Your Mumsnet comments used in news

[godzilla]

How do you feel about your comments on Mumsnet discussions being used in newspapers or TV news? I'll be totally straight - I work for the BBC and I'm researching journalism ethics, but I am a mother of 3 and a regular Mumsnet user.

No one has really worked out yet whether consent is required before lifting comments from blogs. It became a big issue after the Virginia Tech shootings because student bloggers were angry about their comments being broadcast. Newspapers have recently used Mumsnet comments on the Madeline McCann story discussing whether it is acceptable to leave kids in hotel rooms.

Please let me know what you think about your comments being used. Should we be asking first, or once they are on the web is it fair game?

ooha nd the busioness abotu gina ford.
i think tis the risk you take tbh

I always assumed htat once on the web its fair game. Its very different to a personal letter/email, even MSN isn't it

if you use comments they should be attributed.

There's a bit on the site somewhere that says that MN is entitled to use anything posted here in books, etc. I've always assumed that anything on here is fair game.

I would only be annoyed if I could be identified from the quotes lifted. Other than that, as this is a public forum, I accept that they are accessible to anyone and could be used accordingly.

I would think it would be very impractical to have to gain permission from every individual poster.

I think you should be asked first if you are directly quoted. I know MN offers some anonominity with user names etc but I still think that if a publication uses your words as a direct quote and makes money from it, then they should ask you first for your permission. depends who owns the copyright i guess. Is it in the T&C's that we agree to have our words used by an outside media source?

I think the copyright belongs to MNTowers,so once it's on here it's up to them, so probably newspapers should ask their permission first.

Also agree that I thought once on the web it was fair game..although luckily nobody would ever quote me

Personally I think fair game - it's in the public domain after all (although is there an issue with who 'owns' what you post here?).

I think some people are massively naive about the fact that forums (fora?) and messageboards etc aren't a private conversation, though, so I imagine you'd get lots of outrage.

Internet is free to anyone, if you can't live with the consequences don't participate in chat rooms or talk boards. It is anonymous anyway! So no, no problem here.

i think if people were aware their comments could be lifted and used in the media, they might be more careful about what they say. Could be a good or a bad thing.

I doubt I could ever write anything worth lifting!

I do notice a lot of columists and people being interviewed on tv seem to use mumset even without quoting it when talking about what people are discussing. It jkust makes me think they are a bit lazy!

common decency to ask first even if it is fair game

and best not to forget that it works both ways, you never know when one of you journo types will be bemoaning your piles or cross dressing dh and MN has the memory of several matriarchal elephants.

Does the subject you are talking about make a difference?

For example, if you are just talking about whether regular naps are a good idea then presumably it is less of a problem. But if it is something more personal eg a student's reflections on witnessing the Virginia Tech shootings perhaps moer discretion whould be used.

amusing myself thinking about the dp of the pirate sex woman finding something very familiar in the paper one day - there is noway he could think it was someone else!

you need to speak to cl&ip, they'll have a memo on this. surely it is no different from quoting from any publicly available document - either fair comment or news reporting or if not - breach of copyright if substantial.

Well if the copyright does belong to MN then I think the newspapers should pay MN per quote.

I don't think the subject matter will affect whether it is breach of copyright. It might affect how people react to any breach (ie whether they complain, take action) but it shouldn't affect the underlying principles of whether copyright has been breached or not.

anyway the copyright int he case of mumsnet postings belongs to mumsnet, that is certainly clear

then they might start quoting netmums instead fruitful

and it is arguable that every quote attributed to mumsnet has a monetary value in terms of publicity

I wish the BBC would take MORE comments - ones about breastfeeding NOT being something that should only be done behind closed doors, etc, etc - instead of trotting out the same old bigots each time. It's like there's a booker with a diary with three people in it:

"BF item on the news, I'll ring Mrs Bigot who hates tits on show, but says she supports bf as that covers all the bases"

Lazy, IMO.

Not you, Godzilla, obv. You're sensible, clearly.

I think that mn owns whatever we post, so they should be paid if quotes are taken, which is only fair really if they have to take the flak when the shit hits the fan(GF)

I think if you put it out there you should be aware that it might be. I don't have a problem with it, it would be just as easy to read the comments on here as it would be to read it in a paper. Anyone can log on here

I was really thinking about it from a purely ethical viewpoint - whether you are just writing it for a specific audience ie Mumsnet users in this case and therefore would not expect to see it in print. It is all a very new area.

Well, as a journo, I'd PPH is right, it's akin to quoting from a publicly available document. But I'd ask someone before quoting anything about their own personal story, rather than their views on eg. Gordon Brown or Fruit Shoots.