Dear (Beta)
WE'RE SORRY
Mumsnet would like to apologise for the strength of feeling expressed by Mumsnetters in response to the poster asking us to discuss our strength of feeling in response to the poster.
The reason we've waited until now to apologise is that the strength and nature of our reaction to the poster shocked us. At first we were not sure what to do. It had not been our intention to cause such offence, nor to attract such abuse.
We misunderstood the statement "Agree?" by assuming that this meant that the statement in question was intended to provoke discussion. We now understand that it was ironic casual sexism intended to draw attention to advertising space.
We also misunderstood the statement "If you've got an opinion, here's where to stick it" as suggesting that this was intended to trigger controversial debate. We now understand that it was a request to increase traffic to the advertiser's website and not to enter into a wider public debate all over the internet.
We accept that in some cases that debate slipped into puerile, juvenile and offensive language. And Haikus.
So in particular, we would like to extend our heartfelt apology to any career persons that we might have offended at the offices of (Beta) and in the wider outdoor advertising industry.
We are profoundly sorry. We hope our apology is accepted.
Yours
Mumsnet HQ