to say mn is potentially putting people at risk

[LilQueenie]

twice I have gone to post something but stopped myself out of pure fear it will end up viral in the papers or magazines. It used to be a place to find support and advice. Now it feels like russian roulette. Not helpful at all.

LyingWitch, are you saying that AIBU is fair game for the tabloids, but you'd be against them extracting personal stories from other boards?

Or are you just completely complacent? The DM has focused on AIBU so far; it would never venture into Bereavement or Antenatal Tests. No personal interest story fodder there.

Yes, I agree it is a shame. A huge shame.

Between journalists and trolls, there is no way anyone should be posting anything particularly personal here.

Best we just talk about weight loss and decorating.

The Independent, or what's left of it, is lifting stuff from here too.
The tabloids seemed to have moved on to Reddit now.

TBH the bereavement boards took a dive a few years ago after they were heavily trolled. There is in fact a much bigger picture here of whether MN really is or in fact should be seen as a place of support, when A, there are an awful lot of trolling posts now, so much so that it's impossible to know whether a post is genuine or not, B, people no longer feel they have to hold back in terms of their responses to posters, and thread derailing is common, and that is mostly thanks to the aibu boards where people are free to personally attack and goad with impunity.

will remain there for as long as the thread remains active

Anything posted on the Internet remains in the public sphere forever.

Think before you post.

ARum, I'm not complacent but I'm mindful that anything I post could end up anywhere. I don't tend to post stuff that matters because of this.

AIBU is the fire that draws the gutter press. I don't think that gutter press readers would have any interest in Bereavement or Antenatal Tests because they just wouldn't care about real and sensitive issues like that when there's a far juicier OW or husband cheating with my sisters story.

Even among the MN community, look at the low traffic threads - and there are many of them - genuine questions but not inflammatory so will never get posters rushing towards them. For that reason, I think Bereavement, Antenatal Tests and any other board frankly, are safe.

In the same way that OTBT never ends up in 'Trending', other boards could as well. I think that would be a good thing.

I'd also zap posters who post DM links - one warning and then out - but it's not my board.

Go to the DM.
Put Mumsnet into their search bar.
Scroll through the hundreds of pages of 'articles' lifted directly from here.
Then come back and tell me they are all about willies and poo.

There are threads about abuse, grief, sex education for teens (why the hell wouldn't you expect to be able to discuss that on a parenting forum) and controlling ex partners,

namechangeemergency, in that case I apologise, if those threads have actually been lifted and included in the gutter press then that's appalling.

It goes against everything that I've seen here, my post just now refers to threads with responses in single digits. If posters can't be bothered with them then scummy 'journalists' would be foolish to do so.

But if what you're saying is true, that anything and everything is lifted, then that needs to be the general caution.

But even the more sensitive threads have afaik been lifted from aibu and chat. And people do post about sensitive topics on those boards.

And the situation is still the same. If you don't want to be identified then don't make yourself identifiable. As I said upthread, I've been recognised and I've recognised people here. They don't know that I know who they are, they haven't posted particularly sensitive information, but if they did then it's not my place to not read it iyswim, given you just never know whose thread you might be clicking on iyswim.

I hardly post on here about my life anymore because of this.

I do take your point. However, Its not the fault of MN. Its the DM who seemingly think there's nothing go on in the world, and. They have to talk about us.

People post on high traffic areas in order to get responses. If everyone posted on boards appropriate to their issues those boards would become higher traffic areas and therefore fair game for the DM.

We know that the DM don't care about people. Look at how they report real news stories.
There is no appealing to their sense of decency. They don't have one. They will not police themselves. They will not moderate.
They will just keep using the lives of MN posters to pad out their shitty website and I just cannot understand why people would not be concerned about that.

The DM is hated on MN but there seems to be a laid back attitude to them taking the piss and exploiting people.

I think the daily mail are cunts. I object to the use of the word journalist to describe the pond scum who trawl Mumsnet for stories. Woodward and Bernstein they ain't.

