in some cases I have been proved right...in others wrong, but I would never deprive anyone who needs help from getting it.

InternationalFlight · 09/05/2009 18:38

It's happened to me too, Mintyy - with my usual name and also when I namechanged to ask something embarrassing.

Mind you they were right to be concerned as it was dodgy! but eventually people gave good advice.

I wasn't bothered as I knew I was genuine, it didn't hound me off the boards as you can see.

MintyyAeroEgg · 09/05/2009 20:33

I haven't seen it happen much lately. There was quite a spate a few months ago.

I am always wary of new posters (sorry new posters) with an incredible story. But I just keep away from their threads. Its the wasted time invested that I could cry over for posters who have been taken in.

LetThemEatCake · 09/05/2009 21:57

what is a troll, exactly?

FlappytheBat · 09/05/2009 22:00

someone who posts something that could be completely believable, but it then turns out to be attention seeking and isn't true.

FlappytheBat · 09/05/2009 22:02

Trolling happens in cycles, over the years have seen lots of trolls and they do all seem to be around at the same time. Maybe "they" are all the same person?

LetThemEatCake · 09/05/2009 22:10

huh? like what? and how on earth would you find out that they weren't true? and why would someone seek attention from a group of anonymous, faceless women??

can you give me an eg? sorry, am a bit lost

YanknCock · 09/05/2009 22:12

Fair enough, I suppose my 'vanity' comment doesn't apply to all troll-spotters. The ones I have seen recently though are just sooooo gleeful, really don't seem to care about other people wasting their time on a potential troll---they just want to show off by getting their 'troll-spot' in there as early as possible.

But I can accept it could be hard to stand by if something seemed really dodgy and people were being taken in.

Personally, I'd rather watch and wait, or just stay away all together.

YanknCock · 09/05/2009 22:14

LTEC, some people are just weird, mean, fantasists, etc. I can think of a couple people I've known in real life who would completely get off on making up a fantasy life and having people hang off their every word.

daftpunk · 09/05/2009 22:15

i don't think shouting "troll" has got anything to do with being vain or gleeful, maybe it's a warning to other posters.

FlappytheBat · 09/05/2009 22:16

Not going to link to any examples, sorry.

People, including myself, gave lots of support and advice to people whom we genuinely believed to be in need.

For whatever altruistic reasons they may have, they post about scenarios that are plausible, embellish the story more and more but are eventually "outed" as they invariably make a lot of mistakes.

PacificDogwood · 09/05/2009 22:19

Yes, not many trolls recently, so maybe a bit of a none-issoo, OP?
YAB a bit U.

PortoPandemico · 09/05/2009 22:25

I certainly do agree that posters who post anything a bit "unusual" are very likely to be called trolls. Though in my time on MN it is the seemingly plausible, long term, attention seeking posters who have been the REAL trolls.

LetThemEatCake · 09/05/2009 22:31

sorry Flappy, didn't mean to imply that I wanted you to link to egs -was just looking for a hypothetical.

FWIW, I've never been called a troll but have been called a show-off on the style & beauty thread when I've linked to real or desired purchases that may have been beyond the financial means of some of the others. Which has been a bit annoying, since I've been looking for genuine opinions (as in, I know this is expensive so I'd value a 2nd opinion please...)

But reading through this thread, trolling sounds like very odd behaviour. Having said that, I would find it very galling if I posted a genuine, but odd, concern/ problem and was accused of being an attention seeker

FlappytheBat · 09/05/2009 22:35

that's ok, just didn't want the trolls to gain anything by having their threads resurrected - if the threads are still in existence!!

when trolling happens, I think people who have been involved in the threads are always a bit wary of people who are new or have name changed and can sometimes be very quick to get the troll spray out

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