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Original poster

Posters not reading the OP

26 replies

CruCru · 06/09/2023 12:40

It seems as though there have been far more posters not bothering to read the OP, making their comments irrelevant (or unnecessarily aggressive). Things like:

OP: My twelve year old son and I left the theatre at 8pm. We got a taxi home, which took half an hour.

Responses: “Well, how old is your child?!?”

”Its irresponsible to have a child stay out until midnight”

”No way would I get the night bus!!!”

This is a bit of a parody but it is getting worse. At times, it comes across as trolling (and it makes MN much less interesting). The OP ends up replying to a load of irrelevant stuff - and then ends up not coming back.

Please could we have “Hasn’t read the OP” as a reason for reporting?

OP posts:
Throwaway23X · 06/09/2023 12:58

I’ve noticed this too. Several times I’ve thought ‘but that’s not what OP said!’ because they obviously haven’t bothered to read the full post.

InterFactual · 06/09/2023 13:24

I sometimes wonder if it's bots, missing obvious details could be a sign of AI posters.

It wouldn't surprise me if Mumsnet uses them to artificially inflate site traffic but that's a whole other thread.

Original poster
CruCru · 06/09/2023 13:43

If the OP is extremely long and confusing, or the OP has come back later to fill in a few gaps, perhaps it’s excusable to ask question which aren’t relevant. But failing to read a five line OP is quite weird.

OP posts:
pisspants · 06/09/2023 13:48

I've notice this a lot more recently as well and think being able to report it is a great idea @CruCru

CrispAppleStrudels · 06/09/2023 14:02

Agreed! There was one this morning with a whole page of posters telling OP to do something when they had explained in the OP why that wasnt an option🤦🏻‍♀️

Katmai · 06/09/2023 15:01

CrispAppleStrudels · 06/09/2023 14:02

Agreed! There was one this morning with a whole page of posters telling OP to do something when they had explained in the OP why that wasnt an option🤦🏻‍♀️

Yep - then the OP returns to reiterate why they can't do 'x' only for the posters to come back again and tell the OP they are wrong.

Allthestories · 06/09/2023 15:07

It's annoying isn't it? I tend to hide the whole thread and then get off MN and find something better to do than get irritated about posters who seem to have poor reading comprehension, and that's a shame because sometimes the subject is interesting.
So I concur, @CruCru

MNHQ
LilyMumsnet · 06/09/2023 15:10

Hi OP

Thanks for the suggestion - we'll have a chat about this. In the meantime if you have any concerns, please do report them to us using the report button.

Original poster
CruCru · 06/09/2023 16:57

Thank you LilyMumsnet!

OP posts:
KatherineJaneway · 08/09/2023 11:07

Even worse when they quote the OP's post as if we needed reminding who they are responding to

Original poster
CruCru · 09/09/2023 08:59

Yes! That is annoying too. Other posters usually tell them so, forcefully, though

OP posts:
MonumentalLentil · 09/09/2023 09:13

This is a great idea.
People can't be bothered to read the OP but will steam in and give their opinion, sometimes to pick a fight.
Often they will be directed to read the OP but clearly don't read the replies either. Just carry on being obtuse and picking on something that has nothing to do with the original subject.
Too many are 'hard of reading' on here, it's getting like Facebook.
Might I suggest an arsehole blocking feature?

determinedtomakethiswork · 09/09/2023 09:20

I would like it to be impossible for posters to quote the original post. Sometimes the original post is very very long which is fine obviously, but then the next person quotes it all with a very brief answer.

Santanderfall · 09/09/2023 09:22

Its always been like this. That's no help to you but it's a conversation that's been had on dozens of threads previously.

I agree it's annoying.

tribpot · 09/09/2023 09:26

The failure to read the OP did give us the legendary 'cancel the cheque' thread back in the day. But other than that brief glimmer of light it's incredibly annoying. I agree, deleting the posts would stop (a) the OP having to laboriously repeat what has already been said and (b) other posters jumping in as well to try and stop it.

tribpot · 09/09/2023 09:27

determinedtomakethiswork · 09/09/2023 09:20

I would like it to be impossible for posters to quote the original post. Sometimes the original post is very very long which is fine obviously, but then the next person quotes it all with a very brief answer.

Totally agree on this point as well.

AutumnCrow · 09/09/2023 09:36

Do you find this is more of a problem with particular topics, OP, like AIBU?

The royal topic is a nightmare for this as well. It doesn't matter what the OP is trying to discuss or in how nuanced a way - the OP is briefly scanned and then it's all about whistling up the tag-team to say the same old same bollocks ad nauseam. Complete waste of time and deeply tedious.

Report features in my dreams would be:

.Hasn't read the OP
.Hasn't understood the OP
.Has said exactly the same things over and over again on every thread they've ever been on

EmpressaurusOfCats · 09/09/2023 09:37

The ‘Reply’ option doesn’t help either. People think it will be obvious that they’re replying to a specific post, when it won’t.

If people had to get to the end of a thread before they could post on it, maybe they’d be more likely to see how far it had moved on, and decide to at least see if the OP had posted anything else before adding their own comment.

TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon · 09/09/2023 09:39

It's hard enough to get personal attacks and hate speech towards women, the elderly, the disabled etc deleted so lord knows how it would be possible to get a post deleted because someone hasn't read the OP properly.

MonumentalLentil · 09/09/2023 09:42

Yes, the 'Reply' option is useless. People would just use the message box if it wasn't there. Unless it was made into a 'reply to post button'.

As for quoting a post, I don't do this if it is long one, but I find it invaluable when replying to an individual comment. And it is a pain that it has been moved.

AutumnCrow · 09/09/2023 09:52

I suppose not reading the OP properly, and subsequently banging on and on about something irrelevant in an unpleasant tone in multiple posts, after being corrected by the OP and asked to stop, might fall under being goady or derailing? Especially on a serious topic like Relationships.

LittleBearPad · 09/09/2023 09:55

KatherineJaneway · 08/09/2023 11:07

Even worse when they quote the OP's post as if we needed reminding who they are responding to

Particularly when they are first poster to reply!

LittleBearPad · 09/09/2023 09:56

MonumentalLentil · 09/09/2023 09:42

Yes, the 'Reply' option is useless. People would just use the message box if it wasn't there. Unless it was made into a 'reply to post button'.

As for quoting a post, I don't do this if it is long one, but I find it invaluable when replying to an individual comment. And it is a pain that it has been moved.

The quoting button is far more useful than Thanks or Share! Please rearrange them, please!

tribpot · 09/09/2023 10:01

Have MN explained why they moved the quote option? I assume it was on purpose, potentially partly to stop the OP being quoted.

GoogleWhacked · 09/09/2023 10:10

tribpot · 09/09/2023 10:01

Have MN explained why they moved the quote option? I assume it was on purpose, potentially partly to stop the OP being quoted.

I'd be interested in this too @LilyMumsnet, it's not in a very intuitive place.
Plus the Reply button is confusing, I just click Add post if I want to add a post. The reply button makes me think I'm replying to an actual post but it doesn't show that way.