Bloggers Specials this week

[HandDivedScallopsrgreat]

Hi MNHQ,

I wonder if you could tell me the reason behind endorsing/promoting a blog regarding a wife who believes her husband, a convicted rapist, is innocent. I was quite shocked to find it in the weekly parenting news e-mail.

There are a lot of women on MN who have been victims of rape and whose attackers will never be brought to justice. It is incredibly hard to get a rape conviction due to all the rape myths, one of which is women lie and the man didn't do it. I feel it is insulting to the victims of rape and could be triggering.

A couple of months ago you were asked to support a campaign to help dispel rape mytha which you looked on favourably here but endorsing this blog seems to fly in the face of that.

Thanks

Thanks hand bof and the rest, for articulating all I wanted to say

I have to say I think the Bloggers Network response was somewhat disingenuous. They're saying that they don't select bloggers based on their private lives, but this blog was obviously featured because of what is happening in the blogger's private life and it was advertised as such, including the mention of the rape conviction.

Given her blogging name, it's also difficult for them to argue that the focus isn't around her husband's guilt or innocence.

Finally Mumsnet Bloggers, whoever you might be, if you read this blog properly, this is a very disturbing story, for the blogger herself. His DNA was found for the rape because he committed an assault on her. This is a violent dangerous man. Whether you meant to or not, you've endorsed her belief that he isn't, and that is worrying.

I've reported this thread again.

I think because the title is about blogging it's not getting as much traffic as it might otherwise. I suspect that's why MNHQ aren't prioritising it. It's Friday night and this thread is relatively civilised so far.

Evening. Thanks for your further comments.

There's no one here from the Bloggers team right now, so I'm afraid I can't answer your detailed questions about how the blog was selected - other than refer you back to our earlier post on this thread.

As for the way the blog was promoted, we have already apologised for that. And I can only do so again. Our wording in the Bloggers Network News email was poorly chosen, and our wording in the Parenting News email was particularly crass - but definitely a case of unfortunate editing by someone who hadn't read the blog, rather than a deliberate decision to call her situation "inspiring" (ie cock-up, not conspiracy). We are all, truly, very embarrassed about this - and very sorry.

We'll pass your comments about the blog selection on to the Bloggers team and come back to you as soon as we can. Please bear with us till then.

Thanks Helen. Can we ask again who the bloggers team are? Like whoever else said it, I had no idea they weren't you.

If the bloggers network isn't being run by MNHQ that's a bit surprising (to me, anyway). I think most people would assume that MNHQ is in charge of the bloggers network. I'd say that MNHQ need to take a look at who is making such disastrous decisions (and writing such terrible copy) in their name. It only takes seconds to find the details of this case online - why did no-one check it?

helen, thank you

@LRDtheFeministDragon

Thanks Helen. Can we ask again who the bloggers team are? Like whoever else said it, I had no idea they weren't you.

Well, they are us. But we are more than just me, obviously!

Our Bloggers team are based at MNHQ and we do talk to them and share biscuits and things - but they concentrate on Bloggers stuff and we concentrate on Talk stuff, and it's not always possible for us to know all the details of every single thing they're doing - or indeed for them to know all the details of every single thing we're doing.

I see Helen. I think.

Do you have any idea how someone who's employed at HQ could think this was acceptable? It seems totally against the ethos of MN to me. I mean, it's not exactly 'details', is it? IMO.

Thanks Helen

Re the blogger team I got the impression from both posts from MNHQ that the blogging bit is MNHQ but a different team to the talk boards.

Yes- short of them recommending a YouTube mash-up of Eva Braun singing I Know Him So Well, I can't think of a more inappropriate thing they could have linked mumsnet to.

I'm part of the bloggers network (for now) and there are a separate team who deal with the blogging community. Which BTW is freaking MASSIVE now.

Literally hundreds and hundreds of blogs are part of the MN network and so why this particular blog (which has very few posts - which strikes me as weird, when I joined the network i was told I'd need to be posting regularly) has been featured is BEYOND me to be honest. Apart from the fact that it wasn't actually read by a team member at all - and the blog was chosen purely for it's name?

Surely once someone had read all the posts, and let's face it there aren't many, they would have come to the conclusion that this really isn't quite the blog to be featured as 'blog of the week'?

X-posted. I am slow tonight

Sorry, the more I think about it the more this upsets me:

Surely, especially when lots of women on here have talked about their rapes and when MNHQ has previously been supportive of campaigns for rape victims, whether or not rape victims should be supported or traumatized should not be a 'detail'.

That was crass.

@LRDtheFeministDragon

Sorry, the more I think about it the more this upsets me:

Surely, especially when lots of women on here have talked about their rapes and when MNHQ has previously been supportive of campaigns for rape victims, whether or not rape victims should be supported or traumatized should not be a 'detail'.

That was crass.

Just to be clear, LRD, I was talking about the details of the Bloggers team's daily work, not the details of this blog. Wouldn't want you to misconstrue.

Evening all,
I'm really sorry about this - it is, as you rightly have identified a cock up on our part. We shouldn't be promoting a blog which protests the innocence of a convicted rapist and indeed we shouldn't really have accepted this blog into the network at all in the first place and won't be promoting it again.

It isn't appropriate for Mumsnet, especially given the number of victims of rape and domestic violence who post here, as evidenced by the informal survey that ChristinedePizan ran and posters took part in last year and the many threads we see on this issue.

We do run the bloggers network from MNHQ and I can only apologise for very poor judgement on our part on this one. Thanks for raising it all who have.

Helen, I think you misunderstood me?

I am asking you how passing a blog for recommendation could ever be explained as down to the 'details' of the team's daily work?

You're saying you can't answer how they selected it, because you don't know the details. But wht details would ever make it appropriate? Either MNhQ support rape victims, or they don't.

Thanks Justine. Well said.

Thanks Justine.

Well, that's a relief. Thank goodness for that.

Thank you Justine.