Ban reverse threads

[LetTheBirdsSing]

@MNHQ would it be possible to make ‘reverse’ threads a breach of the the Talk Guidelines, and for these threads to be deleted by MNHQ in order to discourage people from posting them? I have seen two of these threads today where the poster has written a thread pretending to be a different person in the scenario they’ve described. Cue lots of well meaning advice from Mumsnetters which isn’t applicable to the original poster as they aren’t who they say they are in the original post. They are SO irritating.

Yes.

Or lock them as other posters suggested.

Or if you add a message to the OP's first post, as you did today, use your message to directly inform people it's a reverse thread. Please don't just direct people to read the OP's second post before responding. That legitimizes reverses. And does nothing for all the other posters who read and advised, in good faith, before the OP admitted it.

I am fairly sure I have seen reverse threads being deleted because they were reverses. They are very annoying because they so obvious.

Why are they being allowed now?

...they are so obvious

I agree, especially when there are lots of well thought out replies. I know no-one owes anyone anything on here but people taking the time to reply to real posters can make such a difference to someone's life.

I have been on here for years and still struggle to notice reverse thread, until someone points it out.

The OP is usually very unreasonable.

Have a look at the wedding thread which is a reverse.

Just for a bit of balance, I don't mind them. Sometimes people are just looking for a neutral view so are asking from the other person's perspective.

Yes, but they are seldom presented in a way that neutral responses will be forthcoming.
They are usually along the lines of 'I told my best friend she needs to give up her six figure salaried job in order to mind my children. I won't be paying her but she will have free run of my house and I will provide her with a cupboard and a space in the fridge where she can store the food she buys for herself. AIBU?'

If people want to get a neutral viewpoint then they can say “the situation is Person A has done A, B, C and Person B has done X, Y, Z. Who do you think is being unreasonable?” that way they’re not pretending to be someone they’re not.

Or if you add a message to the OP's first post, as you did today, use your message to directly inform people it's a reverse thread. Please don't just direct people to read the OP's second post before responding.

Agreed. I saw that note and have to say I found it more than a little patronising. I know people should read the whole thread before posting, but it’s not exactly news that many don’t. It felt like those posters were being blamed for something that was the OP’s fault for posting a reverse in the first place.

I disagree.

Don't get me wrong, reverses are silly and annoying but I don't want MN to have any more rules than it needs and MNHQ have enough to do.

Reverses, and their posters getting their arse handed to them, are part of the glorious tapestry that is MN.

I agree with Donquixote.

I hate these threads and would support banning them. Posters are already anonymous so what's the point?

I don’t care either. But then I don’t get this obsession with ‘advice’ on here. It’s not an agony aunt column.

Oh come on, everyone would just say to keep your beak out

I saw that one too and felt the same. I felt like I was being told what to do. Its not my fault it OP decided to play some sort of weird game and pretend she was another party in the issue.

Yes I agree with that too. One of the reasons MN is great is because there aren't too many rules and moderation is largely reasonable and sensible.

Now you're getting into the As, Bs and Cs threads....another contentious issue on MN 😂

I prefer A B and C to "I have a friend let's call her Wendoline" and she has a boyfriend let's call him "Christoph"."

They can be annoying but tbh I disagree that you can know it’s a reverse.

Bear in mind that a reverse thread is about someone who really is showing the behaviour the OP is posting about, so there’s nothing to say that someone couldn’t post here believing that such outrageous behaviour really isn’t unreasonable.

The only way to know for certain that a thread is a reverse is if the OP admits it. The rest is just guess work.

Agree they should be banned.

I never get why people say A, B and C threads are ‘hard to follow’. Why is it any harder than if you know their names are Anne, Bob and Carol?

imagine if any of these people meet someone called Bea in real life. It will blow their tiny minds.

Anne, Bob and Carol threads just descend into posters guessing which of Anne or Carol the OP is and whether she is shagging Bob.

Much more annoying are reverses which go on for 500 posts before the OP finally admits they're the unreasonable SIL and then demands that the whole thing is deleted 'for privacy reasons'.

I dont understand why it annoys people so much

Reverses often show the hypocrisy on Mumsnet especially where it isn't obvious or just misleading if the poster is a man or woman. I wouldn't want them banned because they highlight the injustice faced on here at times.