Ok, in light of baysmum's posting. Can we have a show of hands for deletion of threads.

[homemama]

I can't believe I'm posting this as I don't actually agree with thread deletion other than in extreme circumstances. However, Baysmum has confirmed that Madeleine's mum is likely to be a Mnetter and if not then her close friends and family certainly are.

Whilst I would have no objection to them reading anything I have posted, I'm horrified to think that we (collectively) may cause the family any more distress either now or in the future.

Therefore, if most participants of the threads agree then perhaps MNHQ will agree also.
Thanks

As if anything is going to upset them after what they are going through. Reading MN will be the last things on their minds.

i've only read two threads, the original one and the developments one. on the original i mostly saw people saying 'i wouldn't have left MY kids but hope this little one is safe and will be home soon etc'. anyone who ventured to suggest that the parents were negligent were jumped all over by ten people.

on the developments one there has been much debate about what's offensive. some people are comforted by things that others find utterly puerile and offensive, and vice versa.

personally there's nothing i've seen (apart from one post, now that i come to think of it) that demands deletion. were there other threads, too?

if not, then no deletion. and if MNHQ are proposing counting up these 'votes' can i suggest excluding the ones from people who've stated that they haven't even read them?

i agree with wannabe. dont delete on principle. i also think that the views of the people on mn are really going to be the last of this families worries, whether they or their familys are mn users or not.

pmsl. x-posted with senorapostrophe.

That's what I thought, lyrabelacqua.

If the threads you are referring to are deleted what will probably happen is that oblique references will be made to them in other threads and posters who never saw the original threads will ask what was said whereupon someone will try to give a synopsis, someone then comes on to say they were misinterpreted and so on and so forth it starts again.
Sadly from what some of the relations of the family have said on the TV they (at least the relations if not Mr and Mrs McCann themselves) already know that these sorts of things are being said (not necessarily from MN) so deletion may not really serve the desired purpose anyway.

What would be the desired purpose? That they see nothing on Mumsnet that could hurt them? We, as individuals, can't control mumsnet. It doesn't belong to the posters. We can, as individuals, refuse to post or read any more.

Or you can join the discussion and strive to be fair and honest and reasonable.

If the posts were all of the "any news, I do feel sick" variety?" would there be a call for deletion. I find those posts the most distasteful by the way.

i agree baffled

exactly, baffled. and if the wee girl isn't found does anyoen think that they won't regret letting them sleep on their own for every minute of every day of their lives. and if every one of us had said 'we would deffo ahve done the same' it would make bugger all difference. (not that i was a part fo that discussion, i hasten to add).

i'm amazed at teh influence everyone seems to think MN has. if mrs McCann is an MNer she'll know exactly what would be discussed anyway...

TBH I think eventually we will see a lot of differing reactions to this in the media and what has been posted on MN will be a small amount of comments.

therefore, I wouldn't delete

Okay - cat among the pigeons here. If we knew for sure that the parents would hate any mention of what is happening to them on Mumsnet, would that mean that deletion was the right thing to do?

I say delete out of respect.
I felt very upset that people chose this time to jugde Madeleine`s devestated parents.
My heart goes out to them

NFK, why distasteful?

ah well in that case i wouldn't be arsed to stand on principle, nkf. delete away.

right. i'm asking. WHERE was the judging? were there more threads?

delete posts, deffo, belgian, but entire threads?

i dont think either of them will give a flying fig what mumsnetters say or dont say.

much bigger fish to fry . Really this is sooo irrelevant

I think some of the posts were very insensitive but none were so bad that they should be deleted imo.

Agree, NAO. Whatever the outcome, they won't be scouring internet forums for a mere mention.

Free speech has been cited as an issue since the internet came into public use. Censorship of the internet as a whole is impossible. That is the best and the worst thing about the WWW.

The threads under discussion ask some very hard questions. Some people did not eloquently voice their concerns but they were not being malicious. There were a handful of nasty comments on the thread and they were all picked up and criticised by other posters.

None of the posters appear to want anything other than a happy ending.

NKF - No the threads should not be deleted. But perhaps some apologies would be due.

Why distasteful. I've been trying to work out why. Someone used the word "ghoulish" and it often strikes me like that. For me, there's always something rather unpleasanr about the soap opera style updates of a rolling news story. Until there is a real development there is this gruesome speculation about what horrors might have happened.

And the empahsis on the poseter's feelings makes me uncomfortable. It always seems to be described as "compassion" or "empathy" and I don't think it is really.

I'm reading mumsnet too and posting so I don't pretend to be above it. But I don't believe it all stems from good wholesome feelings.

I don't think the threads have been too bad. In all honesty, how many of us initially thought, What was the child doing alone? We may not have all voiced it. This poor family will have far more things on their mind, regardless of the outcome. I don't think the threads should be deleted, it would set a precedent [sp] and who knows what that would lead to. I hope the little girl is returned safe and well.

Some journalist will quote Mns from last August when SWCNBN was up in arms about what was being posted and all the threads that were deleted or we were asked not to dicuss and MNs were talking about 'freedom of speech etc etc.

Now if Mn deletes this threads aboout the unfotunate events in Portugal some journalists/ solictors may have a field day with MN .

They could end up discussing about top parengting website deleting threads about this situation bringin even more attention to a bad situation and making pople think 'what was written ' and as someone has said it will all start again and pople mis quoting etc etc