Afternoon all.
We've been following this thread, all through all its chicken-ny, knittingy deviations, but we realise it's been a while since we posted.
So we thought it might help to clarify a few points that have been raised...
First off, our stance on trollhunting is the same as it ever was. It breaks our Talk Guidelines. And, if any trollhunting posts are reported to us ? or noticed by us once we're aware of a particular thread ? we will delete them.
This is because :
- If you're shouting "troll" (or implying it by thinly coded references to known trolls or suspected trolls), you may be wrong. And that can cause all sort of upset, especially if the poster being 'trollhunted' is vulnerable, in need of support and then finds everything they post is rubbished and queried. Before you all shout "Pfft, as if that really happens!", we can tell you that it has.
- If you really have unearthed a troll, you'll only bring a giant glow of satisfaction to their face by shouting "troll" on the thread. That's what they're after, after all: lots of drama, lots of indignation, lots of attention.
That's why we ask you, instead, just to report the poster you think is trolling to us. The more info you can give us about your suspicions the better: remember, at this point you probably know more about the poster than we do. We'll always acknowledge your report, and we always follow it up.
And, to address those who say all we can do is check IPs, that's not true: we can do far more than that.
That said, we have to admit we have dropped the ball in recent months with a few oft-reported posters. That was due to a combination of a change in the way we do stuff at MNHQ and good old human error.
But you can bet your bottom dollar that we are SO on it now: MNHQ is basically Troll Detection Central at the moment, with a whiteboard and daily briefings and suspect photofits and everything.
We completely understand the frustration some posters must feel when they report a possible troll and then nothing seems to happen (other than us saying we'll take a look).
Obviously, we're not going to post details of what we do but we hope it might help to say that some trolls are easier to spot/deal with than others. So, while a bored-at-half-term teen posting "Penis!" all over the boards is a cinch to spot, confirm as a troll and ban, those who have been carefully spinning out a tale over many months may not.
As we hope you all know, our stance is always to err on the side of being taken in, rather than of accusing a genuine poster who's in need of support of being a troll. So it does follow that we're not in the habit of making hasty decisions.
What would help us speed up our decisions? Two key things
- As much info as possible in your reports to us. And additional info coming in from you as you spot it. Even if you've reported a poster to us once already, it still helps if you report them again - either to nudge us or to tell us something else that concerns you.
- Not trollhunting! Ironically, the more you trollhunt, the slower we catch the trolls. Because we're having to divert our attention from Troll Detection Central duties to deleting the trollhunting posts. And answering all the reports that come in about the trollhunting posts.
Hope that answers the main Qs and explains what's going on a little more clearly. I'm not actually in the office today and I have limited access to t'internet but I will try to check in on this thread regularly this afternoon and evening.
And finally, a message for the OP: we've replied to your mail to us but haven't heard back yet. Is your registered email address the right one to contact you on, OP?