Is the increase in anti-feminist trolls normal in the general cycle of this topic?

[FlamingoBingo]

I've not been here that long, but I've just suddenly noticed a couple of people coming here, it seems, simply to disagree with things...not to try to learn more (eg. 'I don't understand why...can you explain it), but to be rude, unpleasant and aggressive.

I know this is to be expected, but I'd been surprised not to see it here up until now, and now a sudden influx. Is this normal? Will it settle down again at some point and make the topic a nice, happy, safe place to be again?

That's true, dittany, of course. I should have said that they take an anti-feminst stance and then don't answer questions (or even ask them) and get the debate going. It's just a game to most of them, or an exercise to try and take us down a peg or two. Derailing for sport. Dull but distracting.

They mean it in the sense that they want to shut down feminist discussion. I think it's often for lulz.

I do find the concern trolls more annoying because they come on in the guise of wanting to debate and discuss. There was one who would make my blood pressure rise whenever I saw his name on a thread last year because I knew he didn't give a toss and was extremely arrogant, yet came across as oh so interested and wanting to to debate and discuss because that's what he enjoyed.

I wasted so much time on him. Then I discovered Mumsnet's magic 'ignore button'.

"I already noted that TW managed to make this thread all about her." - Bloody hell no wonder newbies are scared to post here.

Threads evolve/meander etc.

Wow! That all got rather...um...interesting!

Thanks for the explanation of concern trolls.

TW - I clashed with Dittany too when I was first here, but I'll repeat what I said earlier - I know now that the reason I found her responses difficult to swallow was because they challenged me very strongly, and without a lot of sweetening up the pill that a lot of posters do. Please don't leave. You need to view this place as if it were a real life group. If you joined an established group irl, you would need to sit and absorb the discussion for quite some time before leaping into debating, and to read other stuff outside of the group. As a new member you might not enjoy doing that and will want to be asking questions, but consider how each meeting would go no further than always discussing the basics every time a new member joined.

By all means ask questions on here - the beauty of the internet is that you don't have to read threads if you don't want to. But don't expect everyone to respond to try to persuade you. If it helps, ask for help with your understanding by saying 'I trust that what you're saying is right, but I don't really get the argument enough to understand the issues - can anyone help me explore it' rather than 'I disagree and challenge you to change my mind.'

I won't be racing to get involved with that thread, however...

(the new one, where Toddlerwrangler asks us all her special questions, I mean)

On phone, so can't do full reply.

forkful thanks for the hello. I would add a smiley but no doubt it will be labeled passive agressive.

dittany , wow, that is a rather impressive barrage of abuse against someoen who hasny been around since 11pm last night. Anyway, thank you for proviing my point about the treatment of newbies! Luckily you have been so utterly vile I am now completely unbothered by you, your opions or your knowledge. All of which i once respected.

i have no intention of starting another thraed, i was to scared before and now i actually dont see the point. kind of what i was saying might happen to hounded newbies in the first place really.