Only you can stop S&B trolls! Seriously, please try to ignore them and they’ll disappear

[MarieRoseMarie]

The style and beauty board is one of the best resources @mumsnet has. They don’t seem to realise it though because they allow endless AIBU derailing and trolling any time anyone asks about high end or luxury fashion.

Some boring troll immediately arrives and starts insisting that fashion is stupid or that high prices are disgusting. This then provokes 50 defensive reponses from “helpful” posters and the entire thread becomes a bunfight. We can’t make @mumsnet delete these posts but we can just ignore them.

Its so hard to ignore someone who is wrong on the internet but these people thrive on attention and it’s easier often to get negative attention than positive. Seriously, these trolls are desperate and want attention (any attention) and the worst thing you can do is just not give it to them by IGNORING THEM. The more attention they can get, the more they post. Try to reply to the main topic and not let them derail you into bunfights.

I mostly lurk here so maybe this post is overstepping but it feels like the trolling has ramped up recently and maybe calling out the problem will help @mumsnet be aware of it and other posters recognise and tackle it.

What do people think? Am I the only one annoyed by this?

You do understand that cheap clothes are an environmental and human rights disaster, right? I understand that sometimes they are all that is affordable but I can afford to do better and I WANT to do better.

My interests are completely aligned with brands in that if they deliver quality and sustainability, I will happily pay for a living wage and ethically made fabrics. But we need help on where to go. Mumsnet genuinely could have a role to play in helping bridge that gap.

I think we all have strong opinions on fashion, style, grooming, etc. but it’s clear now some people are coming on purely to criticise the entire concept of the board
Agree with this.
My personal peeve is when someone is asking a question about something that's expensive/particular types of fibres/share their opinions on the quality of certain brands and then some posters reply some variation of "First world problems. If only everyone had this problem. If supermarket/Primark is good enough for most of us then you should also buy fast fashion."

Giving opinions you disagree with isn't trolling. I like the S&B board (though I don't frequent it that much) and I totally agree that women should be able to spend their money on whatever they like. But that doesn't mean people shouldn't be allowed to express their opinions about items of clothing, accessories etc or comment on how expensive they are or their value for money.

There are some boards (relating to sensitive or potentially traumatic topics) which arguably should not be subject to robust opinions or challenging of views, but I don't really think S&B is in that category!

If that happened you would get a taste of your own medicine.

I haven't 'trolled' S & B. So not sure what you mean.

Interesting! I've got my eyes on the 'three post feminists' who ask if an item is age appropriate then three posts later turn into Andrea Dworkin and pull others up for policing women's appearance.

They are massive trolls imo because they don't consider clothes to have an age to begin with so why bloody ask!

It doesn't have to be either or. I've asked for budget options and got great suggestions. The point is if the post doesn't apply to. You just move along. I don't have any clue about high end stuff so I like to have a nosey at the links and like to look, but I wouldn't wade in offering budget options because that wasn't asked for. In the same vein I wouldn't want someone posting to make me feel bad for needing to buy cheaper.

It is so true. I don't care for fashion but for someone who is not British, you have a hell of a lot of people who have a problem with envy in this country. You can't celebrate doing well or making a lot of money as it's seen as somehow disgusting/immoral. It's a v odd thing to see as someone who was brought up abroad where success is celebrated!

I am the poster who started the crossbody bag thread and caused the controversy!

Personally the comments didn’t bother me and there were loads more helpful suggestions than negative ones so I was happy. I think with a site this size there are going to be a wide range of users with different circumstances so there will always be some people who don’t agree, I don’t mind a robust argument on the internet but when it crosses into more personal / derogatory comments then that is unacceptable. I’ve seen this board as a lurker have some really nice posts and some posters are obviously coming in feeling a little down or vulnerable, how we look can really effect how we feel and it can be so supportive.

I hope something can be done to make everyone feel welcome as what downer bother me could bother others, though I don’t have any solutions. I’ve been on the internet a long time and it’s the same everywhere without robust moderation.

Same on posts about handbags. Somebody or several somebodies will insist that you should be carting yr belongings around in a tesco bag for life. Yawn!!

I can't afford to spend £800, on a handbag but there were some lovely bags posted at more the 'save up and splurge' point for me so I thought it was great. It was derailed and it did feel that some posters were just being sneery trolls

It is so true. I don't care for fashion but for someone who is not British, you have a hell of a lot of people who have a problem with envy in this country. You can't celebrate doing well or making a lot of money as it's seen as somehow disgusting/immoral. It's a v odd thing to see as someone who was brought up abroad where success is celebrated!
I don't think it's particularly an envy problem, more that it's not generally the done thing to discuss finances and in many circles it's not the done thing to try and draw attention to wealth.

It's why people (generalising) wouldn't have much of an opinion about someone carrying a £800/1000 bag that's classy and well made, but they'd probably find the highly monogrammed it bags and items with Louis Vuitton plastered everywhere to be a bit tacky, for lack of a better word.

It's not that earning a lot of money is viewed as disgusting or immoral, more how it's discussed and how much someone is shouting "please notice I can afford this item'.

Unfortunately some people seem to forget that an anonymous forum with a style board is very different to sitting with your friends who earn lots less than you asking how you should spend a grand on a bag, so they take an odd level of offence at posts that don't really concern them.

Same with questions about clothes being age-appropriate. Yes, I know that I can wear whatever I want. But everyone dresses for their age to some extent - you don't see many 70 year olds in BooHoo or or 18 year olds heading out clubbing in Seasalt Bretons. It's total fantasy to suggest otherwise.

I've posted for advice on flattering choices for my age (50s) - never commenting negatively on anyone else's choices, just asking for ideas for me. Each time I've done so, the thread has got totally derailed by a load of patronising crap about how I should just wear what I want.