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Feminism: Sex & gender discussions

The MNHQ Moderation Team: Thread 2

997 replies

BarrackerBarmer · 19/04/2018 00:26

Follow on thread regarding the data breach situation:
___

Dear MNHQ

I'm very grateful for the commitment to free speech you've publicly taken, and for Justine's courage this week.

A former disgruntled employee of MN is writing on Twitter about the 'transphobia' of MN staff, and calling you TERFs. She is showing a great deal of bias and intolerance towards women with feminist views, this may well be her honest opinion, which is no big deal I suppose, since she is no longer an employee.

At least, it isn't an issue until she calls a shout out to her
'friends who still work at MN' to report and take down posts by 'transphobic scum', by which she appears to be referring to any poster objecting to being called TERF by her friend.

Regardless of the personal views of the MNHQ staff, who should be as free to hold their own views as I am mine, I am disturbed that there may be a small contingent of employees who are invested in unfair moderation and will not be applying fair-handed principles, at least if the claims of this ex-employee are credible.

Can you please give posters some reassurance that the difficult job of fair-handed moderation isn't being abused by the 'friends' of ex-employees who are 'reporting it all' and taking down posts because any gender criticism means the poster is 'transphobic scum'?

Thank you.

The MNHQ Moderation Team: Thread 2
OP posts:
DarthArts · 19/04/2018 00:29

Wow - just joined. Catching up on the old thread.

Trumpdump · 19/04/2018 00:30

How can I know if I'm one of the users affected? Does anyone have the usernames of doxxed posters?

BarrackerBarmer · 19/04/2018 00:32

I messaged the posters whose posts were screengrabbed and posted up to twitter trumpdump - you weren't one.

OP posts:
womanhuman · 19/04/2018 00:33

Threatening Justine didn't work, threatening the advertisers didn't work, so EH has taken this drastic (and evidently pre-meditated) step to frighten women off this forum.

This was another poster on the last thread. It’s exactly how I see it.

MagneticMan · 19/04/2018 00:34

How can I know if I'm one of the users affected? Does anyone have the usernames of doxxed posters?

That's the problem - nobody knows if their personal information has been compromised by Emma Healey and her illegal activities.

There are definitely 3 posters whose IP addresses appear to have been shared publicly.

How many other, gender critical or otherwise, posters whose info has been shared privately is yet to be seen.

ErrolTheDragon · 19/04/2018 00:34

MNHQ said they'd contact the 4 who were in the screenshots, so if you've not heard you're not one of them.

CircleSquareCircleSquare · 19/04/2018 00:41

The thing is, we know who the users affected were in this breach (and I am hoping they are ok) but how do we know that this is the only data that was stolen?

She sat on those messages (at least publically) for months, who saw them before they reached twitter? What others does she have? Have those already been distributed if they exist?

TheShaniaTwainExperience · 19/04/2018 00:41

Just finished reading the last thread. Wow.

Angry but not surprised. These people are snakes.

Battleax · 19/04/2018 00:56

Place marking & hoping for news of a report to the ICO in the morning.

DarthArts · 19/04/2018 01:00

Well if it's any consolation I don't think Emma is having a great night.

Or indeed a great forward career.

Emma - why on earth did you do this?

The idea you might be idolised on Twitter?

Because you really believe that you can change sex?

I have nothing but pity for you and hope you are getting RL support.

UpstartCrow · 19/04/2018 01:05

Emmas thread has been shared around the internet and is still available, even after it has been removed from Twitter. I can still find the IP address she posted.

thebewilderness · 19/04/2018 01:10

On the one hand crime!! arrest!!, and on the other hand the mild comments they are foaming at the mouth over just makes them look stupid.

BeUpStanding · 19/04/2018 01:23

Bloody hell! I step out for the evening and it's all gone mental. I'm about 2/3 through the first thread... Flowers to Mumsnet. You have found yourselves at ground zero of one the most important issues of the 21st century. History will judge you - what a responsibility and privilege that is. Wow.

