An observation about MFP posters...

tracypk

I'm still waiting for the mean people to come out of their holes on this thread.

VogtAndrea

I learned very quickly to be very careful in the forums, not to get involved in any inflammatory situations,and to ignore those who come into the forums looking to be rude, nasty, and to lay their hateful side out for the whole world to see. It's just another form of attention seeking for those who never got past the need for the world to look at what they're doing.
There is so much that can be posted that's really good, informative, and supportive of those who are here to lose weight (or gain it) that many people get put off the site completely when they see it happening and stop reading, stop supporting, and many will go so far as to leave.

frando

I've found some lovely people on the forums, but I have found the troll population has gone up.

Personally, I think it's because they're tired of answering all the same questions by the same type of people that should just know better. Once a week there's a 'have you tried the XYZ diet and did it work?' or 'I'm loosing tonnes of weight by only eat 900cals!' 'why should I eat back my exercise calories?' when all these things are pretty much covered by MFP to begin with.

If there's a genuine post that I find likable or interesting I will jump in, even add people from the convocations and say hi to the newbies.

EvgeniZyntx

If each of us reported every snarky post and if the forum monitors took it seriously, we might fight the good fight and WIN!

(And by snarky I mean purposefully hurtful, shallow, argumentative and rude. We know the difference between that and a sensitive disagreement.)

I'd personally rather the mods spent their time removing potentially dangerous posts than be your personal decorum police....I think I'll pass on joining this movement.

This place is way overpoliced and sanitized of discussion and opinion. It loses a lot of its value due to that.
More energy on the forum software, less on the bridles.

frando

Also some people... I'm afraid to say... just need to grow thicker skin. If someone disagrees with you, you can't take it as a personal attack, which I've seen sooo many times. If someone doesn't believe you, it's their prerogative- they're not being mean they're just waiting for you to back stuff up.

Other times, there are people who are just plain childish.

JosephVitte

I read the OP's statement, and probably the next 7 or 8 posters below the O.P.


I'm new. It is sad that the "MFP troll patroll" holds so much weight over you's. I quickly concluded these people(the trolls) aren't like this in there non MFP life. Most of them have to use these forums to say what there saying, because they wish they could be like that in "person" with people, but can't muster there honesty. A LOT, never post there own REAL picture of themselves because they'd flat out be embarrassed to know people would be able to recognise them.


These trolls are not a majority on this website, even it feels like it to you at times. part of the problem is most the time nobody wants to call them out on how rude or demeaning they are. At the same time I understand, who wants to spend there time typing to someone who has the maturity of an 8 yr old, if that.

I feel for those who say they don't go into the forums anymore because of this. I myself have spent less time in a hand full of forums for the same reason. The trolls don't scare me, I'm not worried about there "gifs" they throw around because they have nothing else of value to add to a forum discussion, I think it's just stupid to give them any more attention and partake in a back in forth with them. I don't mind giving my 2 cents to them, using logic in my comment, and then not commenting back. It's not the last comment that wins, it's who's the bigger person. I like forums like these, where the OP uses logic and doesn't use name calling to antagonize the trolls, so when the trolls appear, you can call a spade a spade. it exposes them too.


I wonder if MFP has a way to block members from the site, using there IP addresses if they use so much vulgar behavior.

I'd already concluded that some of these trolls have multiple accounts, so in fact, it's the same person using multiple accounts at a time, so it seems like multiple people feel the same as one troll in particular. another side note, it seems that most of the trolls are friends on here, so they know when there troll friend posts to another topic, or they just message them, and then guess what, here comes the troll patrol, lol.



I feel for the OP and others that feel the same and don't use the forums as much because of them, at the same time, the more the trolls post the way they do, the more people leave the forums, the more MFP staff might notice, and start seeing a trend they don't like. I don't know if they could or would do something about it, only time will tell.

LaLouve_RK

I was on MFP over a year ago and found it to be a super helpful site for tracking diet and exercise. I also found the community to be full of supportive people who gave helpful advice, motivation and camaraderie. Even those people who gave out "tough love" did it in a respectful way. After a major injury and a pregnancy I stopped logging and participating on MFP. Now that I'm back on MFP I've been lurking through the community and see a ton of disrespectful comments towards the original poster as well as towards other people who have commented on the post. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of people who still hold true to my past experiences and the site is still very helpful but... wow there sure are a lot of people out there who are jerks to each other. I have been lucky enough to not experience these people first hand on this go-round but I really feel for the people who have.

