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Troll hunting and thread deletions

(721 Posts)
LaraGransnet (GNHQ) Tue 18-Aug-20 22:29:37

Hello
We wanted to clear a few things up:
1) We don't allow troll hunting on the forums. If you are worried someone may not be genuine, please email us directly or report any concerning posts to us. We will deal with it. Making accusations on the forums is not helpful and could, if incorrect, lead to possibly vulnerable people feeling victimised. We will have to delete threads that accuse other users of being trolls.
2) PMs. We take a very dim view of this being abused. If you receive an unwanted or unkind PM please report it to us. We can take a look and deal with it. You are also able to block other users so that they are no longer able to PM you. Please use this. And apologies in advance if this does happen to you. It's not nice and not what Gransnet is about at all.
3) Despite what it feels like tonight hmm we do not enjoy deleting threads. We have a handful of guidelines, all there with the purpose of making the threads better, and more welcoming for users. We are doing our best and rely on you to report things to us that seem concerning, so thank you for caring so much about the site and reporting anything that looks suspicious.

Thank you
GNHQ

Lucca Wed 19-Aug-20 08:24:51

Well downtoearth if we don’t know which ones you were watching .......

MawB2 Wed 19-Aug-20 08:26:58

Grandad1943

The thing that has struck me over the last few months would be that some forum members undoubtedly change their user name more often than they change their underwear. ?

If you are including me in that Grandad , first of all may I remind you that if a member deregisters for whatever reason, they cannot have their old user name back - hence my addition of “2”.
Secondly the “frequency of changing underwear” is a cheap jibe and unworthy of you.

Lucca Wed 19-Aug-20 08:29:18

I seem to remember Brian Moore commentating on rugby matches, if there was an argument , he would say something about “handbags at dawn”. Sounds like this has happened here, all a bit of a storm in a teacup really and maybe best forgotten .like a misguided purchase ...pushed to the back a wardrobe

Lucca Wed 19-Aug-20 08:30:09

Back of a. ....wardrobe.

Curlywhirly Wed 19-Aug-20 08:30:15

I must pay more attention - I haven't noticed any threads being deleted! If one disappears from the active screen, I just presume no one has commented and it has slipped down the list out of view. I have to say that I am very gullible and tend to believe all I see, but even I question some threads; there have been some really far-fetched OPs and as some have explained they tend to appear when the children are on school holidays! The little darlings really need to get out more ?

Marydoll Wed 19-Aug-20 08:42:08

The problem isn't frequently changing user names, Grandad, it's having multiple user names at the same time.
Why would anyone feel the need to do this??

You can be anyone you want on an anonymous online forum, things are not always what they seem.
Years of training children and teachers on internet safety have taught me that.

annsixty Wed 19-Aug-20 08:44:46

One was banned because the OP named someone who sent her nasty PM’s.
This ai against The rules.
It could have been dealt with by blocking the sender, reporting it to GNHQ who would have banned the person in question.

However if what I am reading is true, that person may be on here under many different names, something I believed wasn’t possible.

annsixty Wed 19-Aug-20 08:45:41

Sorry that should have read, one was deleted, not banned.

aggie Wed 19-Aug-20 08:48:50

Some posts / threads do have my eyebrows getting tangled with my fringe ! I don’t add to them , having been reprimanded and deleted , much to my children’s hilarity

Marydoll Wed 19-Aug-20 08:54:35

It is entirely possible, Ann. It's very easy to have multiple email addresses to generate multiple accounts.
However, the majority of posters are honest and decent and wouldn't consider it.
It takes a very devious person to contemplate this.

I'm sure many posters will be upset by the idea of this. I'm not upset, but angry that vulnerable posters may be taken in.

You only saw a small snapshot yesterday.

It's best to leave GNHQ to sort this out, now that it has been highlighted. I'm glad it has all come to a head, albeit in a very unpleasant manner. It has been worrying me for weeks.

