To think people should be aware of the paedophiles who troll on here

[IPityThePontipines]

Stating the obvious:

This site is very popular. Anyone could could be reading and posting on here.

Threads which seem to encourage people to talk about sexual behaviour in preteens, probably aren't from a concerned parent and for many, many reasons, it's not wise to go into great details about your own exploits and make out that sexual activity in under 16's is no big deal.

Not a TAAT, as there's been loads of threads like this, but they seem to be increasing in number and frequency.

Maybe unwittingly can be replaced with naively butterflies.

There may be no issue with posting 'general descriptions'on the Internet, but if the person has no concept of danger they could then provide information that put their DC in real danger if they become identifiable.

But they are too clueless to realise that and don't think before they type.

I agree with you. I am an administrator for a dating website, and when we see public messages encouraging conversation about young people, we review the direct messages sent to and from all users engaging in the thread. More often than not, we end up involving the police.

I've been on forums where I've seen posters taken in by these sorts. One would post a few things publicly, claiming to be a young woman, but then PM the members and ask them about any prom or wedding dresses they possessed, and how they felt, how did the silky soft fabric feel against their... yeah, well they got banned, but would crop up every now and again.

Similarly yes, when they start threads about their particularly fetish and encourage people to share their own anecdotes.

DefinitelyNotAJourno How do you feel about people on the dating website, having photos of their children on their profile and a description like:

I am 38, been single for a while, looking to find Mr Right. I have 3 girls, who are my world etc etc.

I find it really odd that people would put this, it seems nothing is seen as a danger, from some?

The last thing I would do, is tell men on the internet dating site that I have 3 girls. (Or boys)

On ours, and I can't say which site, we remove pictures of minors and descriptions of them. The site is more hookup than relationship focused, so we feel mentioning children to be inappropriate.

Sadly, there are people who will seek out those with children as a patenti grooming.

I could go on with various tales, there's enough material to write a book. For example, we once caught a paedophile professor at a university. We noticed a profile had been changed to a picture of a mid teen, so we removed the profile and then reviewed the messages to see who had approached him. We immediately noticed the email address was a staff email (first name, last name format) of a UK university. Long story short, we reported concerns to the police, and it turned out to be a paedophile seeking out others by seeing who approached the minor!

DefinitelyNotAJourno That is shocking, Its another world.

Yes I thought that would come up Spirit
Just so you know, not everyone concerned about this sort of behaviour is a Sun reading peedo hunter who doesn't want male nursery nurses near their kids.
You are not the only professional on MN and I am willing to bet there were many reading that thread thinking 'wtaf' but not commenting in a professional capacity because most won't do that on MN.

Its a common tactic to slap concerns down on MN with comments about hysteria and 'peedos'.
That shit doesn't work on me. I am very able to make risk assessments and do not live in a tabloid encased bubble. I work in the community with children and families and have done for decades.

In response to the pp who thinks 'so what'. She is missing the point.
Of course you cannot stop people wanking to ordinary threads about breastfeeding and potty training.
What you should not do is engage with those deliberately setting up threads about children having sex ffs. Its not rocket science.

MN is over run with trolls as it is. We have had invasions of MRAs, the forced adoption lot, transactivists etc.
Would everyone really be cool with MN being a target for people interested in sex with children? Seriously?

YANBU.

Maybe unwittingly can be replaced with naively butterflies.

So anyone who disagrees with you must be "naïve" and "clueless", rather than just having a different opinion and not giving a shit about random wankers on the internet.

I have still yet to hear how posting anonymously descriptions of behaviour of children that may or may not even exist in real life that 'someone could wank over' is causing real life harm.

Butterflies - no one is asking you to care.

I just want people to be aware of exactly who might be reading out there and why.

Particularly as people on here before have ended up PMing people and in some cases, meeting up with people who weren't what they appeared to be online.

Butterflies, you have unfortunately taken my comment personally when it definitely wasn't aimed at you.

I'm saying there are people who disclose waaay too much on the Internet. They are naive, not you. They think they are only "talking" with people on a forum and fail to realise it is being accessed by millions and millions of people, some of whom have mal-intent. If they naively converse with someone who claims to be a young woman but is actually a preditor, then It could lead to harm.

having just been on a thread where an op was asking to meet up with older people to befriend her 6 children im now starting to wonder about that other thread......need to have a serious think now, it was bad enough with MN being some sort of DM story fertiliser and , the seeming acceptance that women are now 3rd class citizens but now we appear to attract some extremely dodgy characters in close succession. really not sure if MN is for me anymore, not sure if i want to be associated with it, esp after THAT thread :(

I missed the thread that's being talked about, but it does sound very ill advised.

I do think we have to be mindful of what we are sharing, and also to balance that with being sensible whilst still getting / giving support or chatting.

It's hard balance.

What spiritedLondon and Blue said.

Besides, I can promise you that if a paedophile want to get a kick, I'm sure they can find much better places than MN! Unless of course the issue is that some people could get off from what you have written and then don't post.

I do have a much bigger issue about what some parents are divulging about their own dcs. If you want to team about yp Ur own sexual life, then its yours, up to you to decide..
But your dcs? With the risk of being outed etc.. (because lets be honest thee are plenty of people here who are not that careful about protecting their own identity)?
Now THAT is an issue IMO.

And iPity the issue of exchanging PM and then meeting up in RL is exactely what the issue of protecting your identity is about.

If you are confident you are careful enough to protect yourself, then fair enough.
If you are planning to meet up, follow the thread on FB (under your r real name), exchange PM with other people etc... AND also share very personal details about your life, your sex life, the sex life of your dcs, then more fool you....

I have no idea what thread you're talking about OP.

In my professional life I've found out what the depths of the internet makes fairly easily available. I don't think MN is what floats their boats.

Besides which, how have you become aware of "the paedophiles who troll on here" or is it tinfoil hat time and you just 'sense' it?

daisychain01 I'm not taking anything personally . I didn't even post on the the thread talked about.

I'm saying that assuming everyone who shares a 'personal' story (when it is entirely anonymous, and no one reading knows if it's even true let alone who anyone is) is 'naïve' and 'clueless' as opposed to wanting to share their story and not caring about what strangers who have no way of connecting with their real life wank over or not, is a ridiculous position.

Yes, there are possibly a few naive people left in the world who don't know that a person on an anonymous forum could be anyone. But it's certainly not everyone who posts an anonymous annecdote that 'could be wanked over'.