Can we add the date posters joined MN?

[BIWI]

So many trolls, cheeky and goady fuckers these days! Advanced Search can be helpful in identifying a first time poster - but given how frequently people name change, or the fact that often people name change for one, specific post, sometimes a long-term poster can seem to be a first time poster. Hence they may come under suspicion too.

Could you add, underneath the info on the right-hand side, where it currently has 'message/report', the month and year that they joined MN?

I realise that being here for a while doesn't preclude trolling (unfortunately), but it's much more likely that someone posting a CF/GF/Troll thread, who only joined this month, is not going to be a genuine poster.

Most other sites seem to have this kind of information. I think it would be really useful.

I thought before Jeffery that it could be made public on your profile? I know it use to show up when you went to your account.

May be it does tell you when you joined but i only use the mobile site.

I think this is my 3rd account and it's only a few months old. After Jeffery i got a new account. Then I forgot my password and forgot what the obscure email account that I set up just for MN was too.

I don't think having the join date would help much though. There have been that many long term GF, who most of the time post normal stuff under a recognisable name, but every now again NC just to start really shitty threads.

@PlanDeRaccordement

many OPs start a thread with a plea to “be gentle with me, my first thread” to be honest, that's usually a huge clue that it's a trolling post!

"or my first post but long time lurker"

followed by

"was hoping you lovely ladies..........."

I see more nastiness from troll hunters than trolling to be honest.

I'd agree with this.

And having looked at reddit I do think the self-appointed troll hunters would misuse joining dates even if it was only month and year.

We used to have this, didn't we?

You could choose whether to show the year or month /year etc that you joined.
And you used to be able to find out your user number to see if you were a proper oldie.

I liked it because I've changed name a fair amount but could still show I've been on here a while.

I wish we could have it back.
Or I would at least like to know what the downsides were.

That just scares me even more from starting a thread. The fact that the two of you have just admitted you think those phrases are “troll clues”
I would have used something similar to start a thread and been attacked.

Everyone on here seems hyper-vigilant for trolls and it means lots of innocents are getting caught in the cross fire.

Yes I know they are @PlanDeRaccordement and it's a great shame. But that's also why I think we need some kind of mechanism (beyond Advanced Search) to help posters spot trolling posts.

The nastiness towards trolls reflects the exasperation (and anger in many cases) that so many of us feel about it - and it seems to be only getting worse as the site gets bigger.

@ohwheniknow

And having looked at reddit I do think the self-appointed troll hunters would misuse joining dates even if it was only month and year.

How do you think they could misuse the dates though? I'm not sure I follow you.

Well I found MN before having my DS when I was suffering a few miscarriages so end 2003/ear.y 2004. Have also changed email twice since then.

I feel bad for genuine newbies or name changers (Says a prolific nchanger) that feel they have to list popular threads 'Pom bears/screaming Sistine/penis beaker' etc before posting. What a pita. We were all newbies once.

There are bound to be more trolls as the site is so much bigger that it was. But proportionally it's probably around the same.

But that's also why I think we need some kind of mechanism (beyond Advanced Search) to help posters spot trolling posts.

So your suggestion is purely made to help you engage in troll hunting? Not to give heads up as to whether a poster is a newbie or long time member? I am questioning your motives here as the MN guidelines specifically say no troll hunting. Surely it is the content of the post and how the poster engages that makes a troll, not the date they joined.

Not sure if this could work, but similar to @Squigean 's post, a site I'm on (teacher forum) has a system that shows each poster's 'credentials' as it were! For the first couple of months you have a little 'waving hand' 🤚 next to your name if you post anything, with the word NEWBIE, then you get a series of labels, the longer you have been around/more you post positively, from VALUED COMMENTER, VALUED COMMENTER+, TOP FAN, TOP FAN+.

I know on the forum I'm on, you only 'move up' through the labels if your posts are deemed positive/supportive/sticking to site rules. You don't get a label at all (although NEWBIE is removed) if you are 'a lurker'.

So, no dates, so no chance of being 'outed' if that's a worry, and a kind of reward I guess for not trolling.

oooooh, do you reckon all scammy pants have D user names???!!!

Maybe but not quite

There used to be a fairly regular one who started with M who I think ended up being banned.

I name change a bit (had to get rid of one name because I got outed) but I too would like to see the year joined.

And I can’t remember when I did but I’ve been here a wee while now.

