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?

[TheLadyWithTheYellowHat]

no frigging way was that a troll,there was pictures of the child

[Peeporeader]

On another forum I'm on, mods will pre-emptively post on what might be trollery (so goady fuckerism, child health, relationships etc) with a link to their posting guidelines and something similar to the 'don't give more of yourself etc' line. Might show trolls that they are under scrutiny whilst not scaring off (hopefully) genuine posters?

[Bassetfeet]

That particular thread was horrendous . I think that what another member mentioned re lack of known posters adding to the thread made me a bit twitchy . Then MrsDeVeres gentle,kind but restrained wording sealed it for me. To read and revisit such personal pain must have been very very hard .
It is spending time on MN that hones the troll radar sadly . Meanwhile I still stand by the idea that no one can post until two or three days have past when new . Pain for MNHQ and extra work but checks can be made re PFB.
Post date of joining with username .
Yes it is not ideal or kind to those who join in distress of course not . But Mumsnet is not the only place for immediate help . But it is becoming the place where it isn't safe to do so . Huge website and fodder for the media.
I do understand this is a business .
But checking new posters before giving poster rights seems sensible to me
Oh and MrsDeVere .

[emotionsecho]

KatherineMN there are posters all over the site who receive no support whatsoever so I think the argument that 'someone might not receive support they need' is a bit lame.

Emotional Vampire Trolls ensure that even more genuine threads go unread and posters unsupported.

I do not believe that anyone who genuinely needed help and support from MN would worry too much about having their credentials checked, provided it was done quickly and as discreetly as possible.

[Bassetfeet]

PBP not pfb duh !

[BurnTheBlackSuit]

Just a thought- are all the "just checking in posts" possibly people wanting to place mark, but not actually wanting to say that. They are obviously people enjoying the drama too, but if MN could provide a reliable way of bookmarking a certain place on a thread, then maybe this would cut down some of those type of posts?

[BurnTheBlackSuit]

Also, I find those who post on/follow a thread because they enjoy the drama nearly as bad as the trolls themselves.

They are either feeding trolls or they are gawping at something horrible happening in someone's life, neither of which is good.

I think a lot of people need reminding that if your post isn't going to be useful to the OP, it's probably not worth posting it. That is my opinion though, because when I had a thread that seemed to be turning dramatic, all the people posting "you sound like an excellent mum" just annoyed me. I do understand that's probably just me!

[BoreOfWhabylon]

TheLadyWithTheYellowHat

There were pictures of a child, certainly, but it's a common troll tactic to 'steal' pictures from the internet - facebook, blogs, etc - and pass them off as their own.

It's happened a lot on MN and I do think it's time MNHQ considered banning pics of children being posted.

[callherwillow]

I posted on a forum that to be honest was wrecked after one poster became obsessed with trolls and started accusing every new poster of trolling. It whipped other posters up into a bit of a frenzy! So I do understand why there is a rule about no troll hunting and it is disruptive.

I'm sorry for those who were upset; I'm afraid I didn't see the thread in question.

[DonkeyOaty]

Well I am glad I missed this one - sounds particularly horrid

[ILostItInTheEarlyNineties]

I like the fact that threads are investigated and pulled if necessary. There's plenty of made up crap on the net that is not policed in the way it is on MN.
Troll clues for me are dramatic events unfolding in a short time span and the op having a lot of young children, nearly always a set of twins under 5.

[georgetteheyersbonnet]

The pictures were even more of a giveaway though: some of them didn't "match" and to anyone with relevant experience they didn't look right at all. The very fact of posting them at all is a bit of an alert IMO. How many people in that situation would post pictures of their very sick child on the internet? I've spent a lot of time around hospitals and that just doesn't happen.

They key thing that's important for spotting trolls is a lack of plausibility, psychological or otherwise. The OP's posts were far too calm and lengthy to be plausible, and the writing style (and some of the details) were uncannily similar to the other troll thread about a 9yo boy which was deleted the previous week. If you stop and ask yourself, 'If I was in this situation would I be doing this/posting like this?' and the answer is no, it's a big red flag. It's often easy to "feel" that the thread is somehow a bit off, but without having a particular thing to point to. But a dramatic thread which features long, detailed and carefully-written posts from the OP, often updated in real time as the drama "unfolds", and which touches on something urgent and emotionally sensitive for lots of people, ought to be a red flag for being cautious.

[Queenbean]

I'm shocked that someone would bother to put photos up that they've nicked from somewhere on

I bet all the people posting pics saying they were part of Oliver's army feel pretty silly

[emotionsecho]

Navy I think it harks back to the 'being in the gang/part of the drama' thing, or that people just don't want to believe it's untrue as then they would look or feel foolish so they have to keep the faith and keep the doubters away at all costs.

[NerrSnerr]

I didn't wonder about that thread, it seemed similar to the other troll thread about the suicidal boy. It's all about attention seeking isn't it? If people who don't actually have anything useful to say didn't place-mark it wouldn't be so bad, but everyone wants to be part of the drama and feel involved in some way.

[ShowOfHands]

I hid that thread a couple of days ago. I'm equal parts relieved and disappointed that it was confirmed. Relieved obviously because it's fiction but disappointed that once again, such a sensitive and painful topic has been used this way.

You can't do anything to stop it. You really can't.

Why is it always an army or a gang or a crew. Creative bloody writing my arse.

[ShowOfHands]

I bet all the people posting pics saying they were part of Oliver's army feel pretty silly

I hope not. Most people have good hearts. They've just been duped. It's still a nice trait ultimately and they shouldn't feel silly.

[reader77]

I thought there was something a bit off about that thread but didn't report it. I just stopped reading it.

[Zucker]

The hand written note from the child to Oliver's Army did it for me. As if you'd be sitting on a seriously ill child's bed reading him messages from hundreds of strangers and then the child being so grateful he makes a sign for his army of followers. Still shaking my head.

[bumbleymummy]

I don't think people should feel embarrassed or silly. They were just trying to be supportive.

[LookMaAStone]

Burn you have to add a thread to your watch list and then you can bookmark the last post you have read up to. Then when you go back onto your watched thread you start from there. This needs to be more widely known to stop place marking!

[MuddhaOfSuburbia]

The people who have a bee in their bonnets about 'troll hunters' have a hell of a lot to answer for

THIS

I reported early on, when there was talk of a JustGiving page. I felt sneaky doing it as I've never reported before. But I wouldn't have dreamed of saying anything-however gentle- on the thread, because I would've been torn to fucking bits

As for pulling/leaving the threads up. This thread was very, very similar to another recent troll thread (I'd at least half believed that one, working on a basis of 'who the fuck would make up this stuff'). If that thread had been left to stand- or at least the OPs posts- it might have been easier for people to draw comparisons and at least question (to themselves, not necessarily on the thread) the legitimacy of the poster before offering help

I don't know, I really don't. I'd hate to moderate this sort of stuff. Where do you start?

Early intervention would be good, I think- the standard mn Gentle Warning would have been better early on in the first thread, before the whole thing snowballed