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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

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Original poster

mn hq, can we have an explanation - jess - and maybe re other trolls in future?

999 replies

wannaBe · 20/02/2012 13:40

I am aware that you can't divulge the means by which you determine whether or not a poster is genuine, predominantly because if you make that common knowledge then posters will know how to avoid being detected in the future.

but jess (long ongoing eleven weeks abortion threads) threads have now been deleted for being a troll, and I was wondering if, given it's the site users who usually report these things, we could perhaps have a bit more by way of explanation?

e.g. when sassysusan was banned, mn hq confirmed that she had previously posted as washwithcare, and users were able to identify.

There has been some speculation that jess was dizzymare, and I wondered whether this was the case?

Also, these threads have been ongoing for over a month now. How is it that it takes quite this long to determine that someone isn't actually all they seem?

OP posts:

BeerTricksP0tter · 21/02/2012 10:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

everlong · 21/02/2012 10:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Hullygully · 21/02/2012 10:22

I haven't rtft, but come on, surely people didn't believe that pregnant two yr old thread...?!

everlong · 21/02/2012 10:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lexilicious · 21/02/2012 10:30

Could there be a sort of OTBT topic where troll threads are stored, can't be searched or new posts added, posts where people have got sucked in taken out, but the real left as a reference set? mind you I found a site recently called boardreader or something which had cached pages from _chat threads older than 90 days so I'm not sure the unsearchableness really works perfectly.

MerryMarigold · 21/02/2012 10:59

what's a sock poppet?

MerryMarigold · 21/02/2012 10:59

ermmm puppet?

Original poster

wannaBe · 21/02/2012 11:01

oh yes, there are certainly people who feed off the drama. people who want to be seen to be the ones helping, with offers of help being more and more dramatic.

I once read a thread on here where a contributor posted that "I wish I could hire a private investigator to track op down just so I could have a chat with her and know she's ok." wtf.

OP posts:

Original poster

wannaBe · 21/02/2012 11:05

mm a sockpuppet is where someone namechanges to agree with themselves. so - it might go like this:

poster: "I gave birth to a baby with two heads last night," followed by lots of "well I don't believe that's possible," type posts from others. And then another poster comes on and says "How dare you all doubt the op, she is my personal friend and I have been to visit the baby and he has the most beautiful two faces I've ever seen. you should all be ashamed."

OP posts:

Thumbwitch · 21/02/2012 11:05

Ah. I'm glad that's sorted then. I had suspicions halfway through the first thread and even PMd a couple of people who seemed to be getting too invested in the thread, just to suggest gently that all might not be as it seemed.

I was badly bitten by the CVQ fiasco and have never (I don't think) let myself get sucked in so badly again - I remember the SS bereavement stuff, she was bloody vicious to me people trying to suggest that other folks' sympathetic comments weren't in fact as bad as she was making out, she was just in a very bad place - oo, the shredding we got!

My trolldar is a bit poor, I have to say - but there have been a couple recently that have smelt a bit bad, and Jess was one of them.

Original poster

wannaBe · 21/02/2012 11:10

Just in the interests of equality, I remember that one of the very first threads I ever read on mn was

\link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/127861-weird-request-in-the-bedroom\this one}

Not all trolls are bad.

OP posts:

MerryMarigold · 21/02/2012 11:11

Oh wow! People DO that? The world of internet forums is truly amazing.

MerryMarigold · 21/02/2012 11:14

That's a good 'un wannabe. Would that be classed as a troll when it's clearly a joke (ie. the name and everything else is obviously a joke). I assume that's why the thread was not deleted.

What's a troll and what isn't?

Original poster

wannaBe · 21/02/2012 11:16

well technically it is because it's a poster on the wind-up. but it's so blatant that it's funny and so it's usually left to stand.

OP posts:

Thumbwitch · 21/02/2012 11:17

this is another brilliant "trolling" joke thread - different style of trolling from the emotional vampire ones though.

SayCoolNowSayWhip · 21/02/2012 11:18

Oh good, nothing's changed....

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/02/2012 11:19

@hathorinareddress

And a troll would never have a strike out pointy bracket fail either

Erm, we're a bit concerned this thread is turning into a "how to troll successfully" beginners' guide. We don't want to have to to delete this thread but we may have to if it carries on in this vein. Hope you all understand...

MaryZ · 21/02/2012 11:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hathorinareddress · 21/02/2012 11:29

Helen - oh flip that's not what I meant I just meant I'd made an idiot of myself with my pointy bracket/bolding fail

Original poster

wannaBe · 21/02/2012 11:30

no no helen please don't delete

OP posts:

Thumbwitch · 21/02/2012 11:30

Mary, that's actually why I think that one was so funny - because it was an extreme form of real bridezilla types!

Agreed, intention is a big part of it. And getting people's emotional involvement going is never good.

HelenMN - please don't delete the entire thread, just the comments that talk about "how to spot trolls" - no point throwing the baby out with the bathwater, is there?

OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere · 21/02/2012 11:32

I think a troll is only a troll if their intention is to upset/harm or get money.

So you could lie about having a OH and DCs and stay on a site for years happily posting about them and not necessarily be a troll. If you had an imaginary life that included the OH beating you up and the DCs having serious illnesses or dying - that would make you a troll.

Or if you used the family to draw others into a relationship other than a fairly informal online one.

It would be unsettling to find out that someone you chatted to a bit on MNs didnt have the DD and DS she was do proud of but it wouldnt cause damage.
You would have to chalk it up to experience and file it under 'people are weird'.

But if you had spent many evenings sharing your 'mutal' experiences of DV, birth trauma etc - that could cause harm.

Dont get me started on those wankers who target memorial websites.

HillyWallaby · 21/02/2012 11:33

I think a troll is only a troll if their intention is to upset/harm or get money.

Yes, I think that too. There are many attention seeking time wasters who often are ill or vulnerable or lonely, but they are not trolls really. I think Jess was one of those.

MNHQ

HelenMumsnet · 21/02/2012 11:38

@hathorinareddress

Helen - oh flip that's not what I meant I just meant I'd made an idiot of myself with my pointy bracket/bolding fail

I know, hathor, but yours was the one post I could "quote" without drawing too much attention to troll tips, iyswim

Hullygully · 21/02/2012 11:38

I know I always say this on these threads but...

WHY DOES ANYONE CARE?

If someone trolls and you recognise it, stay away/report/call em on it (rebel)

If someone trolls and you get really drawn in and have a lovely old emotional orgasm, why care about the provenance?

I don't geddit

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