Can HQ to more to protect vulnerable posters on here?

[9ofpentangles]

I can think of at least 3 threads today where the op has been in an obviously vulnerable mental state only to be eaten alive.

One was the situation where the op was verbally attacked for not wearing a mask.

The other is the one where she pulled her child out of nursery for being abused.

And finally, the parent of the 16 month old who has failed to bond with her.

Of course, there are many helpful replies on the above thread but it makes very uncomfortable reading when the op declares she'd 'be better off dead' as a result of the comments.

Normally, I would slways report but I don't want to see a wishy washy 'be kind' type comment or an emsil back, telling me no guidelines were broken. I want to see hard action against trolls before people start taking matters int their own hands

i was with you until you called posters 'trolls'

It's definitely got worse recently.

I haven’t seen all those threads but I’m not sure I’d agree with your characterisation of the mask one. Plenty of posters defending the op. Posts were reported and deleted.

I've only been around MN for about 3 years but nasty comments, insults and OP mockery on what are pretty innocuous threads has got much worse in that time. It seems a reflex response for certain posters to insult and mock the OP. A young woman, new to MN, posted yesterday about her first pregnancy and referred to her baby as 'baby', e.g. 'when baby is born', rather than 'the baby'. Several posters mocked her mercilessly and mocked her putting a x at the end of each post. Poor girl was so apologetic, it was really sad. Doubt she'll be back.

@GirlCrush

i was with you until you called posters 'trolls'

I standby what I said. Some posts definitely fell into that category, imo. At the very best, they were undeniably and unnecessarily inflammatory given the op's vulnerability

@PurpleDaisies

I haven’t seen all those threads but I’m not sure I’d agree with your characterisation of the mask one. Plenty of posters defending the op. Posts were reported and deleted.

I see your point on the deletions but nasty posts seem to be a gift that keeps on giving. Why is there such toxicity and what can hq do to discourage it? What can we do as a community?

There was an example of this just now where the OP had posted under the Mental Health topic about experiencing PTSD symptoms. There were some supportive postS but a couple that ripped into her because she described her feelings as PTSD even though she hadn’t experienced a war. She wasn’t attempting to appropriate or diminish the symptoms of PTSD, she was just trying to describe her condition. MNHQ then came on to say the OP had deregged and they were deleting the thread. The poor OP. I hope she is ok.

That's terrible. I missed that one

I have noticed more and more really horrible, rude posts across the board. Trolls and goady posters are having a field day.
I guess MN has got so big now it has got hard to control this.
I am so sorry for new people who are targeted.

Perhaps there could be a way of flagging up sensitive posts so that they are closely monitored. A key word or something?