Miscanthus
VIP Member
Don't be so hard on yourself! You are clearly a lovely, trusting, open person. Don't let this bad experience with one person upset you. There are a LOT of people on Tattle (and a lot of threads) and most of us are who we say we are. Many members are lonely, seeking company, maybe looking for a laugh or chat with like minded people.This is going to be a very long meta moan, but I needed somewhere to vent.
There’s a thread about popular threads (I did say this would be meta) and loads of people kept mentioning the “same sex flirting” thread. Curiosity won me over so I searched for it. First two pages were kinda what you’d expect from the title and I wasn't sure why it was being recommended as a must-read….skipped to page 10 and oh. Suspicions that a popular(?) tattler wasn’t who they said they were. Or they were posting under a different name with a different backstory. So I went back and started again and read the whole thread (and there’s a second thread!). And although no confirmation from the accused, I think it’s been agreed that the poster/s was a catfish. I’ll refer to them as X - which covers all their usernames.
And now going back a bit. I’ve been a lurker for a while and became active at the beginning of lockdown. Post a bit on the influencer etc pages but I don’t actually follow that many and none of the really big threads. Discovered the off topic threads and enjoyed posting. I’m a loner and an oversharer.
Early on I bumped into X - seemingly another newish tattler and also an oversharer. At first I found this a good thing as it didn’t make my long block of texts look so weird! And they seemed to be online a lot like me so there were a few back and forth quote replies. But then I started to notice that they posted constantly and that the posts were a bit….much? Over the top, and often quite sexual in nature. I started to feel uncomfortable and slowly retreated from the places I was active in (if they were there too, and they were everywhere). They were just super loud even via the screen.
I then started posting on a food and drink thread, which I thought was about food and drink but then found out it was a side thread to the jack monroe thread. But these people were lovely and welcoming, and I was enjoying myself. I’m a grown adult and I feel a bit embarrassed to say it, but it was a safe and happy space for me, like I had low maintenance friends to chat to.
And then one day X turns up too. As I said, these people are welcoming and X quickly became part of the furniture and then their posts became too much (for me) again. And so I stopped reading or posting.
I know I’m an absolute child but anyways.
By this point I’d manage to run out of any safe (X free) spaces I could properly chit chat, and was stuck with leaving a few sarky comments about Lily Pebbles and co.
I have held a grudge against X for probably a year, or longer. I found this person annoying, but I was more angry at myself for not being able to join in like everyone else. Even in a virtual room, I managed to find a corner and stick myself in it. Pathetic.
And then I read this same sex flirting thread and realised I let someone who doesn’t even really exist steal my joy. The thread was funny. The memes were genius. But I’m typing this now and I feel so upset.
I enjoy being alone and I find it hard to be around people in real life, but the internet gives me social interaction in a way I can manage. And for the short time I was able to talk to people about little daily things, I felt “normal”.
God only knows what X’s intentions were.
Purely perverted? Bored? Maybe lonely like me?
I don’t know how to end this post. Do I feel better after venting? I think so. Still majorly embarrassed but I’ve already closed myself off so not like I could be worse off!
If there is something you are not comfortable with you can report the post/poster or as @Doodlebug005 says, block them.
I didn’t get that vibe from the posts I read but maybe I missed some cues.
