The AIBU topic, yet again.

[OnlyInYourDreams]

I realise that MN aren’t going to remove the AIBU topic, so on that basis, could you instead put a disclaimer at the top saying something along the lines of “this is not a serious topic and you shouldn’t expect to receive support here. If you need genuine support then you would be advised to look at the other topics.”

AIBU is getting worse. People are almost gleeful at the way they can pile on to people, and this morning alone I have seen two threads in there where a poster has needed genuine support and been absolutely ripped apart.

And the vile posters responsible seem to think that “this is the AIBU topic,” is a good excuse to do so.

So AIBU needs to be categorised as lighthearted and in no way supportive at all

Two things:
Posters shouldn't be arseholes but they are
Posters should post in the right topic but they don't

So what to do? Your solution might work. Hate the victim blamey "what did you expect posting in AIBU, sneer sneer" but really, why DID you post there.

Ramble! Sorry.

And ofc we must bear in mind the old mantra:

Not everyone is who they say they are on the Internet.

So a healthy scepticism isn't a bad thing.

Hey, OP, sorry for the delay in getting back to you here.

While AIBU does tend to have a conversations that are a bit more robust than on other parts of the boards, talk guidelines do still apply.

If there are any posts, users, or threads giving cause for concern then do hit report and we will take a look.

Ah, "robust", that covers a multitude of sins doesn't it, just like "banter" and "straight-talking" to bullying. The problem is individuals are just being "robust" and their posts are not bad enough to be reportable, but they add to the collective pile-ons. Like death by a thousand cuts. Threads can often be bad enough to really hurt the OP but not bad enough to be deleted.

So many people automatically post in AIBU, either "for traffic" or by accident, so I agree with the OP, that it could be useful to have a disclaimer of some sort. Perhaps a warning message before being able to send a post. This would hopefully encourage people to post in the sections that would be of far more benefit to them (and not turn AIBU into Chat II)

Off topic but still AIBU, I wish people would stop using it for votes/polls. Maybe we need a vote topic where people just want to vote not actually use words.