Shutting down discussion

[CheeryPye]

Why do people do it? Ganging up and hounding anyone who doesn't agree with them and endlessly hammering away at the report button to sensor any debate on the undeniable uncomfortable truths contained in some subjects, which people on a public forum have every right to debate? There are some topics that by their very nature raise significant moral questions and those very real truths may make some people feel uncomfortable but is it right for those people to go to such extreme lengths to bully and shut down that debate just because they don't like it? What made them so special?

Are we only allowed to discuss what other people decide we can discuss in the way they decide? That's how dictatorships begin. Time and time again threads are left impossible to follow like a patchwork of deleted posts because someone has got a bee in their bonnet and just doesn't want other people to have an opinion or raise obvious questions they don't want people to discuss. Why is their solution to try and cancel any opposing views by repeatedly reporting other people in a concerted effort to censor their views and get them flagged up as a problem to HQ in an attempt to get them banned from MN.

Is it not better to just not read the thread rather than desperately trying to control debate and frantically bashing away at the report button to control what other people think?

Oh happy Easter by the way 😊

Many aibu posters want an echo chamber; either to justify a decision or to just to get the MN equivalent of lots of 'likes'.
Then there are those showing their woke credentials, you cannot disagree with them. Ever.
It's a site largely for women, ergo it will be a bitch-fest. All this 'sisterhood' stuff is a nonsense; women exist to take each other down!
😀

As you don't provide examples of what you consider to BU, impossible to judge.

Erm...people shutting debate?

The problem with just stating this is without giving actual examples is that's your take on it. It could well be that because you have a difference of opinion that's your subjective view.

The problem with asking for evidence is that it has often been deleted.

It depends what you mean by shutting down debate. If posts are deleted it’s because they break the rules, so they likely contain personal insults or deliberately inflammatory views or include hate speech or disablist/ sexist/ racist/ ageist etc insults. None of those things are needed to have a measured debate and it’s right that posts containing those things should be deleted, it’s not shutting down debate, it’s ensuring that a debate happens in an appropriate way rather than in a heated way which is going to deliberately offend and attack others.

One person’s ’undeniable uncomfortable truth’ can be another’s ’offensive and unpleasant assertion’. For example:
Abortion is murder.
Anyone who’s ever voted Tory is evil.
Poor people shouldn’t have children.
Anyone who protests about Gaza is an anti-semite.

I suspect that if you keep getting deleted the problem might be you rather than the censoring of legitimate debate.

MN don't just delete everything that's reported. They make a judgement about whether it abides by community rules. They also seem to take into account posting history to check whether the poster is genuine or just some random trying to get a rise out of mumsnetters.

Wow what a sad world you live in and sad people you must surround yourself with if you think this inherently sexist view is normal :(

If I see something that i think is racist,ageist,transphobic,homophobic etc I will report it. Then it's up to MNHQ to decide what breaks their talk guidelines.

This 👆

I sort of agree OP. Freedom of speech is a big issue at the moment. Look how much controversy there is around Scotlands hate crime law that comes in on Monday.

Even the chief of police has criticised it.

Trying to have a fact based conversation nowadays on here creates reports and controversy.

A true 'debater' can argue both sides, even if they don't believe in both sides. Most people can't. And most people lack critical thinking. They think their ohhh so important opinion is the only one and they ram it down anyone's throat because they're blinkered and frankly, thick.

I am not afraid to say all of the above to their face before walking away either.

Oh, please don't worry. I am able to take the piss out of meself as a female without getting as drfensive as you.

Agree with this, it's quite amusing when they get a different response on aibu

It’s totally normal to be defensive when someone makes such ridiculous statements about women being a ‘bitch fest’ and only taking each other down - actually laughable 🤣

One example I remember was an attempt at discussion on the feminist section about the ethics of various reproductive options. It got hijacked by people coming over saying "my child was conceived with donor eggs and it's like you're saying that they shouldn't exist! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Obviously it wouldn't have been appropriate on say the conception section but it was just an impersonal conversation that wasn't targeting any individuals.

On line and in real life, it happens everywhere. I'm very much in the camp of everyone has an opinion and entitled to it' but it does annoy the shit out of me when someone can't accept an opinion that doesn't align with the their own, and will hammer on and on until you agree, walk away or it results in a full on argument.

Some of the personal attacks that do not get reported/ are allowed shock me. I’m assuming the comments that actually get removed must be outrageous. It should happen more in my opinion.

Most of the time MN get it right. IMO.

There's a difference between a controversial opinion and spouting hate
And prejudice.

But does 'because i think' actually within the context of the debate at the time really constitute racism, ageism, etc or do people just not like the replies because they do not align with their own views, so they make a weak link just so that they can report it?

I'm not talking about me being deleted, it's an observation on multiple threads that as soon as someone does not agree with the usual dominant posters, practically anything they say starts being removed. A lot of the time MN will make a tenuous reference to talk guidelines after deleting a comment that clearly was not in breach.

Often it is quite clear by the vitriol and abuse being hurled who has their finger hovering over the report button and will claim something to be some sort of ism when it clearly was not.

Haha just wait till they call the general election.
It's so true I remember a seemingly innocuous thread about soup maker recommendations and it got taken over by someone who put up so many comments about why do you need a soup maker you can do all that with a pan and a blender. Well maybe you can dear, but that's not the question that was asked. She became a right PITA.

I suppose the best thing to do in these situations is not reply further.

So no freedom of speech for you then?

I think freedom of speech should come with a name where you can remain accountable for what you have said.

Because this is faceless people truly get so nasty and say things they would never if their name was attached.

I’m not sure anonymously abusing people online is a freedom of speech issue. I have, very controversially, strongly disagreed with arrests due to outrageous tweets in the defence of freedom of speech.

Theres freedom of speech then there’s cowardly bullying. You want to say something? Fine, but own it.

But what if people were to say something they would also say in real life that blatantly wasn't in breach, but just someone else didn't like it and didn't want it being discussed? That's what appears to happen on many threads.

Ok much of the time MN get it right, but as i said there are countless occasions where they make a really tenuous reference to the guidelines but are clearly removing a post just to pacify the relentless reporting by people who very clearly want to dominate the topic and just don't want opposing views.