Sorry Xenia...

[duchesse]

...for starting that thread when I didn't believe you existed (and I genuinely didn't). I've done some proper research now, and realise that you are real person with fantastic real achievement. I apologise unreservedly for my previous thread, which was genuinely not designed to get at you since I did not believe you existed. I am aghast and incredibly impressed at how much you have achieved, and look forward to sparring with you again some time...

Blimey Xenia, be careful where you do your ablutions then

Barf to this thread. I cannot bear Xenia's ridiculous views on the world.

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can you say someone has ridiculous views

isn't it a matter of perspective

maybe everyone must have ridiculous views if one person has

I don't agree with many, if any, of Xenia's views. But she is entitled to her opinion and she is entitled to air them. She does it in a very articulate way and stands her ground. That seems to put peoples backs up, and i will argue the toss wiht her, but she always out argues me.

I don't think it is fair to make it personal. The OP has apologised for her other thread as it may have caused offense. Singling out one poster, for whatever reason, could be seen as bullying. Yeah so she is a tough cookie, thats not the point. It is still bullying to make personal comments, especially if a group of people are all joining in. I know this, because i have been the victim of this sort of bullying in real life. I put on a brave face so people would have thought i wasnt bothered, well, i was!!

Not sure if this has been said already as I can't keep up with the thread......I'm not trying to out Xenia but you don't need to be some super advanced geek to find her via Google and to be honest, having read her achievements as a woman, mother and human being - in whatever order you choose - I have the utmost respect for her. So what if you don't agree with her views, sounds to me like she's had a life to be proud of and her kids will love, respect and admire her for that - well done Xenia.

and i havent read this thread through but i agree with the last two posts..i would hate to be the subject of this kind of thing

true, zippi. walk a mile in other people's shoes etc.

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Well, it obviously depends on how much you reveal about yourself in posts (without meaning to sound like a stalker ) but if you're well known within your industry, have unique circumstances, choose to be relatively high profile in RL, etc, then it's not that difficult. Does not apply to most people, it has to be said - most of us are fairly non-descript and anonymous - willingly or otherwise . Anyhow, intention was not to out anyone or make anyone else feel vulnerable in that sense so apologies if you felt uneasy.

I've known who Xenia was for absolutely ages now. People have always known her profession, and she is hugely successful in what she does which is great and does make her more identifiable than other posters.

There are lots of people on here who are well known in RL, but for most of them we'd ever know enough about their life/online persona to work out their true identity.

Motherfunk I guess maybe you don't post as much/share as much information about your life maybe

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"Have you ever changed your mind about anything as a result of an internet conversation?" K , I am too dense to know who else you might be else where but yes. Arguably I left my husband because of internet conversations, my view of my marriage etc. That's a pretty fundamental change but if we're talking on a thread about left and right wing, no I haven't been changed to thinking oh I'll vote labour. I think what more likely to happen is that people's views change over time based on who they are with and talk to so it's more a stealth effect that is had on people rather than road to Damascus sudden change about.

is this going to become a regular feature we could have a board called mumsnetter on the spot quick fire round

I think that people's political worldview often changes as they get older anyway. I suppose this comes from one's personal experiences, observations and circumstances.

I agree with Zippi. The ridiculous views thing is a bit daft. Xenia has political views which can be quite different to many posters on here, and she expresses them, and then there's lots of feisty debate. It's good! And her views on other things like women's rights, and probably food/diet etc are probably in accordance with most people here.

There's no such thing as a ridiculous view in a climate of healthy debate.

A ridiculous standpoint would be agree with someone because everyone else is agreeing with them. But then that would not be a view, rather a lack of ability to formulate a view. A bit like believing everything you read in the papers, or everything that Doris next door spouts.

married up [tick]
he earns more [tick]
he is not obese [tick]
he is clever [tick]
I am just over 9st, have 32H boobies

Wow how needs to compare ideologies We're twins no less
pmsl