I've posted on this here

We'll stop contributions to this thread now as it's getting so large, it's breaking things.

Again, we didn't delete the thread because anyone asked us to.

We deleted it because some "regulars" (for want of a better word) were attacking other "non-regulars" AND because some the the "non-regulars" were attacking the regulars for being bullies and troublemakers.

Please don't read anything into the timing of the deletion. It was not a case of looking at the nasty posts and leaving things to stand. We deleted the thread pretty much as soon as we started to look at the reports that had come in about it. We have a pretty heaving inbox today, so there may have been some time between the report buttons being pressed and us picking them up.

If that were true, bibbity, we'd have deleted this thread

No, it was our decision to delete the thread. No one asked us to - although we did get reports about some posts from parties on, er, both sides of the divide.

Of course, regulars can chat amongst themselves. But that doesn't mean it's then OK for them to attacks others who post.

Equally, it's not OK for posters to come onto a thread and call other posters bullies and namechanging troublemakers.

Hello. Yes, that thread was deleted because posters were attacking other posters.

Among other things, the poster who thought the thread was boring was called a snide cunt and an arsehole.

And other posters were attacking those who wanted to talk about BOF and Stratters as, among things, bullies and namechanging troublemakers.

We took the decision that going through and deleting every single PA individually would take up for ever and would, in any case, render the thread nonsensical.

We do agree it was a shame to lose the Malory Towers riff, though...

@BIWItheBold

Can we just play here a bit, Helen, until Mummy Justine comes back?

If you want to. And you play nicely

Hello all. Just a quick post to say we are here, we have talked, and that Justine is planning to post an update this afternoon.

Not quite sure when exactly as she's had to go off to a long pre-arranged meeting - but we didn't want you to think we weren't intending to come back to this thread.

It's a bit early for that innit - even for me?

No, absolutely, we aim to put things in context and not delete light-hearted rudeness.

I think that kind of inconsistency is going to happen every now and then - and tbh has for some time - as no one person can mod the site by themselves. I think around the grey areas/fine lines we just have to accept that.

I don't think you can set a rule for every situation - better to make sure people are modding in the right spirit, as it were (that's where we need perhaps to recalibrate things a bit...).

Good morning all. As I may have caused some confusion last night by my unfortunate omission of the "not" can I state again:

Deletions - if they are occurring more frequently, as many here contend - are not doing so because of revenue issues/ advertisers' demands/ marketing strategy etc. There has been no change in policy/ direction/ expectations of the mod team. Zilch, nada, none.

So if things have changed then either:

1. More things are being reported
2. There's a different interpretation of the rules going down

We are going to investigate this.

Wrt to troll hunting and our policy of zero tolerance - this has always, always been a contentious issue ever since ye olde days of Judge Flounce and you all know why we think troll hunting is pernicious but I do take the points raised by BIWI, Hester and others lower down the thread that things may not be working optimally. We will have conflabs here at HQ this morning and I'll be back.

In general, I agree with this Norma. This is, historically, our position and should be our policy going forward.

Tempted to delete, not hand out a badge .

Thank you (and to AF and HoneyD too) - that's much appreciated. At the risk of sounding a bit soppy I do know it's because y'all care for MN, and of course so do I and the rest of the team here, so there must be a solution because to coin a phrase we are all in this together .

Am off to bed but will be back once we've had a bit of a conflab.

No, nor did I Eclectic - but I was just making the point that criticism of Mumsnet does feel personal to me and the staff at MNHQ

@PeanutButterCupCake

I've only been here around a year but have noticed more deletions. Can't understand half of some threads for deletions

I've never been deleted though

Am so tempted...

Ok thanks, we'll look.

Yes, the thread should have been deleted, I agree (for the third time!)

Thanks Maryz - that's kind of you to say.

Like everything else, judgement call... but if in doubt we should err on the side of leaving up.

Nope. As said we rarely, if ever (?), delete criticism of MNHQ.

It's not being swept away Val. I've been here for 5 hours now! If I sound flippant it's just me trying to keep my pecker up.

I agree that the report button should be used within the context of a thread and I know that Helen who's in charge of community management team does too. But I'm not stupid enough to think that everything's hunkydory - clearly there is a lot of frustration here and we need to have a bit of stock take and perhaps a re-calibration on how we are doing things.

No, you're right Shirley it should have gone - but as said I imagine because perpetrator was banned it was kind of assumed dealt with.

(but yes a criticism like "no wonder this site needs a flouncers' corner" does sting tbh - feels like quite a personal criticism of MNHQ to me)

Yep ok sorry you're right, I missed that - yes I think that probably should go as it's just bitchy - as said OP has been banned so I suspect that duty person did that and got occupied elsewhere. But happy to check.