but why has there been a spate of disappearing education threads?

[tattifer]

Everytime a supportive thread starts about the negative experiences of alternative education it gets wiped/disappeared and done away with - why?

Were my limericks that bad?

manatee the warning lights on my "a"ometer have started to light up...?!

Lets hope it is just a fault on your "a" ometer!!! An oversensitive sensor I hope!

mmh, methinks not.

Toddlerama -- I reckon they're alluding to a specific educational philosophy/type of private school. It's only personally important if you're tempted to send your dc there, too. Everyone is dancing around so much but I reckon it's the type of school that the Pink Floyd guitarist, David Gilmour, sent his son to & wrote about for the Daily Telegraph. Google on underlined words.

Toddles - I expect you'd know all about it if you too had similar experiences - if you've never had a owrrying experience at an unregulated independent school then don't worry

But if one set up a XeniaSchoolsdotsucks site then you would own and run it and oculd take down any bullying comments that wer put up there or comments against your own opinions and as long as you ran it lawfully you'd be legally okay. (Or a dotsucks blog)

Xenia - I'm not sure I follow, why would sharing bad or negative experiences ever be considered unlawful if they're all actually true?

That's called censorship. Not a pleasant thought at all!

But what really puts me off creating my own site is that I have not got a clue how to go about such a thing, NOR do I have the time to.

Actually, I had been browsing sperm banks before I typed that()ided that if I have time for that I have time to at least look into creating a truthful little site!

SO I DECIDED

Manatee, as we are being truthful here why would we need another truthful site.

Isolation the first weapon remember? (think FTs methods)

Ah yes, you are right, why SHOULD we go elsewhere!

Resumes browsing of Scandanavian sperm donors with degrees

!!!

I rhink it is very easy for someone (organisation) to cause MN problems by threatening to sue whether or not what is published here is true. Of course MN would have a good defence in any court case but not sure they would want the hassle and also the expense.

I think writing about shared experiences without naming names may be the best way forward for those looking for support. Having read some of the previous threads I'm glad that I have no first hand experience of this type of education.

I rhink you're right MollieO

Yes, you are lucky, or maybe more insightful and less inclined to be led astray by a School obbsessed with bread making. My experience ended so nastily. Having failed to protect a child, someone at the school created a malicious roumour about my children, and then when they realised I would not sit back and be a scapegoat, they were totally defensive and denied and wrongdoing. This is deliberately vague, I could be more to the point but am worried about being descended upon by those from these types of school.

Tattifer Why the !!!,? I am considering a multi-purpose Scandanavian holiday next year

tattifer, I think it was the haikus that did it.....

manatee - that's horrid.
Rumours, scare tactics, it all distracts people from the issues.

There is a body of thought which believes threatening with action is purely a means of stifling negative experiences and controling publicity.

Yes, a body of thought with much to suggest that it is the case.

Going along the "no smoke with out fire" route would suggest that the MO of at least one organisation is to use economic clout to back up threats to sue. They know that the people they're threatening with actions are not able to afford tens of thousands of pounds to fight them in court.

Bully boy tactics that the american tobacco industry would be proud of.

The reason they're so keen to threaten? Because the stories are true and their's is an "alternative" product that cannot afford to be complacent like more mainstream education.

There have been incidents. We talk about them - smoke and fire. We know this to be true. They threaten us, we shut up, the rest of the market doesn't find out. Their reputation edges closer to the mainstream and further away from the whacky and dangerous.

The reality is that there's a little too much whacky and dangerous under the surface for any market place to stomach.

They cannot afford to let that be common knowledge.

They can afford to threaten law suits.

"Fascist[s] (governments) forbid and suppress criticism and opposition to the government and the fascist movement."

Ooh, that sounds familiar...

Manatee, what did I tell you?!

You did indeed tell me they were a fascist school!!!

I do have superior powers of clairvoyancy afterall - better even (on a good day with the wind blowing the right direction) than wilderducks

...looks furtively around to check if wilderduck is here to see over ambitious claim of superior powers...

She was worried her name may trigger flashing lights at HQ...

Lets hope not then!

Guys, without risking hyperbole here, your actions are endangering the very existence of Mumsnet. Precisely because we've been more lax in allowing you have your say than other sites (because we tend to be sympathetic to the freedom of speech argument) we have attracted umpteen legal threats. When, because of those, we find it necessary (after as long a delay as possible) to delete your (potentially libelous) posts we are accused of shutting down freedom of speech. Now it seems we may be under attack from a strange group of internet hackers too because of being perceived to be pro-"alternative education". We've also been subject to a spate of nasty trolls from the same group we think.

We simply do not have the resources to cope (technically or legally).

We discussed all this some time ago and the majority of Mumsnetters were of the opinion that this discussion should be off the site. It's the internet for goodness sake so why not simply set up your own site and you can say anything you like under your own risk - make it search friendly and interested people will find it?

Do you really want to endanger Mumsnet which on the whole does a lot of good for a lot of people over your single issue because that's precisely what you're doing right now?