AIBU to think that MN are letting us down?

[MsHarry]

I have really enjoyed MN in the past, both for advice and sometimes for a laugh or a debate. I don't use other social media and feel I can express myself more freely amongst mostly other women and within the relative anonymity that a username provides. However in recent months i have seen thread after thread appear in the Daily Fail and now The Mirror and a live conversation on ITV's Loose Women!! Some of the subject matter is sensitive and could give OPs away. I know it's a public forum but sharing on here is not the same as publishing in a newspaper or an interview on TV . AIBU to expect a forum like MN, that used to feel pro women, to do more about this?

Just don’t post private shit
And if you must manage the username and details carefully

Nope I’m not. Sorry.

OP I understand you feel the need to want to hash over this. It’s been done to death though. Threads are going to continue to be lifted and talked about elsewhere.

There isn’t really much else to say on it. It’s annoying, we know that.

...

I agree with PP. it's not difficult. If you think what you're posting is recognisable and you don't want to be recognised then it's probably best not to post. Simple as that. Mumsnet share popular posts on FB and twitter as well so it really isn't private at all.

However Op- One thing I do think MN should consider an amnesty for thread deflation’s and a campaign to make people aware . With all the recent news about Cambridge analytics and Facebook awareness is unusually high

I have changed usernames but some of my old threads scare me as to how open I was

If I was MN I would put up a banner with a warning and a link to the user terms

WHAT YOU POST IS PUBLIC

I do not think traffic would fall

MrsHenry you posted an opinion without any real knowledge about the subject. It's fine, it's not like it was potentially offensive, you're not the first to complain about this and unfortunately you won't be the last although it really has been done to death.

BUT it has been explained to you by lots of people yet you've just hung in getting offended and being obnoxious! What on earth do you want from this thread? If you'd like to start some campaign to change this then by all means go for it though you'll need to actually acquaint yourself with the law as it stands first .

Nottaken - you missed one - bottom right

MsHarry - what on earth has Nottaken done for you to jump on them so much?

Evening OP

I’m still at half past three on the thread.

The bit below refers to the design of the website (etc) not user generated content.

assume MN have given permission because the source material is from their website and MN say

“This Web site and its contents are copyright Mumsnet, all rights reserved. Reproduction of all or any substantial part of the contents in any form is prohibited. No part of the site may be distributed or copied for any commercial purpose without express approval.

So MNHQ, did you give permission for this story to be run on TV here and in Australia and in print/online media? Were you contacted?
Add message | Report | Message poster“

What do you think they owe you, OP? Do you pay to post here?

Hi Across the Pond,

Lol it’s all fairly low key in the small claims court.

But yes, it is hard to keep things secret!
We would have to do a test case on something where being outed didn’t matter.
You can get reporting restrictions sometimes. They would think that was wildly over the top for a parking thread!

Hi again,

As to fair use, it depends on the case.

If it’s a parking thread or a MIL thread the defence would fail. You have to be reporting a current event! So the OP is right there.

However, repeating the comments on the feminism board is, at present, clearly legitimate. Mumsnet threads are news sometimes.

“As many posters have pointed out, unfortunately there’s not a huge amount we can do about it - the DM would likely claim Fair Use and that would be difficult to challenge. They would say they're just 'reporting' what was said on the thread. “

Op I agree

There is a massive difference between a campaign and challenging a paper for printing something. Can you imagine the legal bill for that sort of challenge?

OP
I think some journalists start a thread with the intention of the thread becoming a piece in their newspaper.
It suits Mumsnet cos it means more publicity which ultimately leads to more members therefore a wider audience and the advertising rates can go up.
Why would Mumsnet kill a cash cow ?

I think people are just frustrated OP as people keep explaining to you how the internet works and you’re saying things like “but this is personal / sensitive content”

Well yes, that’s why it’s best not to post identifying details in a forum visited by 12 million people

We do need to take responsibility for ourselves, to a point. And we need to educate our kids likewise

MsHarry I do not think YABU at all. I hate the way the Fail seems to mine so much material from here. Trouble is, I do not see what MN can actually do about it- what i sput on the internet is fro public consumption unless there is a copyright or covered in some other way by intellectual property law.

I was once a member of a forum who would ban known journalists. They thought they spoilt the spirit the site,which was to be a community , not free fodder for newspapers.

I agree that as it stands, there isn't much they can do but I see where you are coming from and, as someone else commented, given the negative publicity re Facebook, I'd like to see a change in how our information is used.

We forget that the Internet has only been big for 20 years. I remember things being a lot freer and more public back then and, slowly, more stringent rules have crept in.

I agree we don't need to be complacent. Things are changing all the time

Funnily enough, those that berated me for not joining FB and not banking on line (because it was incovenient for them) have gone all quiet recently.

you dont have to put your life on facebook - i check in all over the place, report every ad as sexually inappropriate or violent or hate speech, dont do surveys, dont have my phone number on there, and use a throwaway email
i'm not go

It would be relatively easy to download the whole MN site then using various search algorithms extract all manner of 'data' from the posts.
On the basis that the login information which ties your username to an email address is 'secret' which I believe it is under the data protection act then as a user you are 'anonymous' but by filtering all your posts it is possible to build a 'picture' of you which for many purposes can be enough. Referring to somewhere local to you, hints about ethnicity, mentions of pets etc can all be used.

This thread is so bizarre. Watching someone refuse to understand something is bizarre.

Imagine you’re at a concert, chatting to your friend about the warts on your husband’s willy. BUT
you’re on stage
Next to the microphone.

OP that is the internet.

Why can’t you understand that?
Is it because you can’t physically see the audience in front of you?

So strange.

So at that concert you are angry that the stage manager didn’t put up a sign saying don’t tell other people who weren’t here what happened.

I am actually amazed.

It's just a middle class Jeremy Kyle.
People get off on the few hundred really very unwell angry people who post on most threads and we all have a laugh about it. Presumably some are really.not well, or perhaps housebound or alone.

Most of the thousands of threads and posters are rather nice but that's not what brings in the cash.

If you really think the jolly big sister hq stuff is real you are awfully naive. Betty Crocker, Uncle Ben and cosy middle-class big sisters. None of them are real!

Exactly!
Through my posts you can easily determine I am a man, fairly old, with a daughter, Divorced and have been a Scout leader. That narrows me down to a few tens of thousands of possibles worldwide.
Therefore to 'Pampers' I am of no interest as I won't be buying nappies.
Fairy, maybe but I know how to drive a washing machine and it's too expensive.
Any of the women's clothing or fashion, no.
If you want it a 'secret' don't tell anyone.
The irony being that to keep a secret you used to say 'mum's the word'.