Fabricated posts…..why?

I think most of the fakes are too sophisticated and show too deep a knowledge to be written by teenagers. Teenagers are a very easy target.

I think it is mainly bored adults with no inner resources, who are hoping that someone will say something stupid that they can make hay with.

GagaJo

My bet is isolating teenagers, bored, with covid. Wanting to wind up a few grannies. All I can say is, if that is the quality of their English narrative writing, they're not going to pass their English GCSE.

Gaga I'm surprised that you, with your experience of teenagers, think they're responsible.

They never strike me as being written by young people, more rather sad middle and older aged ones, particularly the family sagas.

Most are just silly and reasonably easy to spot especially for those with good memories who notice a familiar pattern in the subject matter despite being posted under a different name.

Very occasionally though an elaborate, well thought out, long running one comes along, initially building a completely genuine sounding lifestyle, until the unbelievable ‘punchline’ at the end which wasn’t well timed or thought out, and which after some thought gives the game away that the whole thing was a hoax.

I guess there are various reasons why some people feel the need to do things like that.

The one about the 14 year old last night was disturbing. The idea that someone was having that sort of sick fantasy about a child, ugh!

Have we got another on now, about soup under the Christmas tree?

I don’t think it’s young people AT ALL gaga they are much to busy on their own sites to bother with an old persons forum No it’s attention seeking bored adults

I reported the 14 year old sexual thread which was worrying at the least, hopefully it’s been removed
The quickest way is to try not to get involved you know the old saying that a fire dies without oxygen

Urmstongran

There are some strange individuals about.

A hospital consultant I worked with used to say ‘beware the complaint letters written in green biro’.

Oh god yes, I worked in newspapers for many years and we always knew to beware the 'letters to the editor' written in green pen!

I was wondering about the soup from the dog too auntiflo

Thanks Sago were they in Chat? I’ve seen some vile stuff on other supposedly medical forums. Obviously not even monitored.

The references to green pen complaints reminded me of someone who used to come into where I worked to use the fax machine. He told us (at length) about the complaints he was sending to the police HQ. Not only were they in green ink, but also IN CAPITAL LETTERS! Sadly, the fax would be received in black and white, which must have spoilt the effect a bit.

Having not been a member on this site for very long I am seriously considering leaving as there are so many obviously spoof posts on here that I am just suspicious of everything. Apart from the charming "Good Morning" one. Why everyone doesn't just say this is too fanciful for words and respond in case it isn't, baffles me, unless these folks are doing spoof ones also. One lady who often challenges (forget the name) had her posts deleted yesterday. I don't know what was in them but I bet they had more truth in them than what was in the post. This is Social Media Land Folks, simply don't take everything at face value. We could, everyone of us be Korean men sat in a computer centre trying to steal identities. Everyone except me of course, I'm genuine, or am I?

One advantage of being in a different Timezone is that I rarely get to see the weirdo messages. They must be very bored and/or very thick is all I can say.

Auntieflo

Have we got another on now, about soup under the Christmas tree?

I’m inclined to agree with you there Flo

And I’m another one who doesn’t think that it’s anything to do with young people.

Auntieflo

Have we got another on now, about soup under the Christmas tree?

That member has poster several times.

Notgran Don't go. Almost all posts are genuine, it is only a few which are flying a kite to see what reactions they get.

You can always tell if it is someone who has only joined this minute to post rubbish. If you put their name into the search box at the top of the page, it will list posts made by that username, or ones mentioning them, up to the previous day. If there are none, then it is possible that poster is new. Of course, they could have joined long ago and until now have been reading without posting, but it does give you a clue.

The best thing to do if you are not sure is to report the post. Gransnet (or Mumsnet) will take a look and decide. They don't mind doing this - it is better than ranting at an innocent poster in reply to an ambiguous post.

I agree about all the spoof posts recently, but they've been going on for years.
I think the soup one is genuine - my daughter - (heavily pregnant and with Covid so family were isolating) texted me on Christmas night about how upset she was that all she got from her husband was a cheap jigsaw from Aldi. She knows him by now and actually asked if I could help him get something for her next time! He's not deliberately mean, and told me he had been a "bad Santa". He probably intended to get something in the few days before Christmas but then Covid hit the family and he had to isolate.

Funny how the spoof threads seem to come in very late at night/early hours of the morning and usually in a series, one after the other, over a short space of time. The bondage one last night was disturbing because of its reference to children and I immediately reported it, hoping it would be zapped quickly. Whoever it was that wrote it has some serious mental health problems.

Lucca

Ah yes the good old days of the sac volant….

And the onesies and plimsolls or Vans!

I once got a post deleted because I mentioned I had tried to buy onesies for my DGC one Christmas but they hadn't got the right size
Oh, the ignominy! It was quite true as well.

I reported it too BlueBelle and Chewbacca and it’s been deleted. I’m unsure about the soup one. Wrapping up soup as a present from a dog seems such an odd thing to do.

I've just remembered that I bought my husband some cans of beer for christmas

As a joke when there is already a real present that is fine, but if iy is the only present then including an IOU to get something else later is essential.

I have had massages on my private messages a number of times to posts I know I have not replied to. I apologise if they were genuine but I knew nothing about them. I think some people are so lonely they just contact anyone.

You've got to feel a bit sad for them though haven't you? Afterall, how sad and pathetic is it that the only thing left for you to do, to get even just scorn and ridicule from a stranger, is to make a fool of yourself in front of a bunch of grannies? It doesn't reflect a full and productive life does it? They must be in a very dark and lonely place.

Another one here who doesn’t believe it’s youngsters. They have better things to do! I guess it’s bored frustrated older people!

MayBeMaw didn’t want to reveal too much but the majority of new starters who left us gave TMs as their main reason.