BeUpStanding · 19/04/2018 01:27

I feel bad for Emma. She made a mistake, and is going to feel the repercussions for years. Can we stop blowing it up now please? Damage is done, on both sides.

spontaneousgiventime · 19/04/2018 01:29

I feel nothing but contempt for Emma, she has put women at risk with her antics. She deserves all that she gets. Not a single ounce of sympathy. This was a calculated act and now she can pay the piper!

Johnnyfinland · 19/04/2018 01:33

NC for this. I'm in two minds about whether to post this as I'll prob get reprimanded but seems a lot of people have questions I think I can answer.

I used to work at Mumsnet (before Emma Healey's time). I can't comment on whether each member of staff has the same access privileges to users' data as I don't know. But my own experience was that there is no NDA (I didn't read my contract very thoroughly so there may have been something in there, but wasn't a separate document) and as soon as an account had been created for me, I could see user's sign up details (so whatever you'd entered when you signed up - email, first name, surname, postcode, any additional info) all name change history, deleted posts, private messages. I had to log into the site every morning to update the website (not the forums) and stayed logged in all day in order to do my job as did most other staff members so there is a chance - and I'm not defending anything, merely offering an alternative viewpoint - that EH forgot to log out before taking the screenshots, therefore the inclusion of the IP addresses was unintentional. Or it could have been deliberate, I'm not passing comment on that. There were also no restrictions on what functions could be performed or what sites could be accessed on work laptops but in my experience this is the case pretty much everywhere I've ever worked. The highest restrictions I've ever come across in a working environment was social media sites and personal email being blocked. Also as others said on the old thread in a laid back and jovial office environment, someone taking screenshots or even taking pictures of their computer screen on their phone wouldn't make anyone concerned, it would probably go unnoticed

officerhinrika · 19/04/2018 01:36

Emma appears to feel utter contempt for Mumsnet users, so I'm not sorry if she has a hard time over this.
I am a bit concerned that her attitude may be replicated amongst some at MNHQ, other bright young things sneering at the users?

Johnnyfinland · 19/04/2018 01:37

Also I am not for a moment suggesting EH stole any of the data I've mentioned. But people wanted to know what staff could access and I think that's a reasonable thing to want to know - however, I also don't think staff in digital companies that include some kind of sign-up mechanism being privy to that level of personal information of users/customers is that unusual (except in the case of financial details of course)

Battleax · 19/04/2018 01:43

however, I also don't think staff in digital companies that include some kind of sign-up mechanism being privy to that level of personal information of users/customers is that unusual (except in the case of financial details of course)

It may not be, but that’s not the issue.

From what you say, Emma (and any other intern/employee with ill intent) has complete access to all data held for each username. That makes this SERIOUS in terms of potential doxxing. We know the TRAs are fond of doxxing.

grandplans · 19/04/2018 01:45

I really hope MN step up and deal with this proactively. The theft of data is an important issue. They need to show they take it seriously, especially given the recent changes in the law.

It's not just Emma in shit here.

Sending Gin and Cake to MNHQ, I really hope they're on top of it!

MarvelleGazelle · 19/04/2018 01:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AngryAttackKittens · 19/04/2018 01:52

Emma maliciously collected information on posters that should have been private, saved that information for later use, and then revealed it in public, all in an attempt to damage Mumsnet's brand and prevent women here from voicing opinions. I don't feel sorry for her at all. The women whose information she leaked and any others whose information she's still sitting on, that's who I feel sorry for.

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Weebo · 19/04/2018 01:53

How long ago did you work at MN, Johnny?

HappilyHarridan · 19/04/2018 01:53

Can anyone link to the first thread?

ICJump · 19/04/2018 01:54

I’m not happy with a private apology. What’s happened isn’t OK. Only apologising to a staff member isn’t right.

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