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Original poster

Rather than deleting troll threads .. could we move them to a 'Troll section'

129 replies

Twiglett · 26/02/2008 18:06

and change the colour of them (say to red) so that people can actually see quite how perniciously nasty or weird some of the trolls can be and why other people get so up in arms about the potential of them

OP posts:
Kindersurpise · 26/02/2008 19:58

With a troll it is the trickle of information, not a huge OP with lots of info, just lots of little posts. They tend not to reply to anyone, just dish out small bite sized remarks designed to shock.

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 19:59

yes, but that assumes that we are all equally emotionally intelligent, pruners, and we are not. so what i'm concerned about is the two extremes, both the people who are taken advantage of (for me, financially, for others, emotionally) and those who take such glee in troll hunting that they run the risk of doing real harm to a vulnerable person.

Pruners · 26/02/2008 20:06

Message withdrawn

sweetgrapes · 26/02/2008 20:07

Sorry for interupting...

Can someone email me the thread too, please?
grapessweet at yahoo dot com

Pretty pretty please...

I saw it and read a bit but then got caught up with RL and just now saw this thread...

(Btw, reading this thread I really feel like you guys are sitting drinking coffee in someone's lounge and chatting away and I'm kinda evesdropping... hope you don't mnd...)

Kindersurpise · 26/02/2008 20:13

I agree though, that the abuse of the emotional support is almost worse than the scamming money.

To read the fabulous support MrsGG got and to know that it was someone just having a laugh, it makes me sad and angry. A lot of MNetters were very involved in the thread.

LaDiDaDi · 26/02/2008 20:17

I don't think that those who voiced sceptism at MrsGG were gleeful necessarily but wanted to stop other mumsnetteres getting sucked in emotionally or potentially financially.

I suspect many posters who have since said that they were suspicious didn't voice those concerns on her first DV thread because they recognised that it could be a poster how was acting out issues in their life even if the thread itself wasn't genuine. After that I personally felt that things went too far with the prem labour scenario.

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 20:29

i thought that some posters were gleeful, tbh, (there was a 'Yes!') and there are other ways of flagging this up. particularly to mnhq.

i was watching a programme on suicide the other day, pruni, and the guy was talking about having imagined every detail of his death and funeral etc a thousand times, he indicated it was a release to do so. in fact, the time he did try to commit suicide was postponed by having done so. so it seems to be like a self-harm thing, a release, and not a healthy one, but healthier than the alternative. i wonder if that's what these posts are sometimes?

also, i really don't think it follows that because a poster makes x and y up they automatically made a and b up too. hillls, for example, was anorexic i believe, what she did next didn't make her less so imo.

expatinscotland · 26/02/2008 20:30

imagine the time and effort it takes to fabricate all that, too.

you have to be such a complete weirdo to go to the trouble.

expatinscotland · 26/02/2008 20:38

I have just emailed everyone who asked.

Let me know if you don't receive it, please .

LaDiDaDi · 26/02/2008 20:39

I think Hills was a different kettle of fish to Mrs Gg, I also think Hills was likely to be anorexic in real life.

I suspect that this most recent one was going to turn into a cash cow but others are different. Some will be from people who have genuine mental health problems, some will be from spotty teenagers having a laugh at our expense, some will be from people working through what is actually happening to them or has happened in the past, some will just be silly and some will be complete fantasists who enjoy creating another life for themselves where they can be whoever they want eg JF.

All apart from the clearly silly ones are potentially damaging to an online community.

expatinscotland · 26/02/2008 20:40

You can say she/he did damage in taht she suckered in a lot of people emotionally AND caused a lot of anger between some posters.

That's unpleasant at best.

MerlinsBeard · 26/02/2008 21:27

Aitch, to reply to your question ages ago...would i do it again? NOt to the extent that i did but yes i would and have tried to help others where i can. Was silly of me to jeopardise my health the way that i did. Her story was, in places, similar to mine so it hit me hard and i am warier now than i was. Which i guess is a good thing but at the time it fucked me right over!

Beetroot · 26/02/2008 21:32

Aitch - the problem is, when you have been around a long time, you can spot the signs. And yes you like to give the benefit of the doubt - there have been some amazing, generous, kind gestures on here. Life saving situations - all for real/

However, imo It is rare if not unheard of for someone to come on, having never been on here before and give their horrendous life story in the way that MrsGG did.

That is why I suggested that the one might give people a chance to just be a little careful.

MrsGG may be a woman in need but she (or he) is more likely to be a past troll or horrid teenagers getting a kick!

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 21:35

poor you, are you better now or is it just one of those things you try to keep a lid on every day? i think we all get burned in rl or on here by other people's dramas, it's a tough lesson.

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 21:38

i understand that beetroot, and i was also wary of posting anything other than fairly neutral encouragement. but your single thing is just unworkable. someone posted it, and in the space of ten seconds there were ten posts on it, supporting it, against it etc. we're all responding to things as individuals here. unless MNHQ were somehow to administer a single (and how could they possibly, really?) then it's pretty much cloud cuckoo land to think that it could ever happen without a response.

Piffle · 26/02/2008 21:39

Ooh expat me too please! Totally in the dark and hating it! Kiwisbird at gmail dot com
thanks ma'am

expatinscotland · 26/02/2008 21:40

But on the other hand, Aitch, a fair number of posters, myself included, who are definitely not vicious troll hunters but mostly as Beety pointed out, people who for some reason or another just smell a bit of wet rat, were completely scared off even entering the thread at all because the one who did post her reservations was pretty much savaged.

SparklyGothKat · 26/02/2008 21:43

why was my email 'clipped'??

expatinscotland · 26/02/2008 21:44

Dunno, sparkly.

I'll try it again.

motherinferior · 26/02/2008 21:47

Ahem: another person once posted MY WATERS JUST BROKE.

And lots of people got very very excited, and started a thread on when said poster would give birth.

DD2 was born seven hours later.

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 21:49

ah now, as it happens the one who posted was never heard of again, it was the other people who continued the trollhunting live on the thread who were remonstrated with.
and not for a long time either, it was done and dusted within four minutes, i noted, despite there being quite a few posts in that time. that's what i'm saying about the fact that if everyone presses 'post message' at much the same time because they are all offended by the same post, there's no point making out it's a pile-on. it's not, it's many individuals responding to one post at the same time.
it then moved onto another thread where quite an interesting discussion was had at more liberty.

DaphneHarvey · 26/02/2008 21:50

As expat said.

I wasn't as shocked by the troll (as clear as day to me, btw, if you believe me) but glad I didn't post even a suspicion about troll-dom because of the terrible treatment whoever it was got when they posted a cynical face-thingy. I thought that was just awful. Really disgraceful. Its not as though that poster waded in and said "hang on a second I suspect you're not genuine, there are things in your story that don't add up" she just posted a symbol. Was amazed by the way she got jumped on, actually.

AitchTwoOh · 26/02/2008 21:50

did you MI? how hilarious. mine broke on the loo so i thought i was good to go (first-timer) but there was loads more and i ruined a dried van noten coat in the car on the way to the hospital.

Beetroot · 26/02/2008 21:52

lets live and learn hey Aitch!

God knows how it can be policed.

Sadly the more it happens the more ones stops trusting.

Expat - go shave that long green beard!

and where is my email?

TigerFeet · 26/02/2008 21:53

Ooooh let me see the troll

tangerinecath [at] hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk

aye thang yew