How can we en-masse hate DM and yet continue to patronise their rag? Click on their links? Post the links here?

I hate them, I've never clicked on them, never bought their paper - others don't take that same stance.

What is the response about the low interest threads on AIBU and Chat? there are plenty that don't get footfall because they're not 'juicy' enough. That is down to human failing/need/gratuitous wish for vicarious outrage.

Sometimes it's just down to us.

The DM isn't really that hated on MN though. Many MN users like people to believe that they hate the DM, but the reality is that many of the people objecting to DM lifting content here are themselves DM readers hence how they know.

And you have to ask yourself why aibu and chat are high traffic areas? What does that say about MN really? Because in reality it does fly in the face of the "we should see MN as a supportive place where people can discuss their deepest issues," when the areas of MN which get the highest numbers of posters are those that are known for their personal attacks, and free-for-all attitude, and if you get flamed on there then it's "your fault for posting in aibu."

Let's not pretend that the supportive element of MN is disappearing purely because of interactions with the DM.

I don't think this is necessarily about being identified.
You can cause a huge amount of distress by putting a personal story of trauma in the context of a puff piece on the DM website.

When a woman posts details of abuse she may not be identifiable to the wider world but could be immediately recognisable to her abuser. An abuser who wouldn't think to go on MN but stands a good chance of seeing something promoted on Social Media.

I share the 'meh' attitude towards ridiculous tales of dildos being shared on DM. But that really isn't the issue here

MN is a predominately women's space. Its been invaded and exploited by the DM.

I think that is something to be angry about.

I don't think it is purely down to the DM.
I do think that it is an issue worth discussing and not dismissing.
I just don't get why so many people are snarky about it.

Let us be clear.
The DM is not the only problem. It IS part of a problem and whether there is something than can be done or not, it is worthy of discussion.

It may be that we accept that MN is no longer somewhere to ask for advice or support on difficult subjects.

If that is the case I don't think MN can be sustained by lurid sex mishaps and MIL rants alone.

Why don't Mumsnet make the high-traffic areas members only and add a line in the T&C that says things aren't to be used and published elsewhere?

That way any newspaper would be in a dodgy position legally.

There will always be posters posting about difficult subjects for support. Fewer or newer. MN can well be sustained by posts about lurid sex mishaps because that is what gets the most footfall. It really isn't rocket science. The support side of the post is propped up by the dildos... as distasteful as that is, in my opinion.

We're not discussing it because there is nothing to discuss. There is nothing that is going to change because users of the site don't like the position. The only thing they can do is modify their posts or leave.

Both 'sides' are being snarky if snarkiness exists here. That seems to always be trotted out when opinions are polarised.

I think to claim that MN is potentially putting people at risk is grossly unfair.

So do I.

People don't seem to realise that when you post on the internet it is there for all to see. This is nothing new. It has sways been the case.

There are certainly things I wouldn't post now for fear of the story ending up in the Mail. I'm not sure what they are but they exist.

The DM isn't really that hated on MN though. Many MN users like people to believe that they hate the DM, but the reality is that many of the people objecting to DM lifting content here are themselves DM readers hence how they know.

Seriously?

There's a massive difference between sharing a personal story on a parenting site and it being picked up by the DM. Not least because other journalists will trawl the DM for stories but wouldn't necessarily trawl MN.
It's also disingenuous to imply MN couldn't do something about it. They could. They choose not to and that reticence shifts the focus from being a site to support parents to a site to provide journalists with human interest stories. Change the strapline to the latter and posters would definitely be aware of the risk they take when posting here.

There's a massive difference between sharing a personal story on a parenting site and it being picked up by the DM.

No there isn't really.

We may not like it but people have to get past this 'MN is still safe space' attitude.

It isn't.

It's an open, anonymous forum on the internet. Once you post, the info is out there, whether you like it or not. Anyone who says different is kidding themselves really.