PlanDeRaccordement

But would you have referred to MNers as "lovely ladies" after claiming to be a long term lurker?

it's the contradictions some posters put up.
They say oh I've been her ages. yet will then say stuff like hubby, ladies ect..

yes some poster here do say hubby.

But if you are trying to convince people you are genuine and have actually been reading threads a while. You'd know which things just don't go down well on here.

BIWI what she means is that let’s say BIWI joined April 2006 and then you name change to VerySensitivePoster and that also says she joined in April 2006. Someone pipes up ‘sounds like BIWI’ and bam.

It’s fucking annoying, the trolling, but it’s horrible being doxxed too.

Cardifree- yes, I am relatively new on MN. And I’m terrified of starting a thread because of the way I have seen threads go on here. Too much unnecessary nastiness. And maybe 1 in 20 of these threads actually got taken down by MNHQ as a troll post (from what I have seen so far). That means the troll hunters are wrong far more often than right. I think they are probably wrong about the number of actual trolls. An early poster said they thought 50% of MN posters are trolls. 50%. That cannot be true.

Making it easier to spot trolling posts doesn't automatically = intention to trollhunt, it helps you decide whether or not to engage, or report to MNHQ.

But if you are trying to convince people you are genuine and have actually been reading threads a while. You'd know which things just don't go down well on here.

But why should a newbie have to wait months and months, reading threads and learning MN peculiar etiquette to be able to ask for advice? Why should a person have to pass unwritten tests set by troll hunters to prove they are genuine?
Lots of newbies don’t find MN until they are in crisis and desperately want advice. They find MN and post. Then they get attacked. It’s heartbreaking.

Something that gives a rough indication of length of time would do the job.

It's only an internet forum. Surely you have more important things going on in your life than that? If you suspect trolling and it bothers you, leave the thread, hide it and don't give it a second thought.

And I’m terrified of starting a thread because of the way I have seen threads go on here

It’s an anonymous forum. Start a thread, if you don’t like the answers then hide it. What people on a forum think shouldn’t affect you.

TRAs would have a field day.

• I know on the forum I'm on, you only 'move up' through the labels if your posts are deemed positive/supportive/sticking to site rules. You don't get a label at all (although NEWBIE is removed) if you are 'a lurker'.

I don't see how that would work on a large 'passively moderated' forum like MN. Not unless there were means of other members rating posts (other than reporting ones which you think are iffy) - and such mechanisms could easily be abused.

If you think someone is a troll or GF, then you can always report - MNHQ knows when people have joined, regardless of name changes. That's how the system is supposed to work.

And maybe 1 in 20 of these threads actually got taken down by MNHQ as a troll post (from what I have seen so far). That means the troll hunters are wrong far more often than right

No, it really doesn’t. It just means that MNHQ cannot ‘prove’ either way.

I am more inclined to listen to ‘older’ posters, as I believe they have more experience of the site, more understanding of the way it works and a longer memory of the kind of trolling posts that are repeated year on year.

Yes, @Jemima89 I have plenty going on in my life thank you

@PlanDeRaccordement I am absolutely not suggesting this as a way to troll hunt! The point is for it to make it easier for posters to determine if someone is a troll so that they can choose not to engage.

And the whole point of this is following the ethos of the site - 'by parents, for parents', and supporting MNHQ's desire to be here to support people. The number of times you see people get taken in by trolls is shocking - so many posters are taken in by them. Either because they're new to forums, or also because the trolls are so prolific

And yes, @Jemima89 I have plenty going on in my life thank you But see my point above - so many people here over the years have been taken in quite badly by trolls. There are trolls who love to reel people in on the Bereavement boards, for example, which is really horrible. Or all those who claim hardship (especially at Christmas), as they know MNetters are a soft touch and likely to send them money.

If we can find some way to at least cut down on this, surely that's a good thing?

PlanDeRaccordement i'm not saying newbies do, i'm saying some trolls do.

They come to troll but say "they have been here ages" when how they reffer to things says other wise.

Most newbies don't claim to be long term lurkers or long term users with a NC, and then doesn't use the local lingo which if they were long term anything would know it's a massive give away.

I'm not a troll hunter, I open threads read the OP and if it has those openers^ and a very contentious post, I close the thread and move on, or report if it's particularly bad.

You asked how to spot a troll, I was just giving you one of my measures.