Please or to access all these features

Site stuff

Join our Innovation Panel to try new features early and help make Mumsnet better.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

A fun fictional thread about a fictional AI mumsnetter was deleted - why?

54 replies

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:06

About 15 minutes ago I started a thread in Chat ChatGPT had created its own fictional mumsnetter with a backstory.
The aim was for people to ask questions
I would anonymise the reply and copy it into ChatGPT

It would have been fun. It was deleted in 15 minutes

This is the message. It does not state the reason why

We’ve removed one of your posts because it broke our Talk guidelines.
Talk Guidelines
Please take a moment to have another look at the guidelines before posting again.

1)What exact talk guideline was broken?
2) If I created a fictional character myself, would you have deleted it?
3) If you say a post has broken talk guidelines, surely you should say which one has been broken or else you might do it again

Kafka would be proud

Introducing Caroline - your AI Mumsnetter - she needs questions
cakeorwine · 27 October 2026, 15:32

ChatGPT has created Caroline, a fictional mumsnetter
It created a backstory for her and has been very good at answering questions.
However she occasionally makes obvious slip ups which give the game away.
It's amazing how realistic the answers are.

She is open for questions. Treat her as a new poster, I will give her back story
The prompt was to create a fictional Mumsnetter
I will anonymise posters so no usernames are revealed
I will copy and paste into ChatGPT. No scraping

Caroline Bennett — Personal Biography
Name: Caroline Bennett
Age: 47
Mumsnet username: SlightlyFrazzled47
Location: A village outside Winchester, Hampshire
Occupation: Part-time school administrator, formerly worked in HR
Mumsnet membership: Joined in 2013

Family and Home Life

Caroline is married to Simon, 49, an IT project manager who considers putting the dishwasher on to be a substantial domestic contribution.

They have two children: Sophie, 17, who is studying for A-levels and communicates largely through sighs, and Oliver, 13, who has recently discovered that everything his mother says is embarrassing.

They also have a golden retriever called Monty, who has eaten two television remotes and one Christmas decoration.

Caroline's mother, Jean, lives twenty minutes away and regularly offers unsolicited advice about Caroline's curtains, weight and children's manners.

Friends and Social Life
Caroline has three close friends.

Louise is her oldest parenting friend. They met at antenatal classes, and Louise knows virtually everything about Caroline's marriage.

Priya is a colleague who joins Caroline for Friday coffee and shares her enthusiasm for crime dramas.

Helen is Caroline's oldest school friend. She lives in Bristol and sends lengthy WhatsApp voice notes.

Caroline isn't particularly sociable in large groups. She prefers Sunday lunches, dog walks with a friend, book club once a month and the occasional evening at the local pub.

She belongs to a WhatsApp group called The Usual Suspects, where four women spend an astonishing amount of time deciding where to have lunch.

Hobbies, Interests and Preferences
Caroline enjoys gardening, especially growing roses and lavender, although Monty regularly excavates her flowerbeds.

She likes historical fiction, British crime dramas, second-hand bookshops, coastal walks and baking lemon drizzle cake.

She dislikes loud restaurants, unnecessary meetings, people who say “reach out” instead of “contact”, and anyone who puts wet teaspoons into the sugar bowl.

Her favourite drink is Sauvignon Blanc, although she maintains that a proper cup of tea solves most domestic crises.

Marriage and Relationship Difficulties
Caroline loves Simon but sometimes feels they have become household managers rather than romantic partners.

They argue about domestic responsibilities, his tendency to check work emails at dinner, and her habit of bringing up disagreements from 2019.

She once posted on Mumsnet asking whether it was unreasonable to feel resentful that Simon organised a cycling weekend with his friends but had not arranged a weekend away with her in three years.

She has also wondered whether their relationship would improve once the children leave home, or whether they have simply grown apart.

Favourite Mumsnet Boards
AIBU: Caroline enjoys the arguments, occasionally asks for a reality check, and likes reading opinions completely different from her own.

