Is everyone aware that Mumsnet are posting your threads on Facebook?

[ImEasyLikeSundayMorning]

If you knew that already then that's grand.
If you expected it and are fine with it, great!

What I feel deeply uncomfortable with is, is OP's having very specific and detailed stuff out out by MN on FB.

There seems to be little choice happening here.
Less anonymity.

I am now worried about posting on MN Inca we it's posted on fb.

AIBU!

I didn't know but it doesn't surprise me. It does make me more cautious about posting though.

To answer those who say FB is just as public as MN then yes of course technically you're correct, but my FB feed is full of 'you make like' suggested posts that are neither things I like nor things I follow, and often things wildly unrelated to anything I do like or follow. They're not sponsored posts either, it's just the FB Algorithm putting stuff in front of me.

Yes someone may Google a question about gardening or their pet or whatever and land here on MN, but that doesn't mean they're automatically going to stick around and start scrolling AIBU.

The problem with posts being shared on FB is that they will undoubtedly land in front of thousands of people that would never ever organically have stumbled across them. This is par for the course when MN Madness on Twitter or the tabloids do it, but it's a bit shitty when MN themselves use people's genuine and often quite serious personal issues as clickbait.

Some people really think MN is a private support group.

Does everyone know the Daily Mail and others uses threads all the time as well?

You shouldn’t be posting here if you expect it to remain private.

I don't think people expect privacy at all. Everyone knows it's a public forum. I think many posters have an expectation of discretion and while the occasional thread is picked up by a tabloid, that's different to an algorithm flashing threads up on a much more widely used social media site.

The nature of fb, too, means that people are more likely to be identified their than they are here. And tabloids pick threads that are generally humorous or ridiculous, not ones that are sensitive. An algorithm has no such discretion.

Or that a "private" FB group has genuine privacy. The MN FB page has 239K followers. Even if they made it private, there's nothing private about 200,000 people reading what you've written. Even if you can see you have no friends in the group you have no idea who the other people are, if they're fake identities or if they know you even if you haven't recognised them.

I don't like this.

Mumsnet feels more private than posting on Facebook because it's contained to those who sign up rather than being actively broadcasted and shared around.

They should definitely ask for consent, or at least notify if the post on FB/Twitter.

Yeah, not keen on the idea of airing someone's dirty laundry when you have no idea how distressing a circumstance is. 'Shoes on vs shoes off/AIBU to not do x' is fine, but not personal topics.

And it's dissuades people from posting threads, for a cheap thrill. Sure a few people might click the site to look, but it alienates the main users of the site- not a great idea.

And the fact that trashy tabloids with no decent Journalists scour Mumsnet for 'news' didn't make it any better. But they're not the ones running the site.

People are really careless with their personal information. I read this BBC article yesterday - in the first few lines it tells us the name and age of of a young Scottish woman, the small town where she works, the bus number she catches, the fact it's often cancelled so she's left stranded, and helpful information about her having to walk along a dual carriageway sliproad to get to her stop - which effectively narrows it down to two of the seven bus stops in the town. There's also a photo of her so after a quick Google search of social media accounts you know a profile belongs to her and which animal she is obsessed with.

It's basically everything a stalker would need to locate this woman if they're willing to hang around at a bus stop for a few hours to narrow it down between the two potential stops.

But it isn't contained. Not only
Do you not have to sign up to read everything, but any member can share any post to any social media platform. Not to mention the tabloids it's regularly
Picked up in

Mumsnet feels more private than posting on Facebook because it's contained to those who sign up rather than being actively broadcasted and shared around.

Since when?

No-one needs an account to read what's written on MN??

I didn't realise it, thank you op.

It doesnt sit right so won't start threads again. I'd imagine others will be reluctant too.

How is someone more likely to be identified?

There’s far more people who ‘lurk’ here. You don’t need to sign in to read it. There’s far more people see each thread than reply to it.

I think mumsnet is more widely read than people like to believe.

The tabloids absolutely do pick up the sensitive ones.

The point is that it’s not private. It’s never been designed that way and their FB page has never been hidden.

For current mums? What's the cut off? Are we allowed to post before ttc, do we have to stop when our dc have their own? (I know that there is gransnet, but I dont like it)

So when I had my child, then my child died I should have left MN (despite all the support) because I wasn't a "current mum"?

What about the many, many people who aren't parents, should they all leave?

At least half the threads (maybe more) on here are nothing to do with parenting.

How would MN even police who is a "current mum"? What's the upper age limit your kid has to be before you leave?

Yes but only because a FB friend was commenting on the posts so it showed up in my feed more than once recently.

It’s less private because she could be talking about finances or family issues that she’s not going to expect me to read and know it’s her rather than a generic someone else on MN.

Not to mention all the other ways threads are shared off MN that are nothing to do with MNHQ. People sending screenshots to their friends or partners, Reddit, Mumsnet madness on Twitter etc.

There are literally 3 buttons above this typing box which allow you to share the thread.

What did people think these are for?

Do you realise how many posters on here aren't 'current mums'? I think you'd be surprised

• people trying to conceive

-bereaved parents -dads -grandparents

• parents of adult children
• child free people here for AIBU, style and beauty, telly addicts, litter box, staff room etc

And that's before you add in all the trolls!

*Since when?

No-one needs an account to read what's written on MN??*

It's more obscure especially if things are kept on the site mostly and not going viral on Facebook because the site admins are posting someone's situation socials. I know you don't need a login. It's very clearly trying to attract a larger audience, that's the whole point

I get where you are coming from, I wouldn’t like it and it would put me off starting a thread but I rarely do anyway.

Just to stick up for @french76 a second, as a member of MN who isn't a current Mum (came for the TTC boards and stayed despite that not happening) I do get what she means.

I know there are plenty of people on MN for all different reasons and many aren't Mums, but as an example I am pretty confident that my DH, or my Mum, or my single footloose friends are not. They are all on Facebook though.

Not that I've ever written anything disparaging and/or identifying about any of them but I don't like the idea that if I had it could just be thrust in front of them BY MUMSNET on a different platform. I expect it of the gutter press, but not of MN themselves.

MN never was anonymous, it’s very, very public. Bear that in mind when posting.

I had a post picked up by newspaper. I keep my posts fairly generic so not identifiable

👌

But so what if it’s on Facebook?

If they don’t follow MN on Facebook, how will they ever see it?

I am so confused…!

I don’t follow MN on Facebook, so I’m absolutely none the wiser as to what they share on there.

@StupidSmallFruit FB have changed their algorithms and now put 'things you may like' in front of you.

I get semi-regular posts from the Manchester Evening News in my feed. I've only been to Manchester once in my life and am certainly not interested in the minutiae of local life there, but still it comes, unsolicited.

The same happens with MN posts, they're just dropped in front of people who would otherwise never have been aware of them.