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Original poster

Too late for the webchat BUT can we have a new section in FWR please?

67 replies

BOF · 08/11/2013 16:45

One which IS a safe space for feminists? Where it would be possible to talk about, yunno, stuff from a feminist perspective without dealing with hostile trolls and posters who harangue and derail feminist discussion?

The concept of a safe space is pretty fundamental to feminist theory, so it seems weird that this isn't recognised on MN. It could even be non-googlable and not in Active Convos, like OTBT.

The main areas could remain, and new people to feminism/people offering alternative viewpoints could still post as much as they liked.

It strikes me that this might encourage back some of the excellent posters we have lost, and solve the problem of persistent frustration which characterises the often-derailed discussions.

What do people think?

OP posts:
Minnieisthedevilmouse · 08/11/2013 17:15

Moderators presumably moderate the entire site though? Not just one board? I really don't know how it works. I do think Facebook would be better. Certainly if that serious I'm not sure anonymity for example is VIP....?

Original poster
BOF · 08/11/2013 17:14

Yes, you are probably right, BeerTricks Sad

I thought they might listen if it was ONE small section actually, but yeah, they probably won't be interested Sad.

OP posts:
WereTricksPotter · 08/11/2013 17:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 08/11/2013 17:07

It worked sooooo well last time round, eh? Grin

CoteDAzur · 08/11/2013 17:06

Ah, I see OldLady has already said the same thing.

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 08/11/2013 17:06

"Nobody would report genuine feminist debate..." Don't be too sure, I have been accused of being an MRA troll, a man, and a pimp for disagreeing with radfems. And yes, it was about "choice" feminism.

CoteDAzur · 08/11/2013 17:05

Why can't you & friends invite likeminded feminists to a closed Facebook group and have your safe conversations there? You wouldn't have to worry about anyone butting in.

Original poster
BOF · 08/11/2013 17:05

Feminists have always had safe spaces when they've self-organised.

It has never stopped them engaging in feminist campaigns or debate in the rest of the world. It wouldn't stop them on MN either.

OP posts:
Original poster
BOF · 08/11/2013 17:04

And posters would be able to KNOW they could just ignore troll posts, because they would feel confident their posts would be zapped after reporting.

I think it would do a lot to restore trust and good relations between feminist mners and MNHQ, actually.

OP posts:
Minnieisthedevilmouse · 08/11/2013 17:02

Yup let's make feminism a closed sport for a select few....

IMO everyone needs to be in the debate. If you know certain posters derail for sport or can see it then ignore stupid/inflammatory posts?

Original poster
BOF · 08/11/2013 16:59

I know the trolls would still turn up, but they could be reported as they would explicitly be unwelcome in just that section- so anti-feminist and wottaboutdamenz posts could be deleted as inappropriate in that section.

Nobody would report genuine feminist debate (yes, including choice feminism etc).

IT WOULD BE BRILLIANT.

OP posts:
OldLadyKnowsNothing · 08/11/2013 16:58

It would probably be easier to set up a closed Facebook page, membership by invitation only.

maillotjaune · 08/11/2013 16:58

I would welcome it (I lurk with interest on FWR but haven't posted, partly because of these problems) but I'm not sure how achievable it is.

ButThereAgain · 08/11/2013 16:56

If you want something non-googlable and not in Active Convos, perhaps the best thing would be to start the threads you want in OTBT, and make the restrictions you want clear at the beginning of the thread. You wouldn't be able to promote any such non-googlable feminist space openly, or it would defeat the purpose of keeping it non-googlable etc, so whether or not OTBT was used, it couldn't be used as a device for drawing new feminists to the site. But you could PM like-minded feminists to encourage them on to the thread.

I have always found feminist discussion really very possible on MN under the existing arrangement in FWR and accross the site. I don't find the intrusions of anti-feminists as disruptive as the prescriptiveness of some feminist participants. So it feels like it would be a good idea if people who did want a more restricted "safe space" convo could start threads by agreement in OTBT, in addition to their participation in the FWR topic.

WereTricksPotter · 08/11/2013 16:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lissieloo · 08/11/2013 16:52

I think it's a great idea! There are a couple of posters who just love to goad the feminists but stay just within the TGs, if they had to search for it like OTBT, it might put them off.

OldLadyKnowsNothing · 08/11/2013 16:50

While I understand why you want it, I think it would be impossible to achieve. If feminists can find it, so can the antis. How would you police it? Would you want different "talk guidelines"? How would you expect MN to tell the difference between a feminist with a view that does not co-incide with yours, and an intruder?