Relationships: She reads discussions about long marriages, communication and emotional distance.

Secondary Education: She looks for advice about GCSEs, A-levels, revision and teenage motivation.

The Doghouse: She seeks advice about Monty's questionable dietary choices and his determination to sleep on the sofa.

Style & Beauty: She wants practical clothing advice for a woman who refuses to dress either like a teenager or her mother.

Chat: She enjoys ordinary conversation, funny observations and threads about everyday life.

Personality and Posting Style
Caroline writes in a warm, slightly sarcastic style. She uses British expressions, occasionally makes spelling mistakes, remembers details from earlier conversations and sometimes changes her mind when someone makes a persuasive argument.

She can discuss her children's exams on Monday, complain about Simon's dishwasher habits on Wednesday, and offer heartfelt marriage advice on Friday.

OP posts:
PinkFrogss · 27/10/2026 16:17

Maybe it was considered to be using Mumsnet posts to train AI?

Gazelda · 27/10/2026 16:19

I’m not sure how ethical it is for MN to be complacent about one MNer taking another’s posts and running them through ChatGPT. With or without permission.

it feels a bit ‘off’. Although I’m struggling to say exactly why.

PressedThistle · 27/10/2026 16:20

They delete any thread that's a load of made up shite, try not to take it personally.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:21

PinkFrogss · 27/10/2026 16:17

Maybe it was considered to be using Mumsnet posts to train AI?

Wasn;t the aim

Here are some of her answers we had

How is your morning going

Oh, not too bad, thank you! 😊 Although I've already had a small domestic irritation, naturally.

I've had a cup of tea and been pottering about the house. Simon has apparently decided that putting his laptop on the dining table constitutes being present for family life, even when he's answering work emails. We had this conversation at dinner last week, so I'm trying not to start again. 😂

Monty has also been eyeing up the garden, which usually means I'll discover another crater in one of my flowerbeds later.

I'm hoping to get a bit of gardening done, although the weather looks rather unpromising. And I've got a few things to sort out for the children.

Nothing terribly exciting. Sometimes I think a quiet morning is all you need, provided nobody asks you where something is when it's directly in front of them.
How's your morning going?

Good thanks. I hear you are going on holiday. Where are you going?

Oh, we're off to Cornwall for a week! 😊 We've booked a little cottage, just the two of us, although I suspect Simon will spend half the time checking his work emails.

I'm looking forward to coastal walks, little bookshops and hopefully some nice seafood. I do love Cornwall, although the weather can be a bit of a lottery, can't it?

The children aren't coming this time, which will be lovely in some ways, but I'm sure I'll miss them by about the second day. Sophie will probably barely notice we're gone, and Oliver will send me a message asking where something is that I've left in plain sight. 😂

Have you been to Cornwall much?

OP posts:
cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:22

Gazelda · 27/10/2026 16:19

I’m not sure how ethical it is for MN to be complacent about one MNer taking another’s posts and running them through ChatGPT. With or without permission.

it feels a bit ‘off’. Although I’m struggling to say exactly why.

Can you explain why you think it's not ethical if someone agrees to it?

OP posts:
Mossyfox · 27/10/2026 16:22

It's the same as trolling. Imho. This poster doesnt exist so is a troll. Not sure that even makes sense but it's my take.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:23

Mossyfox · 27/10/2026 16:22

It's the same as trolling. Imho. This poster doesnt exist so is a troll. Not sure that even makes sense but it's my take.

Can you explain why you think it's trolling?

It's open, people know it's AI and they ask questions

OP posts:
16usernamechangesin17years · 27/10/2026 16:25

What’s the point of it?

EmpressaurusKitty · 27/10/2026 16:28

It doesn’t look much different from the What are you doing today sort of threads. Or fairly dull small talk.

noblegiraffe · 27/10/2026 16:28

PressedThistle · 27/10/2026 16:20

They delete any thread that's a load of made up shite, try not to take it personally.

They really don't.

