Should Mumsnet Follow X By Revealing Basic Information About Posters?

[EsmaCannonball]

I was thinking about posting this in Site Stuff but thought it would gain more responses here.

In the last few days X has introduced a feature where users can see more information about posters, namely country/region where the account was created, date of creation, type of device the account was created on, number of name changes made by account and whether the account is using a VPN. It's early days but already suspicious or bot accounts have panicked and shut down, accounts claiming to be right-wing Americans have been found to be coming from eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, journalists purporting to be Palestinians reporting from inside Gaza have accounts based in places as far away as Poland, Indonesia and Pakistan, and I am sure there are more trends being revealed.

Of course, for most of Mumsnet this would be a redundant move - we don't need to know if someone is posting from Russia or Iran on threads about Sudocrem, MasterChef or parking wars - but on those threads that do get politically charged or the forums that do attract trolls it could introduce a level of transparency while retaining the fundamentally important anonymity of posters. However, I realise it is always possible there are unintended consequences that I haven't thought through. Would it be a good move or a bad move?

Would a broadening of ‘date joined’ to ‘year joined’ make any difference?

It’s not compulsory to stay, set up a site or find better moderation you’re happy with.

I think that if MN did that far fewer of us would be willing to spend our time creating content for free so that MN can make money out of advertising. So no, I don't see that they would do that.

But what would be the point of knowing?

I don't think having a hierarchy regarding how long posters have been here, would help anyone.

If you think a post is dodgy, just report it and let HQ do the rest.

Yes it’s often the idea only one party should be on here as the preference. I don’t want just one view and everyone else driven off. It’s an open public site.

I agree. But the problem is that before any big political event, like the GE or budget, the site is flooded with bots and sock puppets. Same when there is an awful event like Southport or the recent train stabbings. It is really noticeable. MNHQ needs to get a handle on that.

I really don’t think this is necessary on Mumsnet. It sounds like some people are just saying things that you don’t agree with, but they are most likely just normal people, not bots.

True, but they're not going to get a handle on it by dictating which political party discussions should be allowed and which shouldn't.

Which was what @titchy appeared to be suggesting.

I know, and I agree with you. I am not talking about political views, but about posters who pop up at certain points, spread discord and misinformation, then vanish again.

No. Just that. A flat "no". I don't want any identifying info available, no matter how generalised or wide-ranging.

The system ain't broke. Why fix it?

But surely that would happen regardless if the name change is just one character different.

The thing is, if I genuinely thought a poster was a troll or abusive or racist I would report them with their posts standing as the evidence. I would never report someone for having a view I disagreed with or because I suspected them of being a troll, bot or bad faith actor. I hate the idea of reporting someone based on feelings, not evidence. If someone was claiming to be a disillusioned Red Wall constituent who is now turning to Reform/Your Party/Whoever and their account shows they are posting from Belarus or Algeria then that would form the evidence, not just my own prejudices. It wouldn't necessarily be about making reports or banning posters, rather it would just give users the tools with which they choose to assess posts.

Completely pointless. You’d have no idea if people are actually in the region their “profile” may state due to the use of VPNs. The point of most VPNs is that they are not recognised by the servers for the site you are on I.e. watching country specific tv in a different country.

also people move over the years so where the account states it was first activated may be nowhere near where somebody lives now. I mean they could have been on holiday when they set up their account. Also people who do live abroad will have opinions on their home country so somebody saying they are a far-right America can showing as having set up their account in Europe and now posting from the Middle East could quite easily be true.

To me it just seems yet another way to try and troll people under the excuse of believing they themselves are trolls.

Err no.

People should not have to be babied and the responsibility is on them to always be sus that others posting might/will likely be bullshitters.

I mean, I use a VPN solely so that I can watch the Criterion Channel in the UK, and I often forget to turn it off after. I’m not some nefarious Russian bot. Lots of people use VPNs for perfectly good reason. So I’m not sure giving us the ability to accuse people based on that would actually help.

I don't think Mumsnet has anything like the same level of malicious engagement as X or Facebook but things have changed since it became evident that Mumsnet is politically influential in the UK. If you look at the things which are coming out in the few days since X introduced this tool then you can see just how badly the system of social media is broken. So many influential accounts who are not remotely who they claim they are.

It wouldn't be a question of reporting someone for using a VPN, rather giving users the tool to note that a vociferous poster on specific political issues uses a VPN and to bear that in mind when reading the posts.

This feature on social media would make me use it again. I think it’s a great idea.

I think you took me way too literally there! 🤣

Substitute the names for anything.

The vast majority of Mumsnetters are grown adults.

They'll know that not everyone on the internet will be who or what they claim to be.

If they haven't worked that out, they shouldn't be on the internet unsupervised.

If you think there's something dodgy about a poster, just hit the report button.

No, completely pointless idea. Firstly, anonymity is important online considering how weird and stalkery some people can be.
Secondly, everyone would simply use a VPN and if everyone did that, then we'd be no "better off" in terms of information than we are right now
Thirdly, how does knowing where someone lives help? that wont stop trolls, in fact, it would just cause genuine posters to be accused of being a troll if their location happened to be similar to someone with a weird posting history

I just dont understand how such vague information would help anyone and why people need to know it.

But using a VPN isnt illegal, wrong, or make someone a "bad person" FGS. It just means they want to protect their privacy and why shouldn't they?

I agree with this PP: They'll know that not everyone on the internet will be who or what they claim to be
If they haven't worked that out, they shouldn't be on the internet unsupervised
If you think there's something dodgy about a poster, just hit the report button

We arent 14 years old.

I think that if you worry about the authenticity of the people you are speaking to, then online chat forums are not the place for you. It is best not to get over invested, never tell people how much you earn and assume all medical threads are problematic.

For Mumsnet? So this feature would make you use Mumsnet again?

This made my head explode a bit too 😁