Fight clubs on mumsnet

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Is it just me or has there been a significant shift in the ethos of this site where 'fight clubs' are now tolerated wherever they spring up? There is a real nasty undercurrent running through a few parts of this site & it's just unpleasant to read through.

Are the mods all barricading themselves in bunkers or something, hoping it'll all blow over?

[Youarejustwordsonascreenpeople]

There are no mods on Mumsnet, it is self moderating. If there is a post that you feel is beyond the pale then you click on the report button of the post you think is not following the Talk Guidlines and report it.

[Sparklingbrook]

What youare said. There are no 'mods'.

If you hide AIBU as a topic and hide threads as you go along you can avoid a fair bit of unpleasantness.

U have not seen any 'fight clubs'.

[Sparklingbrook]

*I have not seen any.

[sammy90]

Op I totally understand what u mean! Definitely some mumsnetters on here just looking to pick on people and their posts. It's ridiculous as when u fight ur statement they then report us when these nasty trolls started the crap in the first place. No matter what the subject is. They can't take it when people have more powerful meaning full statements then their idiotic foolish comments look silly and they don't like it.

[CecyHall]

Lol Sparkling, I thought you were being all threatening and intense at the end of your first post!

[Sparklingbrook]

YY it does look like that doesn't it Cecy. I am really not one for being threatening and telling folk what they have and haven't seen. Honest.

[EdithWeston]

Sparkling the day I see U post in txtspk (other than by typo) is the day I know MN has been taken over by alien life-forces

[Sparklingbrook]

[IonaMumsnet]

OP. The first rule of Mumsnet is we do not talk about Mumsnet. The second is: no vaping. Hang on... No, I've got this all wrong.

We absolutely don't tolerate fight clubs. We know we are perhaps a little less likely to censor opinion and language than some otherwebsitesthatshallnotbenamed. However, outright nastiness and anything beyond the pale we do not tolerate.

You might have missed it, but we've actually been taking steps to make AIBU a more pleasant place to be in recent weeks, as we, too, had noticed it becoming a bit fighty bitey sometimes. We hope that has been a noticeable change.

As other posters have said, please DO report. We only act on reports, we don't patrol the boards (although we sometimes have a sneaky peek). We believe Mumsnet is made what it is by Mumsnetters themselves, not mods, and that is the beauty of it, so if you see something you think is not on, please do report it. We cannot get enough of reports and are always happy to look at threads people are concerned about.

[musicposy]

It's hard to always know what to report, though, because sometimes there's a comment which isn't really bad enough to report in itself, but is aimed at causing a bunfight. Other posters pitch in in defence of the OP, and still other posters pitch in in defence of the barbed comment. Before you know it, the thread is just a load of people arguing with a load of others about something that really has nothing to do with the original post (which usually seems to be very innocuous)..

It's not just AIBU. I'm noticing it spread to other parts, particularly Chat. There's a thread in chat just like the scenario above. I'm going to have to go on the very specialist topics only, I think. Find something with a bit of tumbleweed in it and only read or post on that. I've been here years now and it definitely wasn't as bad as this until relatively recently.

[Vitalstatistix]

I think that posts that are nasty are far more likely to get deleted now than in the past.

When I first joined (so many years ago that it's embarrassing how long I've wasted on here ) I joined slap bang in the middle of a ruddy war zone! I was like this It was carnage. I backed out, closed the door and thought crickey, these people are bonkers.

These days, a thread like that would have been deleted. Back then, folks were duking it out, blood and guts everywhere. and a LOT more personal attacks. You could call a twat a twat back then.

So I think that mnhq have become more involved with threads and delete more arguments than they ever used to.

That said, there are certainly more posters who appear to be here for fighting. Before, an argument was something that happened and yes, it could get very heated, but the posters weren't there to fight, iyswim. Whereas now it seems that some actually seek to find an angle to argue from, in order to have a scrap.

So that's the change, imo. More threads deleted, less fighting tolerated, more arseholes looking for a row

[NerfHerder]

Could MNHQ please comment on whether sammy90 is a sock puppet of tensionwheelscoolheels?

[innocent bystander]

txt speak is far less asseptable on here than fighting!

[lordnoobson]

all you need to do is change the title of AIBU and get the 'I' out of it, that seems to precipitate a personal attack.

