MNHQ here: removing the 90 day limit on _Chat threads

MNHQ why not just change the name of the chat to "chat 90 days only"?

Exactly what SoupDragon said.

Extinct - you don't seem to be grasping that this is 'chat' we are talking about, not a CV, not a report, but just 'chat'

It still says that threads will be removed after 90 days at the top of the _Chat topic. Was the no deletion policy supposed to start today or tomorrow?

It’s just chatty talk. On a chat site. I don’t expect anyone, regardless of sex, to be assertive and “proper” on a chat site (or when chatting in real life), I expect them to be chatty. If someone spoke in proper English all the time with no slang, “fluff” or colloquialisms I would think they were uptight and dull.

SoupDragon Women can be assertive in everyday life too, without being unfriendly.

I didn't make my point very well (there I go again..talking like a woman!) but there have been a number of articles published about this recently which explain it.

www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2018/04/03/women-how-to-use-power-language-to-stand-out-grow-presence-and-get-ahead/#f73b5a712004

As a site mainly used by women, MN does not need to reinforce a stereotype of 'fluffy' woman-talk.

So when everyone posts in 30 days only, will those threads appear in search results?

It is annoying when you follow a search result and it disappeared years ago.

Whether or not this is a good move, it seems very underhand of HQ to only announce this with three days notice and on the obscure site stuff board. Why not announce it on Chat?

typical of the way many professional women speak in business when they should be a lot more assertive.

This is a parenting chat site. It’s meant to friendly, not assertive.

I love how frothy some posters get There is absolutely nothing wrong with the MNHQ opening post. And what are you all posting in chat that makes you want it to disappear? A few members being precious and argumentative on this thread won't win against MN making the experience better for non members. They know your threats to leave are empty as you have nowhere else to go. The same posters who get all frothy about changes are probably the same ones who use ad blockers so aren't making money off you anyway. Just relax and stop letting small things like this bother you. I bet they have a right laugh watching you all get in a tizzy

Just a quick heads up that is so typical of the way many professional women speak in business when they should be a lot more assertive.

I always scan my work emails for phrases like that now before I send them, and delete them if I find them.

Wish MN would not reinforce the stereotype.

like the adults and the women professionals a lot of us are

I’m not sure this is true a lot of the time

Also, and this is general feedback for MNHQ, you don’t need to be quite so patronising when communicating with us. Your moderating posts tend towards the schoolteacherish ‘ooh, let’s all be nice now or there might be consequences, hmmm?’ and generally include quite infantilising language, such as ‘go pouf’ rather than talking to us like the adults and the women professionals a lot of us are, and simply say ‘deleted’. We are not idiots and it’s annoying that you treat us as such.
Totally agree with this! The OP made me cringe, the wording is just ridiculous.

I also agree that removing the 90 day limit on chat is a bad idea.

Some very good points being made here. Hope mumsnet is listening.

It needs to be clearly marked in a standard format at the top of these boards what the Retention Policy is.

This Board has a 30 Day retention period - your thread will be deleted after 30 days

This Board has a 90 Day retention period - your thread will be deleted after 90 days

Threads in this Board will never be deleted. Please post on 30 days Only if you want your thread to be deleted.

Is it really THAT much work to move a thread from one topic to another on Mumsnet? Perhaps have a word with your tech team about that.

I have to remain sceptical that they are getting such a high volume of 'move' requests that this is the main reason they are making the change. They probably get one or two a week. It's easy to see, they always add a comment to say "we're moving this thread", it isn't a daily occurrence.

People don't carefully think through what they are going to say, but are relaxed enough to say what pops into your head at the time

If only people didn't think this way!

It's the internet, it isn't just verbiage, chit chat over the garden fence, it's recorded digitally.

People haven't cottoned on but now HQ plan on increasing the lifespan of people's chit chat, they need to be even more wary about 'telling all" in written format for the whole world to read.

It isn't a good trend in my opinion.

I may be in the absolute minority here, but I'd rather the site worked completely the opposite way around

Every thread should have a cut off, after 10 days without a new post, it vanishes for ever. The only exception would be threads votes into classics, because they're funny, or a new topic called something like 'Wise words' for threads with good advice.

But that's just me.

No, not just you - another who agrees with you.
It's ridiculous when zombie thread get dragged up from different subjects.

The whole name "Chat" implies just that - a 'chat' you have with colleagues / neighbours / mates in the pub / other parents in the school playground. People don't carefully think through what they are going to say, but are relaxed enough to say what pops into your head at the time. Stuff that you are writing for a report that is to be kept, would be drafted, improved, and considered before publication - maybe even proof read by someone else. You can't call something 'Chat' if you are going to keep it forever.

I get it. From a business perspective it's all about gaining more traffic and clicks but maybe 30 day could turn into 90 day? Maybe rename it 90 day chat and just chat? So that people who have missed this announcement will at least have a chance to understand

Mumsnet is about creating content. Why would they be interested in deleting it because a few users think that this place can't be seen by everyone if they wish to.

As for the deletions already made, they're all there somewhere. Nothing is ever really deleted.

Every thread should have a cut off, after 10 days without a new post, it vanishes for ever.

The likelihood of HQ making all threads vanish forever is somewhere between zilch and bugger-all.

The reason for HQs Policy change about _Chat is that it increases the longevity and therefore the volume of thread in circulation, which is ultimately about spreading MN - as a brand - far wider. Let's be realistic, it can only be that, what other reason could there be?

Oh joy, even more zombie threads to be reactivated by hairy handeds, spammers and bored teenagers in the school holidays!

Got to say that this one doesn't bother me at all. I suspect that all that will happen is that more stuff will go on 30 days only.

*it's