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

oh god yes, mamazon, totally agree. and same to baysmum.
but in truth i've not seen any discussion as to their parenting. apart from, i think, some bonkers stuff about nannies which is easily deleted.

I don't know.

I have read the threads and some of the things said on there shocked me - but I honestly don't know if Madeline McCann's parents (even if they were ever to read the threads, which I doubt) could be any more hurt and devastated than they are already. If some of us are saying "how could they have left her?" - those poor people, their every thought since this happened must have been why did we leave her/why did we go to that restaurant/why didn't we check more often/ why did we even go on this holiday in the first place. I can barely imagine what sort of hell they are in right now.

And ultimately - they are not to blame. The only person who is to blame in this is the person that took their little girl.

So I don't know whether to delete the threads or not. I don't think deleting them will make life any easier for them, or for anyone who knows them - on the other hand, some of the comments on those threads I find shocking in their heartlessness. And it saddens me that some of you have read harsher posts and comments elsewhere - have people no compassion?

ok, so if you delete these threads and the parents go trawling the net for comments, which frankly I think is very naive to think but there we are... but if they do, then they'll find the worse comments instead of the mn threads that contain a lot of positive things. so by deleting the threads you could actually be adding to their pain because instead of positive comments on mn, they would find the negative ones somewhere else instead.

dont delete
dont beleive in censorship at all

have read threads (most of)..

...it would be too weird for nothing to be on here, and in the midst of it all everyone is shocked, horrified, hoping and there are some praying too for good outcome...

Mamazon, what does discussing the caes mean? Do you mean news update type posts would be okay? All those "it says here in some newspaper etc..." and "I read that..." And "apparently the police have said..."

Frankly I think those sort of posts are the least worthwhile. They're speculation and often speculation packed with gruesome suggestions of what might have happened.

mamazon I think the references to them being able to read elsewhere are more to do with the belief that we can't protect these parents from any pain by deleting one thread.

I don't have a problem with mn deleting the thread. I don't own the website and it's not my say. What I query is this notion that the threads have been nasty.

wannabe - Naive or not that was the coment amde to me by a mother WHO WAS IN THIS SITUATION!

i have never had a child abducted nor have i had to deal with the grief of being told she had been murdered (which i pray the Mccanns never have to)

So when i am told by someone who has been through that hell and she says that it was something she did some weeks later when she had nothing but her own thoughts....the police had gone, the media had left and it was just her alone in the evenings she did tyoe her daughters name into the search engine and read what came up.

and in her own words " it hurt like being told she was dead all over again"

ultimately hq have the final decision. but i do wonder, if any of them go on tv/radio in the next few days as they have done already, and the reporter asks "so what have members on your site been saying then" how comfortable they will feel saying "well there was a discussion but it had to be deleted".

They'd probably say "we deleted it out of respect for the family".

I'm interested to see which way MN will go.

and the implication there being that everyone was saying nasty things.....

exactly, "deleted out of respect" would imply it was all negative and judgemental.

My heart is breaking for that family.

I cant stop thinking about it. I feel very pessimistic about it, but I am hoping, against hope that Maddy is alive and is returned to her parents unharmed and happy.

I still dont think the threads should be deleted.

Ok, if we don't agree to delete, can we at least agree that with no new information we have debated all that is decent to debate at the moment?
Can we go to bed, kiss our kids and hope the morning brings good news.

God bless you, Madeleine, wherever you are! x

Late vote on this. I have some of the other threads and was very disappointed in how they turned out.

Jurnalists who may be writing on this sad topic may be actively contributing to those threads, partly to stir things up and encourage discussion. It seems very distasteful to me. I think some people have done this, journalist or not.

I do agree with the principle of free speech here so I know it's difficult to feel 'right' about any decision, but I come down on the side of deleting whole threads.

Other possibilities could be:

Move all discussion of Madeline to the chat topic so threads naturally get deleted after 90 days.

Temporarily and as of now, delete Madeline news threads till the press coverage really dies down.

I havent read these threads but i do feel terrible for Maddies family for what they are going through. I have my own opinion on this and as this is an open forum i dont see why things should be deleted.

delete them.

You can't delete it, as has already been stated, and in much better terms than I could come up with at the moment, it would be extremely sinister and odd that a parenting website had deleted threads on this subject.

It was always going to be emotive, this is what we all fear deep down.

I was one who questioned leaving such young children but in no way would I say the parents were negligent or uncaring about their dd, and I bet my last £ (really) that not one single poster would do so. They let their guard down and there but for the grace of God go every last one of us. Unless there is some thread being nasty about the parents, even then at what price deletion?

If Madeleine's mum is a MNer would she not find it more upsetting to see there had been a deleted thread and then wonder what horrible things had been written on it? I do find it curious that people are deliberately going on threads (not just this one) and then saying how upsetting it was, if the site is to be wrapped in cotton wool and all subject to go through this imposed monitor (and not self imposed as you are imposing your wishes on the rest of us) then what is the point to it at all.

No one has written anything really horrid - the threads should not be deleted, Madeliene's mother will not be looking on them any time soon even if she is a "mumsnetter" ffs, the poor woman will have other things to do.