mn hq, IMO one of the things that enables trolling here is unlimited namechanges. And it's destroying your website.

it is not just troll who post offensive stuff, is it op.......

i must be oblivious in my own little world - i've never had anyone ask me for money on mumsnet. Obv they have all read my posts about being skint!

I have said to MNHQ more than once that name changing encourages trolls. But all message boards get trolled, mods or no mods.

The key is to assume people are not trolls but to not send money/clothes etc unless you are sure. It costs nothing to lend an ear and some advice. And maybe what you say will help a non-troll.

We are all, supposedly, adults. So use your adult common sense.

Oh god no, name changing is what makes mn workable. After all the Daily Mail fiasco, I think it's essential to be able to recreate yourself as many times as you like and not leave a "footprint" all over the place.

And I really couldn't give a shit about trolls - hardly ever notice them. If a thread looks a bit implausible I don't read much of it. Or do and don't care.

I like a name change now and then
I don't want to be identified in real life, and changing every few months allows me both to retain privacy and yet still post about personal stuff.

I also agree with LadyintheRadiator that it takes 5mins to get a new email and therefore new name in any case, which I'm sure most determined trolls would do.

I don't name change becasue I don't post really personal stuff usually. Can see why people would want to be able to. But God things are getting dull now. Whether it's trolls, troll hunters or just people who are frankly over-sharing - I just can't seem to get into it as much. Meh.

I think you should use your own judgement really ..If I get sucked in by a troll I just think 'oh well'

Agree with cyb.

Also I think the OP of the transsexual thread was genuine (she recently posted to confirm it).

I would rather keep the namechanging ability too. All a troll needs to do is to change their IP address (takes ten minutes or so) and come up with a new yahoo account or similar. The particular wanking troll Steve is a quite disturbed man who seems to get very stressed over Bank Holidays and goes into overdrive. He often has at least half a dozen threads running at once, and uses other forums too. He will NEVER go away, and I don't see why we should lose our anonymity when it won't stop him anyway.

I like name changing too.

Will leave again if I can't namechange.

Plus it wouldn't stop people registering five million times under made up email addresses.

i like name changing.

simple fact is Mn is a big site - lots of posters..we don't know everyone - there are people who may have been here years whos name i wouldn't recognise (even if it never changed) and stopping name changes doesn't stop a troll coming in afresh, from, say, a different email, to bother us all.

namechanging aids anonymity which is v. importnt to some posters - particularly those with things to fear IRL.

Agree with 2shoes - vital to keep the ability to namechange. I namechange fairly regularly, when I think I've posted too much or one of my dcs may have seen my name...

When Mumsnet did have mods, I thought the system worked well.

lurk

You just need to click on the right boxes on your profile page (and click to make it public) and the join date does appear on your new name profile. I've only had this name a few days but you can see on my profile page that I've been here since 2006.

wannabe, but when you name change the join date doesnt appear on your new name profile.

eww mods are gross. I experienced a proper jobsworth control freak when pregnant and on babycentre.. .she was an absolute freak.

This crops up again and again, usually after a big run of troll/fakers stuff (and IMO it's important to note the difference between the two)

I still think I'd rather post advice to someone who turns out to be a troll/faker but possibly at the same time help someone else in the same situation who maybe is lurking and doesn't want to post than not post thinking "ooh must be a troll".

And the day MN introduces "mods" is the day I'm outta here.

You can't expect people to go begging to MNHQ to change their names. You could need to post NOW and have to wait for MN to see your email. Then you'd have to remember to change back and go through all the hassle again. No no no, I like it just the way things are and find the namechange facility one of the things I like about MN over other sites.

I agree, if you name change there should be some kind of Icon that could appear that MNHQ add to confirm you are indeed a regular member.

Also I think people are very quick to 'name change' when saying something slightly outside of the character they paint for themselves on their usual nickname..

it's like 'ive name changed because this post makes me look weak and I dont want to be judged' Come on women, just be yourselves!!

No.

I want to namechange but still have the same account so that my profile says that I joined in 2006 - people can then see I'm not a troll from my join date. I don't want to have to re-join with another account if I want to namechange. And lots of people do want to namechange for valid reasons. The number of trolls is tiny compared to the number of real posters so why punish the rest of us?