Dealing with the trolls

[margiebargie]

Lots of people reported the most recent big troll thread, but it obviously trundled on for a while regardless - I presume while you were looking into it behind the scenes. How about a system whereby if you've received a certain amount of reports, the thread is automatically "paused"/locked/hidden while you investigate?

And if a thread is revealed to have been from a troll, delete it (with the message "Yawn" or similar), and keep it up for a day or two but hide it from everyone apart from those who were posting on it (op excluded, obviously), so that they can discuss it among themselves without their discussions being public. I'm sure the trolls get a kick out of being called a sick fucker as much as from the original deception; as it's an attention-seeking phenomenon, the less attention they get, the better, no?

I am so jaded now i read lots of threads and await the bit where the person is broke and the hand outs start

Tbh I don't understand the mass outpourings on some of the relationships threads. I'm not talking about the DV ones, and I agree with navy that with those it's all about the tone. But the affair threads. OP finds a text, or two, a condom, a FB message, gets a call from an OW, and before you know it there are two, three, several hundred posts sometimes even running into threads two three and four. Why?

Surely most of that is about people who have been through it being able to project their own experiences again and again, with the added checking-in crew to add to the mix?

I think that back in the day though we had a lot less posters and so longstanding posters' stories stood out.

I remember when misdee's DH had his heart transplant people donated money towards a holiday iirc. And when another poster's DH was dying of a brain tumour people donated towards supermarket shops if I remember rightly. And wasn't the Christmas appeal born out of that kind of thing. It's just that then posters started crying poverty to jump on the donation wagon, and as MN grew it became less personal...

That's a very good point MrsDeVere regarding putting pressure on OP's to update which is why I think those that do the "crying here thinking about you, what's happening today?" are doing it for their own validation/reasons and are as much emotional vampires as the troll. Those that do this also tend to get very snippy very quickly when they don't get the updates as and when they feel they should and often then accuse the OP of being a Troll.

The one really major troll thread I remember was the one about the woman with twins in SCBU who was going off on holiday, can't remember the name and didn't post on it but it was certainly a shocker.

Maz? Although I don't think that was how it was spelled. Thing is that thread was so obviously bollocks that it was pure gold in terms of entertainment.

No I never would either and I think that anyone who does is mad. Although if people have money to throw away my bank details are..... :D

Mozhe, WannaBe?

(I might have been here too long...)

Could be Mohze and you're right it became unintentionally comic.

Just reported a thread. I'm so fed up with trolls.

I've reported a current one now too - first time ever.

Oh, which one is the new troll thread? PM pleeeaaasssseeee??

I remember a poster I think her name was "hills " or something like that. She was supposed to be anorexic but eventually her " friend " posted to say she had died. But it turned out it was poster posting about herself.

I'm quite new to MN. Bit shocked by all this troll business!

What is a 'sock'?

Can't MN HQ identify IP addresses? Surely that way we can stop repeated trolling from the same offender.

Also, it seems like it should be a criminal offence somehow.

IP addresses can easily be changed. Or you could use public wifi and post from there.

Bad- sockpuppet. The OP namechanges and posts under another name to support themselves.

Thing is, it is very very difficult to change your tone of writing, certain words you use.

Plus socks generally will come onto an AIBU thread where 5 pages of posters have said the OP is BU and say she isn't. Even when she obviously is. It's a bit glaring.

Thanks. So do they then change their names back again? Is that even possible?

You're right about the similar tone. I've been on here about 3 weeks and the interesting threads that I follow keep disappearing (playground hanging one, O Army one) and they do seem to have the same writing style.

In my many years on this site, I have come across quite a few posters who seem like regular bods, plenty have met them in RL etc, who turn out to be not quite as they represent themselves. Scroungers, liars, serial saviours who love to attach themselves to a drama etc etc. I have also come across some of the most lovely, generous, helpful people anyone could wish to meet. There should be no shame in being taken in by a troll.