"Is it unreasonable" would be far better.
Might keep the debate to the issue, not to slag off the OP.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

For the record, I'm not talking about AIBU. I'm referring to other areas where the undercurrent is getting worse, not better, as time goes on. Bad feeling is building, not fading, and every other thread seems to be a continuation of the 'fight club' mentality that's going on.

AIBU is what it is, I get that it's pretty adversarial, but my issue is what is going on elsewhere - music has explained it as well.

And no nerf, no sock puppet-ing here.

[Sparklingbrook]

I haven't noticed it since hiding AIBU. I have seen some 'unwise' OPs but haven't seen any fighting in Chat. Just report and hide the thread and move on?

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Sparkling, it's multiple threads, over different areas, linked & being cross-referenced, so very tricky to pin point one thread or even problem posts because it's much bigger than that. You clearly haven't seen or read what's going on. Hiding a thread isn't the solution you seem to think it is.

[Sparklingbrook]

Oh, okay. I have a lot hidden. That's me told then.

[Sparklingbrook]

Sounds like you need to send MNHQ an email with all your findings on and get them to take a look?

[LatteLoverLovesLattes]

Vitalstatistix

Vitalstatistix Sun 31-Aug-14 10:29:37
I think that posts that are nasty are far more likely to get deleted now than in the past.

When I first joined (so many years ago that it's embarrassing how long I've wasted on here grin ) I joined slap bang in the middle of a ruddy war zone! I was like this shock It was carnage. grin I backed out, closed the door and thought crickey, these people are bonkers.

These days, a thread like that would have been deleted. Back then, folks were duking it out, blood and guts everywhere. and a LOT more personal attacks. You could call a twat a twat back then.

So I think that mnhq have become more involved with threads and delete more arguments than they ever used to.

That said, there are certainly more posters who appear to be here for fighting. Before, an argument was something that happened and yes, it could get very heated, but the posters weren't there to fight, iyswim. Whereas now it seems that some actually seek to find an angle to argue from, in order to have a scrap.

So that's the change, imo. More threads deleted, less fighting tolerated, more arseholes looking for a row grin


^^^^^ THAT That is exactly it. It is what we have been trying to say for a long time, but failed to convey so well as you have. Well done & thank you.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Sugar, my understanding is there are already multiple reports & MNHQ are already aware of the threads, cross-referencing etc. but things are continuing & the threads in question are still standing. Quite blatantly so.

It's not a case of me being all cryptic & keeping MNHQ in the dark about my suspicions - they are already very much aware of what is happening.

Which is why I asked if there has been a shift in how these things are being viewed/considered because despite the many reports, and posts/comments from MNHQ, the situation is not improving & the fight club is continuing.

[HotPinkWeaselWearingLederhosen]

Your understanding isn't relevant, it's not your party so to speak, and the thing is we don't know if other people report, but reporting is the key.

If you don't complain about the bad eggs than everyone keeps getting shitty omelettes.

[RandallFloyd]

(I am totally stealing that analogy)

I have no idea what threads you are talking about, OP, but if HQ have posted on them and they are still standing then I would say that it's simply a case of you disagreeing with HQ's opinion.

Nothing wrong with voicing that opinion of course but ultimately it's their site, their rules.

Personally, I think all the Talk Guidelines should be binned and replaced with 'Just Don't Be a Twat' but that ain't going to happen either so I just report what I think needs reporting and go about my business.

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Ok I'll rephrase that - my observation is there have already been multiple reports (as commented on by the reporters & MNHQ), there have been emails sent out to the various parties involved in this fight club (as reproduced on threads for all to see) and discussions are ongoing on other threads about various individuals involved, on each side of the 'debate', threads that have already been highlighted to, and posted on by, MNHQ and the whole sorry mess continues, spilling onto each new thread that springs up.

So, my observation of what is being played out across the boards is that this is a situation that MNHQ cannot get a handle on, and it seems the posters involved are being left to slug it out between themselves, in what seems to be a hope that it'll fizzle out. Only it isn't, it's just getting worse.

It's not my 'party' as you say, but it's MNHQ's & it's not reflecting well on the site as a whole (which is supposed to be a place to come for support where needed).

[TensionWheelsCoolHeels]

Randall you are right, I do disagree with MNHQ here, for the reason that what they are trying to do ain't working. So if the way to deal with fight clubs is to leave things standing in the hope they fizzle out, then I question the wisdom of that policy.