Orangerose Wed 19-Aug-20 09:30:57

I haven’t been banned and I’m certainly NOT a troll.

Lucca Wed 19-Aug-20 09:33:43

I still find it extraordinary that there are gransnetters who send nasty PMs. Why would you ?

Charleygirl5 Wed 19-Aug-20 09:36:36

If not Orangerose maybe you could account for your actions?

seacliff Wed 19-Aug-20 09:37:58

Absolutely Lucca, as happened yesterday evening.

Chewbacca Wed 19-Aug-20 09:39:49

Can't remember who it happened to now but quire a while ago a GN member received a rather unpleasant pm. So they copied and pasted the full unexpurgated message, complete with who had sent it, and posted it on the relevant thread.

annsixty Wed 19-Aug-20 09:40:38

Marydoll
I am very perplexed as to why I only saw a very small snapshot yesterday.
What didn't I see and why?
This just reinforces what many members have posred and why many leave, feeling left out, there is another GN that is carried on in PM's and in closed Facebook groups.
This is making me feel very sad and uneasy, both personally, and on behalf of many hundreds of other members.

Orangerose Wed 19-Aug-20 09:46:31

Charleygirl5

If not Orangerose maybe you could account for your actions?

Who do you think you are? I account to nobody.

seacliff Wed 19-Aug-20 09:52:19

I am sorry people feel left out, and can understand it. It makes you feel left out if you have no idea what has been going on, has happened to me plenty of times.

I happened for once last night, to be here when it was all kicking off. People were putting one post up, not awful at all, and it was immediately deleted, within less than a minute! It happened several times. HQ were on the rampage. These were all in response to a certain poster(s).

A long term (one of the originals) GNetter got some horrible pms from the "lady" mentioned above, re the situation, and when she tried to discuss it on the forum, those comments were also blitzed.

The feeling was, if you are so cowardly as to have a go at someone by pm instead of on the forum, that is pretty disgusting. All a storm in a teacup really, we get these troublemakers from time to time.

Marydoll Wed 19-Aug-20 09:55:40

Ann, I don't have a Facebook account and receive and send very few PMs, so not guilty!
By a snapshot, I meant that I suspect you don't read every post do you?
It was a series of strange, unsolicited PMs from someone who I didn't really know, which made me start to wonder. I kept quiet for months, until I got another one last week.
I was very well trained in internet safety, so it niggled away at me that all was not right.

I take it you didn't see the last comment directed at you you on the deleted thread because you said the poster was annoying.

I do not not want to discuss this anymore. Speculation leads to people being falsely accused and of course, everyone is dying to know the gory details.
That info will not be coming from me. It has all been quite upsetting to say the least.

Namsnanny Wed 19-Aug-20 09:58:12

A sock puppet is an identity used in line for the purpose of deception

More like Lambchop than sooty and sweep then merlotgran wink?

annsixty Wed 19-Aug-20 09:58:51

No I didn't see the post directed at me, I assume it wasn't complimentary.

Jane10 Wed 19-Aug-20 10:25:56

Dammit! I've obviously missed something. At least now I know who the mysterious Mawb2 is.

GrannyGravy13 Wed 19-Aug-20 10:33:03

I joined GN when I was feeling very low and did not want to burden my family as they too were suffering.

I am saddened that what was a very supportive sight is frequented by troublemakers I missed much of last nights posts fortunately.

Blinko Wed 19-Aug-20 10:42:25

Some people must spend an awful lot of time on GN...

Nortsat Wed 19-Aug-20 10:50:29

I too, am sorry to learn about this.
I am sorry that things were unpleasant and posts were deleted.

I once had an entirely innocent post deleted, which got caught up in a flurry around potentially fake posters/posts.
I find it extraordinary that people would masquerade behind multiple names and send unpleasant personal messages. I do hope GNHQ manage to resolve this. Then perhaps we can get back to what most of us seem to enjoy ... sharing ideas and supporting one another.