not to want to be all lighthearted and forgiving about the troll invasion?

[StayingDavidTennantsGirl]

I don't get the 'fun' of invading another site and causing real upset to real people. I trust people on mumsnet and respond genuinely to them, and now I wish I hadn't - and that has upset me.

I'm sure this is going to get me labelled a humourless sourpuss over on CUK - but then I reckon I am already one of the "...rampaging horde of offended lardbuckets..." they refer to, or perhaps one of the ".... small clique of salad-dodging, vindictive, manic-depressive yet very vocal inadequates..." who is "...likely to go blubbing to the Admin if anyone does not treat them with kid gloves?..." (not that I did go to Admin, but hey, why spoil a good insult with facts).

They were quite sweet in a 'work experience' kind of way I suppose.
CUK people - this is the type of trolling we like. Or this

HopeForTheBest - I'm sure you are right - I know that not everyone is honest about themselves in real life or on the net - but it is my choice to be trusting, tempered with a bit of intelligent scepticism because I am not a total fool. Perhaps I've been lucky, but up to now, I haven't been seriously affected by someone trolling or not being honest about themselves on the net - and in the grand scheme of things, this wasn't really that serious either.

Cornsilk, i remember the follow up to the second link, about the shed and power tools.

glad i'm all caught up.

so, all their bannings on CUK last night: were they for real or just winding themselves up?

SDTG: hopeyou're feeling a bit better about it today.

oh I missed that one claw!

I am, thanks nickelbabe, much better. I do need to grow a thicker skin, I suspect.

Anyway, I am off to art class to produce my next scribble daub mistake masterpiece, so I hope the CUK boys and the mumsnet girls (gender stereotyping wildly) play nicely together.

I'm sure we'll get a big bar of chocolate to share

YANBU SDTG and FFS everyone acting all coy with the boys.

As soon as people on a thread start talking about their depression and getting upset, as SDTG and others were on that thread, then it is time to call it a day with any joke.

To continue when you know you are affecting people deeply, for fun, is really unpleasant.

If I was joking with someone IRL and they started crying I would stop. Isn't that obvious?

Would you all walk into a place with a group of women sitting with their babies and call them lard-arsed lazy cows I wonder.

This isnt fair I take a long weekend break from this place and I miss something that sounds quite interesting.

Buggery damnation.

YANBU

Look, if a person is prone to depression and therefore more sensitive than many people, then that person does have a responsibility to him or herself to be a bit careful on the internet. It is not everyone else's responsibility to take care of you, especially people who don't know you.

But if you know that a prank of yours is hurting someone, should you carry on with it, because it is their responsibility to care for themselves, or should you call it a day on that prank?

Though, as you may notice further up the thread, I accepted the need to be a bit thicker skinned too.

Harmless fun, stuck to AIBU blah, blah, blah, but after reading through their thread it appears they were navigating MN by topic, whereas most MNers navigate through active threads, so very possible someone going through a really difficult time in their lives could get pulled in.

Although this wasn't like some of the sad/very disturbing/emotionally damaging trolls we've had, and they apologised and sponsored, I'm still very uncomfortable with it. It just seems like such a mean way to get your jollies. Also I read some of the 'how to troll' links on their thread and they were more like 'how to completely destroy another board' which I also found disturbing.

YANBU, I don't know who to trust on here now tbh. I have seen a lot of new names the last couple of days and I am suspicious of them all. And I wanted to name change but I'm gonna wait now as I'll look like a newbie.

I hope they have got bored and just fuck off really.

mn increased popularity and media exposure will inevitabily attract more posters some good some bad

however mn has had its (many) trolls too
pram huns and pram scams,made up sob stories,plain ole gits.so being a mn poster doesnt in itself render anyone automatically nice.

so a modicum of iternet savvy too,an awareness it is all just word on a screen.and maybe maintain a healthy internet cynicism.dont get so hurt or disapointed by strangers pissing about on line

HOORAY for words on a screen.

I love it when you say that

Just because the internet can be like this doesn't mean I have to like it or be comfortable with it though - in general I agree with what you've said scottishmummy, but it still leaves me a little uncomfortable - I guess maybe some forums are more light-hearted than others, but there is a vulnerable side to MN and so there are vulnerable posters.

Oh well, I guess as usual keep we should all remember to keep our slightly cynical and anonymous hats on, as ever.

thing is i get ample oppurtunity to trot out the mantra

bottom line,mn is open,visible to all,anyone can join. a modicum if internet savvy is required.mn isnt a quiet wee word with pals -it is quite literally words on a screen

Thing is we're not all hardened sceptical types.

MN would be a much less rich community if it did not have a lot of trusting people on it, and people who are vulnerable for whatever reason. What makes this webiste great is that everyone is here, all sorts.

Personally I think that what the people from teh other site did was nasty. To put up a jokey thread about sex or something is one thing, to barge in here and say what they did about peoples parenting and calling them names, and not stopping when they knew they were causing upset, is something different, and not nice.

Anyway you're not words on a screen sm I can see you sitting there quite clearly. That's a new cardi isn't it?

I mean if we all went around being strong and not having any problems or insecurities, and keeping a healthy distance from each other... well that wouldn't be half as much fun would it.

I find it a shame when people tell otehr people they are doing MN wrong because something has upset them. In this case i think the people who did the upsetting were i teh wrong.

dearie me,having a bit of internet savvy isnt hardened or sceptical.its plain commonsense.what i mean is dont disclose soemthing without understanding it is all visible and out there.do maintain some boundaries to keep yourself safe.maintain boundaries to protect self and not get too vulnerable and you know what when the dm debacle happend and many threatend to resign/hop off/throw a hissy fit mnhq did step in to remind open site they cannot guarntee comments not reproduced elsewhere

i do have a new simmit.most comfy.you can see that...yowsers

Thing is, just because someone's feelings are hurt, or they say their feelings are hurt, it doesn't make them right or reasonable. Really oversensitive people need to toughen the fuck up rather than bleating every time they don't get their own way and expecting everyone to put them and their ickle feelings at the centre of the universe. Plenty of people start whining and chucking their toys out of the pram at the tiniest hint of anyone disagreeing with them. Like the kid who bursts into tears if s/he doesn't get allowed to win every game of conkers: other kids will either avoid the blubberer or take the piss mercilessly No one is forcing anyone to take part in online debates and if you start getting upset it;s time to switch off the computer and go phone a friend.

Part of me would like the other website to invade the forum I use the most. They would get torn to pieces.

The threads I saw of theirs did seem like obvious joke threads to me.