Did I just miss these folks the last time I was on?

jofjltncb6

Honestly, even the people who think they are the "innocent victims" can be just as ugly as anyone else with their comments. Just watch the comments that follow - people will come in here, and agree with you about all the "meanies", and turn around and throw around insults.

One of the biggest problems I have with people who complain about how bad things are, is that most of the time the examples they use about someone being mean or snarky just turn out to be about another poster who simply didn't agree with their comment. In the land of MFP, not agreeing makes you and a-hole, bully, snark, or meanie! Some people's kids! :grumble:

Yep. It's usually the "kind, supportive, caring folk" who run around reporting every thread and poster they don't like. If you say you really enjoy Thanksgiving one of those "kind, caring" people will report you because you don't understand how hard it is to try to control your eating. Yep. No lie.

The internet is like life. Not everyone is nice. But for some reason people expect the thousands and thousands of members here to all be their friends and love them.

Not once have I ever heard anyone walk into their office and proclaim, "You know.. not everyone here is a nice person!" Of course not, that would be crazy. But for some reason people expect it here.

This exactly. It constantly amazes me that people seems to think that on the internet everyone should be hearts and flowers. If you dont like someone skip there post. If you dont like the topic in a thread dont read it .It s really very simple

and yet it constantly amazes me that people seem to think that on the internet you can be flat out rude just because its the "internet" and people shouldnt have feelings. Regardless, its a form of bullying and its not okay. Just goes to shows one character AND I try to keep off the forums for this very reason. Treat others how you want to be treated...in real life OR on the internet...period.

This *is* how I behave online and off. And yet, there are still occasionally those who say I'm "mean".

*shrug*

NormalSaneFLGuy

I read the OP's statement, and probably the next 7 or 8 posters below the O.P.


I'm new. It is sad that the "MFP troll patroll" holds so much weight over you's. I quickly concluded these people(the trolls) aren't like this in there non MFP life. Most of them have to use these forums to say what there saying, because they wish they could be like that in "person" with people, but can't muster there honesty. A LOT, never post there own REAL picture of themselves because they'd flat out be embarrassed to know people would be able to recognise them.


These trolls are not a majority on this website, even it feels like it to you at times. part of the problem is most the time nobody wants to call them out on how rude or demeaning they are. At the same time I understand, who wants to spend there time typing to someone who has the maturity of an 8 yr old, if that.

I feel for those who say they don't go into the forums anymore because of this. I myself have spent less time in a hand full of forums for the same reason. The trolls don't scare me, I'm not worried about there "gifs" they throw around because they have nothing else of value to add to a forum discussion, I think it's just stupid to give them any more attention and partake in a back in forth with them. I don't mind giving my 2 cents to them, using logic in my comment, and then not commenting back. It's not the last comment that wins, it's who's the bigger person. I like forums like these, where the OP uses logic and doesn't use name calling to antagonize the trolls, so when the trolls appear, you can call a spade a spade. it exposes them too.


I wonder if MFP has a way to block members from the site, using there IP addresses if they use so much vulgar behavior.

I'd already concluded that some of these trolls have multiple accounts, so in fact, it's the same person using multiple accounts at a time, so it seems like multiple people feel the same as one troll in particular. another side note, it seems that most of the trolls are friends on here, so they know when there troll friend posts to another topic, or they just message them, and then guess what, here comes the troll patrol, lol.



I feel for the OP and others that feel the same and don't use the forums as much because of them, at the same time, the more the trolls post the way they do, the more people leave the forums, the more MFP staff might notice, and start seeing a trend they don't like. I don't know if they could or would do something about it, only time will tell.

lol. This is rich coming from you.

LorinaLynn

I've noticed it got more hostile... right around the time they put in the ban on underwear photos.

Thus... Panties make everyone happier.

Elzecat

I think there are the tough love types....you know sometimes we really need to hear the hard and fast truth, and be willing to accept it in order to make the change.

