MNHQ, can we have it that someone needs to have been a member for a time before starting threads?

[NotOneOfTheInCrowd]

I know that people are going to say that maybe people come and post here out of desperation or because they stumble across the site etc…

But there’s an increasing trend of people who post one inflammatory first post, either controversial or highly emotive, and never post again.

It’s becoming incredibly tedious, and posters generally answer these posts and threads in good faith, only for the OP to never return.

Now either these posts are started by bored teenagers with nothing to do, or presumably they’re started by AI.

But surely a solution would be to actually have a rule that you have to have been here for x days and contributed to x threads before being able to start a post in your own right?

I know that people are going to say that maybe people come and post here out of desperation or because they stumble across the site etc…

But this ^^ is absolutely correct.

I'm with you in that it's annoying when people start threads and don't return, but that's just internet forums for you.

It's much more important for new members to be able to start threads if they need to, not least because they'll end up hijacking someone else's to post their problem.

Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if Mumsnet quite likes the shitty click bait threads.
Clicks = Money

@NotOneOfTheInCrowd thanks for starting this thread.

We do understand your concerns and we know it can be frustrating if an OP doesn't return to a thread, but it doesn't mean they're not genuine or that they're not reading the responses. Some new posters may feel overwhelmed by the replies, particularly if they're all suggesting something that the OP isn't ready to face.

So we'd rather not have any conditions on how long someone's been on the site before they can post a thread of their own. If you have any suspicions at all, please hit the report button so we can take a closer look - and obviously if we see any connections to previously banned accounts, we'll take the thread straight down.

Regular users also change names. So what may seem like a new user - if you're the type to search a poster's posts - because there's no posting history may be a regular poster who's namechanged and started a new thread.

Maybe have a single topic for first time new posters. I know some might come here looking for help.

Far from the biggest problem on the site.

As annoying as it is to have one post wonders, who knows if that one post may have actually helped them in some way.