to think NC chickens should have all their nicknames exposed?

[A11TheSmallTh1ngs]

I frequent another site with the ability to make certain posts "incognito" if you need to post anonymously. But if someone misuses that power, the admin exposes their poster name.

The recent thread about disabled toilets made me think. Why not expose people who name change so they can say "controversial" and "petty" things that would tarnish their "mumsnet" reputation?

I'm not talking about trolls who post horrible offensive crap to get a rise. I mean people who name change because they want to say something petty and nasty but still wanna get patted on the back a day later for being nice.

Maybe certain topics that ALWAYS get nasty (like disabled toilets/parking/autistic children in your class etc) should be high alert topics. And if you start a goady thread on them, mumsnet exposes all of your prior usernames.

So next time a disabled person asks an able bodied parent to leave a disabled bathroom, they won't gleefully rush home to mumsnet and namechange to trash them because the price may be too high?

What do you think?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

That's a very long winded way of saying you think HQ should have a new rule concerning name changes: if someone changes their name purely to post something goady or offensive and then changes it back again, then there should be a consequence.

I agree with you.

[Pimmmms]

I couldn't give a toss about my MN 'reputation'. I do, however, care about being identified in RL. A number of people have had quite significant problems after being stalked on MN. NC before becoming embroiled in a controversal thread is quite sensible, particlarly with the number of newspapers trawling through MN for their stories and the number of MNetters comments being quoted in the papers.

If you like the other site so much, feel free to spend more time there and less time here.

[HackAttack]

I think it's amusing that it's 'to provide outing' themselves, like they are such a celebrity that they're minor parents evening drama would make us recognise them. Right......

[HackAttack]

*their even

[VioletBam]

Don't be so silly and vindictive. I've namechanged frequently for my own reasons. Sometimes I've revealed too much about a situation and worry that people who know me will spot me....other times I think that given the hacking history here, it's common sense.

Get over it.

[VioletBam]

Also Hack worrying someone will spot me is NOTHING to do with me thinking I'm a celebrity. I know a lot of people in rl who use MN.

[markingthebench]

My dodgy ex knows I use mumsnet. I would bet any money that he tries to stalk me online. If all my previous nicknames were exposed, it would cause me trouble for sure, and I would lose a valuable source of information and support.

I miss the nickname I had for years and I do try not to post anything nasty under any name.

[IceMountain]

Sorry, I disagree.

I name change regularly - once I realise that my posts start to make me potentially recognisable.

I also sometimes change small details (never anything that matters). I might talk about my dad instead of ds, or change the day.

I never really write anything controversial, but in my job I don't want to be recognised on here and I interact with so many people that some must be on here.

Considering how many threads on here end up being discussed on to/ radio/ newspaper, I think it's really important to me able to name change.

MN already make sure the OP is highlighted, so can't sock puppet in their own thread.

[Babysafari]

Ridiculous idea.

People generally don't name changed to be anonymous on mumsnet. They do it to be anonymous in real life. Being outed in rl could be dangerous.

Mumsnet have the option to ban users but they've got it wrong at times so how awful if they outed someone.

Mumsnet is on The Wright Stuff again this morning.

[glassgarden]

Mumsnet is a business, we are the products, we gather here to be advertised at, mumsnet sells our attention to the advertisers

I don't give a duck about mumsnet reputation, what kind of sycophant would

As for thenadmin who out as those that he deems to have offended, sure he really gets off on being a dictator in his own private kingdom

[glassgarden]

Op you are a teachers pet par excellence

[IceMountain]

And for the reasons you give, if people are so vindictive, they will still want to do that and will just have different accounts.

[WorraLiberty]

I don't name change and I'm sick to death of people name changing to be petty/nasty, so as not to tarnish their 'lovely Mumsnetter' images.

But exposing all their previous names would be an awful thing to do.

What if they'd posted about something really personal like an abortion, or about MH issues etc?

I don't think people would post about personal things they need help/support with, if they thought there was ever a chance of being outed by HQ.

Much better imo, to give us a topic where we're not allowed to NC. This has been requested and HQ promised to look into it in the future.

However, they've been busy ignoring the thread in Site Stuff, despite promising to get RebeccaMumsnet to look into it again last month.

[glassgarden]

Every one who posts here is allowing mm to profit from the time they spend providing content

I'll be damned if I'm going to work for free and kow tow to the smug middle glas gin quaffing management

[MachiKoro]

So, for someone that routinely changes name each week... which name are you going to 'out'?
Put them back to their very first name, that no-one even knows?

[foursillybeans]

I find the whole NC thing a bit odd. I can only really remember or recognise one poster's name as they post frequently. I could not tell you a single thing they have said in a post though. I have a hard time working out how on earth you would ever get recognised in RL unless you wrote something like your town and children's names or something silly. It probably happens I just can't work out how.

[MachiKoro]

Indeed, usual, and I would be particularly harsh on posters using numbers as letters!

[MumOnTheRunCatchingUp]

God, I disagree as well

This is going too far

[MrsHathaway]

MN already make sure the OP is highlighted, so can't sock puppet in their own thread.

If OP name changes during a thread, only the posts under the OP name are highlighted as OP.

Even, for example, if I start a thread as MrsHathaway and later post as mrshathaway.

So it's perfectly possible for an OP to sock on their own thread. Alas.

I agree that it's cowardly to nc to post an opinion you know to be "unpopular" or "not very PC" ... ie hateful. I think in theory the threat of reverting nc would be a useful sanction. MNHQ have the facility to nc a post when I posters cock up on sensitive threads.

But I think it should only be used where posters are actually breaking TG. There's been discussion recently about whether it's better to leave objectionable comments to stand - possibly explicitly marked objectionable or unacceptable - to show what people have to contend with, or whether MNHQ has an obligation to delete them. I'm on the fence really. But if a post in breach of TG were deleted with the message "deleted for being a GF" and the username said "posted by GoadyFucker who also posts as ReasonableAndKindElsewhere" ... well that would be interesting.

Would have to be ad hoc though.

[purplevase4]

I didn't know that you could change back to a former username, I thought once it had been used, that was that.

[OurBlanche]

You might have had a more cogent point if you hadn't directly and incorrectly referenced another thread. Said thread has been deleted as has the TAAT. I suspect this one will go too.

FYI: you suggest that a disabled person asked an able bodied person to leave a disabled bathroom and got 'trashed' 'gleefully'. However, in the recent thread it was a shared facility and a disabled person would have no priority over a parent already using it.

Nobody came out of that thread looking reasonable. Nor on the TAAT. Which is a pity as such things need to be discussed. Sadly the venomous posts that are the usual outcome are of no use to anyone.

[WorraLiberty]

I always said that if Jeffrey really wanted to 'bring down Mumsnet', he would have posted everyone's name changes, instead of their passwords

I think it would have imploded in less than 5 minutes.

[seafoodeatit]

I honestly thought this was going to be about going no contact with pet chickens ...

I don't think anyone's name changes should be exposed unless they're very clearly proven to be a repeat troll. I've always wondered, can you name change as anything? surely you can't change it to a name already being used?