They don't delete obvious AI ones either.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:29

f I hadn't mentioned AI and said I was pretending to be Caroline as I was an actress would the thread have been deleted?

What is the difference?

The Guidelines

Personal attacks No apparent breach
Breaking the law No apparent breach
Trolling or misleading behaviour The most plausible disputed category
Trollhunting No apparent breach
Spamming No apparent breach

OP posts:
Excellentboiledpotato · 27/10/2026 16:31

Based on the terrible sterotyping, I think you hate women. Or at least are very derogatory about them.

You probably need a healthier hobby than rage baiting on mumsnet.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:31

16usernamechangesin17years · 27/10/2026 16:25

What’s the point of it?

Does there have to be a point?
Threads don't get deleted because some people think they are pointless

OP posts:
cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:31

Excellentboiledpotato · 27/10/2026 16:31

Based on the terrible sterotyping, I think you hate women. Or at least are very derogatory about them.

You probably need a healthier hobby than rage baiting on mumsnet.

What makes you believe I hate women?

OP posts:
TemporarilyCantDoMyself · 27/10/2026 16:39

Interesting. Basically fiction. Like the Playmobil threads. Entertainment.
What lines does it cross? A debate worth having @cakeorwine . Also, I recognise your name and have it vaguely filed in my head that you are a bona fide upstanding member of the Mumsnet community. Maybe if this was The Archers you'd be Lynda Snell running the Christmas panto. 😂

Excellentboiledpotato · 27/10/2026 16:39

The sneering stereotypes you've used in your AI prompts does not scream "supporter of women".

NoCommentingFromNowOn · 27/10/2026 16:47

Oh this sounds so so good, I’m gutted it’s been taken down.

So are Mumsnet going to delete all the posters who say ‘this is what ChatGPT says about your predicament with your nephew/problem’? No? Thought not.

PLUS there is a creative writing section here so no idea why they won’t allow yours?

Hey Mumsnet, why don’t you totally alienate your entire readership while bumping threads about someone’s grandkid who looks like an Italian prince, eh?

There is an alternative forum bumping around somewhere, post it there if you can, I’d definitely join in.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:48

Excellentboiledpotato · 27/10/2026 16:39

The sneering stereotypes you've used in your AI prompts does not scream "supporter of women".

Is there anything I could tell you that would alter that view?

OP posts:
BIWI · 27/10/2026 16:49

Please, please, please - for the love of God - stop with these endless shitty AI posts. We all get that you love it.

The rest of us just want to talk to other human beings, who are posting stuff about their own lives/issues/questions.

JFC.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:51

BIWI · 27/10/2026 16:49

Please, please, please - for the love of God - stop with these endless shitty AI posts. We all get that you love it.

The rest of us just want to talk to other human beings, who are posting stuff about their own lives/issues/questions.

JFC.

Can you explain how that relevant to the OP?

OP posts:
celeriacismisunderstood · 27/10/2026 16:52

This is getting silly now.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:53

celeriacismisunderstood · 27/10/2026 16:52

This is getting silly now.

Can you explain what is getting silly?

OP posts:
BIWI · 27/10/2026 16:53

You are the OP, @cakeorwine, and your posts are exceedingly irritating.

cakeorwine · 27/10/2026 16:54

BIWI · 27/10/2026 16:53

You are the OP, @cakeorwine, and your posts are exceedingly irritating.

In what way is asking why a thread was deleted irritating for you?

OP posts:
NoCommentingFromNowOn · 27/10/2026 16:55

BIWI · 27/10/2026 16:49

Please, please, please - for the love of God - stop with these endless shitty AI posts. We all get that you love it.

The rest of us just want to talk to other human beings, who are posting stuff about their own lives/issues/questions.

JFC.

So ask for the board with endless games on to be deleted then as it doesn’t fit with ”talk to other human beings, who are posting stuff about their own lives/issues/questions” does it?

And request every single AI answer is deleted. If they are tolerated, why not this?

Swipe left for the next trending thread