Reverse post

[Yvonne1958]

Hi, I was hoping someone could explain what a reverse post is to me. I was reading a thread yesterday about a man hanging around near a school.
Half way through the op said it was a reverse post and everyone went mad. Then the thread was deleted.
I was interested in this one in particular because I know the village and the man.

It's when the OP posts as if they are the other person/opposing viewpoint of what they are.

So they'd say 'AIBU to give my Grandchild sweets even though their Mum has asked me not to' then after lots of replies they announce they are in fact the Mum.

Reverse threads are not appreciated by a lot of MNetters.

It’s hard to explain just why it’s so annoying. But it really is.

It really is. And in reference to the thread this OP is talking about, I don't even think it was a reverse - the OP of that thread was being criticised for her actions and thought processes so decided to announce it wasn't her at all and she was giving the 'other perspective'.

Thank you both for answering me.
I thought it must be something like that.
They must be real attention seekers, I’m not surprised that Mumsnetters find them annoying. After investing time trying to advise and help then feeling as though you’ve been played.
I was going to add that I couldn’t believe that people would be so stupid, then I realised that yes, some people really are that dumb

Hi there, OP. Yes, a reverse is pretty much as described above. Thanks HarveyKeitel and ThroughThickAndThin.

We often end up deleting them because, although obviously the OP has usually just been wanting to get another viewpoint on a situation, lots of Mumsnetters see it as a sort of 'light' form of trolling.

If we think it's done in order to inflame or start a bunfight we take a slightly dimmer view of it but generally we just explain to the OP why it's not really the done thing and ask them not to do it again. We do see that it's pretty annoying for other users and feels a bit like being 'tricked'.

Thanks for the answers.
Just want to clarify that when I said some people are dumb, I meant the OPs of reverse posts not the people who had tried to help!!

Reverse posts are really patronising. The OP clearly assumes others are too easily swayed or too dim to understand.

The other, equally irritating type of reverse is the one that isn't, in fact, a reverse. OP claims reverse in the face of unanimous opposition.