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?

Hi Samcro

Some trolls are not real people in the sense that everything they post is made up.
Mamazon and daftpunk proved that you can be a troll even when people have met. You n rl. In the old days that was always used as proof you wernt a troll

Hi mummylin gosh havnt seen you in ages

I agree with louge there.

Some people went on the thread really to support the OP, thinking she was in a really hard place. NOt everyone can spot a troll. I usually don't.

What I do remember though is another well known poster who posted when her child was diagnosed and going through leukaemia and chemo. I'm sure her posts generated a lot of support too and that she found support and help from simple words such as 'checking in to see how you are doing'.
She is the person I thought about when I read that thread. Her and MrsDeVerve were the two people I thought about. It would be real shame not to support another poster like them.

So my position on that is to support first wo becoming making it a drama. Then if peole who have a much better knowledge/troll sensing skills than me report, I'm happy to follow.

I don't tend to get involved in many threads these days but I am to be found on the night owl thread most days. Pop in one night ! Hope you and your dd are doing ok.

No one should feel bad about being taken in by a troll. I spotted this one, but have been duped by many others. Experience helps stop you being taken in, but doesn't totLly prevent it.

Afaik daftpunk wasn't a troll just a GF with extreme and offensive views. I think she might actually be Katie Hopkins. .

Although troll does have quite a few definitions as people posting offensive views e.g on Twitter are considered to be trolls whereas on MN trolls are people who make up stories/persona's etc.

and let's not forget globetrotter.... .

Aww globetrotter was unusal, she got dd a pc

DaftPunk was just vile.

And I agree that no-one should feel bad for being taken in by a troll.

But I do think that people who feel the need to belong to the club/army/ need to ask themselves who they're really doing it for. It's one thing to post on a thread once saying "so sorry you're going through this, thinking of you," it's quite another to post several times a day with "just checking in/here for the night shift/reporting for duty/been thinking about you all day and haven't been able to stop crying thinking about you."

The former is supportive. the latter is self-serving. IMO.

I agree with Wannabe. There's a difference between supporting someone and making it all about you. It is really obviously to see the people who just love the whole drama of the situation.

Also, people should worry about posting when they need help even when, heaven forbid, it is for the same kind of reason that this troll pretended to have.

I started a thread a while back about my child's health problem, which shortly after the thread started involved him getting an urgent 2 week referral because there was a possibility he had cancer. I had nothing but support, and more usefully help, on the thread.

In hindsight, on my thread there was a comment about "I get a warm fuzzy feeling when [certain poster] is around", and I have noticed since that people look for that certain poster on thread as she is thought to have a good trolldar, so that might have been someone subtly saying they thought I was genuine. At the time though, I just thought it was a slightly bizarre comment relating to the certain poster who is known for being, and was to me, very helpful.

I also agree with WannaBe. And, with regards to my sons cancer scare thread, I did feel slightly irritated by posters who only turned up when the two week referral happened, posted frequent "how are you doing this morning OP?", "any news OP?" type posts and then - what annoyed me the most- buggered off when it turns out it wasn't cancer as if they were disappointed by it having a positive outcome.

Navy, yep she even organised the big christmas meet up.
Then stuff happened and she was labeled a troll.
Was she who knows?

Not my place to say as i was not involved,
I wasnt aware that she made stuff up. But i wasnt on every thread she was on.

She was good for a laugh

Ooh the ones on relationships are nauseating. Even to the extent people post "am really worried," if they haven't heard from a poster for a day or two.

There was one last year not proven to be a troll but definitely suspected, who fed all this stuff. All the posting from the car with promise of updates in a couple of hours, only to disappear for a day. And the vultures would circle with their worried bumps on the thread every few hours becoming more and more frantic as the OP didn't post....