Then there are the types that really want to help, but have issues in their own lives that can cause a post to seem abrupt or even mean, or have their messages get out of hand because they have difficulty letting go of their own issues.

Then there are the trolls. These guys (and girls) are on lots of sites and are just out to hurt and be mean. This is often intentional, and they get their jollies out of it.

I haven't seen too many trolls here thankfully.

I guess the best thing you can do is either take the best out of the post you can or ignore it. But it's not a bad idea to think about why a particular post bothers you. I find that when I'm particularly upset about something someone says, it's because I recognize that there is some truth to it and it's usually some work I need to do about how I feel about the comment (not necessarily about the comment itself)...for example, I got very upset when I got called a fat pig. I realized that was how I thought about myself, and it hurt that someone else called me what I thought about myself. Now I know I'm not a pig, but in all honesty, with more than 100 lbs to lose, yes, I am fat! That is fact so now that comment doesn't bother me. Now I'm doing something about it, so that comment generally wouldn't bother me anymore, though others might.

If you find this forum valuable, don't let anything drive you away. Report a post if you need to, ignore it if that's possible, examine it if you think there is value....

spot on (for me personally)
:flowerforyou:

DarthH8

I like to collect the meanest ones. Pop in on their posts every now and again for a good laugh. Maybe instigate a lil bit.

cubizzle

I've noticed it got more hostile... right around the time they put in the ban on underwear photos.

Thus... Panties make everyone happier.

end thread!

minsooky

The only disagreements I've seen have been towards those who spout pseudoscience or make ridiculous claims/go on equally as ridiculous diets. This should absolutely be challenged because it misleads people into making bad and sometimes dangerous choices. If people cannot handle their opinions being challenged, especially erroneous ones, then the Internet is not for them.

Elzecat

I agree that there are some posters who thrive on writing snarky things to people that they might not say in real life (or maybe they would?)...but I personally am trying to focus on the positive aspects of MFP. I try not to take too much on MFP personally (just like real life, you never know someone else's story). I've found a really good support system in the people on my friends list, and the tools for calorie tracking are pretty awesome. Also, most threads are full of snark and meanness. If you want to read some nice, positive things that I read on MFP today, find the thread started by an OP named Dani, who is somewhere around 600 pounds, just starting out on trying to get healthy, and seeming very scared and self-doubting about it--some of the nicest comments I've read on MFP, were responses to her introductory post asking for support.

Yay, found her post if anyone wants some inspiring stuff to read:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/801267-about-600lbs-time-to-lose-a-few

vim_n_vigor

I've noticed it got more hostile... right around the time they put in the ban on underwear photos.

Thus... Panties make everyone happier.

You are correct. There were other fun things that got banned around the same time that made people so very happy...

tinytasha7

Sorry, I must clarify. When I said I had been called a "fat pig", I wasn't referring to anyone here. That was in my personal life. I simply was using that to illustrate that I wouldn't allow comments to determine my journey. The comment was said to be nasty. But I took it really badly and let it sabotage me. After examining the comment, I won't let it control how I approach things. Part of the comments is true, the other part isn't. I don't like being called names, but I don't let it define me anymore.

LorinaLynn

I've noticed it got more hostile... right around the time they put in the ban on underwear photos.

Thus... Panties make everyone happier.

You are correct. There were other fun things that got banned around the same time that made people so very happy...

Yep. All because people complained about them.

Then those same people (or types of people) found new things to complain about. They're never happy, will never be happy, so the only option seems to be to make everyone as miserable as they are. :grumble:

jofjltncb6

I've noticed it got more hostile... right around the time they put in the ban on underwear photos.

Thus... Panties make everyone happier.

You are correct. There were other fun things that got banned around the same time that made people so very happy...

Yep. All because people complained about them.

Then those same people (or types of people) found new things to complain about. They're never happy, will never be happy, so the only option seems to be to make everyone as miserable as they are. :grumble:

Based on recent threads...

...mission accomplished?

mgobluetx12

People do a lot of jumping on this site: jumping to conclusions based on what someone said and then jumping down their throats for what they THINK was said. Happened to me yesterday.