Laugh reaction

[Itsjustsodepressing]

I know when MN introduced the reaction button which included the Laugh emoji a lot of posters weren't happy about it. And there have been various comments by posters about its misuse.

It is just being used so commonly now to mock and deride serious comments that are in no way funny. That can no way be interpreted as light hearted.

It would appear to be being used to try and drive posters off threads. And the impression I get is that it's actually often certain posters ganging up together to try and silence people who don't agree with them.

I think MN having guidelines for posters to stick to civilised responses to other posters is being undermined because they have given those who are minded to be unpleasant to other posters the perfect tool to be nasty to them without having to verbalise anything and risk getting their post removed.

I'm failing to see any benefit in providing the laugh emoji reaction when it's principal use now is to upset and drive away genuine posters.

I don't think it was a good idea in the first place and I would like to see MN remove this reaction option.

I never imagined it was used in that way and have only ever used it when I found something funny...some people think thumbs up is PA should we remove that one...

Goodness, seems very thin skinned to take umbrage at a laughing emoji

MN can’t be responsible for every hurt feeling though. I say that as someone who’s had a couple of sarcastic ‘laugh’ emojis used on my replies. I just shrug it off as that poster having nothing of intelligence to reply with. Better than endless emails saying you’ve been quoted in a topic that obviously touched a nerve, despite bowing out/hiding and deleting the thread. And some posters are genuinely funny!

Exactly

I’ve only ever used it if I genuinely find a post funny and humorous, for all the right reasons. I quite like it for that reason.

they need more different ones, as the ones we have are all basically the same

Hi OP

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns about reactions. Just to reassure you, we treat misuse of reactions in the same way we treat posts that break our Talk Guidelines - if a reaction is being used to bully, mock, or harass, it's against our talk guidelines.

If you see reactions being used in this way, please do report it to us and we'll take a look.We do keep all feedback like yours under review and regularly assess the tools we offer on the site.

For now, we hope the reporting function gives everyone a way to flag behaviour that doesn't meet our standards, whether that's through posts or reactions.

Thanks again for raising this.

Thanks for your reply MN

Perhaps you could ask @Flytrap01 what was so hilarious about my post?

I've obviously missed a glittering career as a stand up comedian.

Really?

I posted on a thread today in Relationships where I expressed sadness at at a situation the OP was in because of the way her H was behaving.

And somebody put a laugh reaction on it.

Apart their mockery of me they were also mocking the OP because they obviously had no sympathy with her.

If it's thin skinned to actually feel disgust and upset that somebody thinks
a) it's appropriate to laugh at a woman in a difficult situation. And
b) to laugh at someone who expresses sympathy with her
then I'm proud to be thin skinned.

Its so cowardly , on what is supposed to be a discussion forum, to go round deliberately to try and cause distress to others by using an emoji when you havent got the guts to put your reaction into words.
.

I've had laughing emojis put on my posts connected to Christianity by people who most definitely think I'm a nutter believing in God or Jesus. I wouldn't object to the laughing emoji being removed.

This is exactly the type of thing that it is being used for by a certain section of poster: bullying others because they are perceived as different from themselves.

Turn the other cheek ( and consider that God will have the last laugh).

Why aren't the emojis public? As in, we can all see the reactions on other people's posts. It might police itself a bit then?

I'd certainly be interested to know whether the people that use the laughing emoji to mock also post a proper reply - or are they too cowardly for that? Making their reaction public could help stop them misusing it

@DUsername
I'm in two minds about this.

I see your logic .

BUT
given the way some posters " gang up " on threads it wouldn't surprise me if when they saw that others had laughed at a post it would encourage them to post a laugh reaction themselves and make things worse.

In my experience quite often the people who laugh inappropriately don't generally post a proper reply themselves although very occasionally they do.

If it bothers you, you could reply to them on the thread and ask them what was funny.

It would be interesting to read the thread you refer to

Then just an easy dump of an emoji into the message box
Eg
🤳👀🙄🤪😬🎻🤷‍♀️

Yes I have done this.

In fact I have indirectly done that on this thread.

But they don't usually reply.

Nobody can see anybody else's reaction, other than OP. I find it impossible to believe that this is a "ganging up" situation.

I think this is someone who spends far too much time on mumsnet and it’s become quite central to their life

@Thelasttea

I haven't named the thread deliberately because I know there are guidelines about posting threads about threads and I don't want to break any rules around that.

So we will just have to take your word for it

The OP was replying to a suggestion to make the icons public

So 1 🤣3 👏 type likes would appear under the post

@Thelasttea

I take it you are indirectly saying to me " get a life"?

Unless they are all friends offline and choose to "gang up". I also find that hard to believe.
The current situation works well, anonymously liking, laughing or thanking (unless OP).
I don't know what more you could do.