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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

you are deleting too many threads and posts

76 replies

KevinFoley · 16/05/2013 13:05

For no good reason that I can see. It never used to be this zealous, please explain. It's getting tedious and anything even slightly controversial and interesting to discuss is being deleted. I am concerned we are going to be left with a site full of the same few boring subjects.

I have been asked to bring this subject over to here.

OP posts:
girliefriend · 16/05/2013 13:07

Yes I did wonder why the 'scruffy children' thread got pulled Confused and didn't understand the pfb pfp thing

Boggler · 16/05/2013 13:11

The scruffy children thread was pulled? Why fgs there was nothing remotely wrong with it! I agree the deletions have gone too far.

girliefriend · 16/05/2013 13:15

That was my reaction Boggler! And why pull it after so many pages, surely if there are concerns about the op they should pull it straight away not wait until everyone has commented on it or just leave it alone to tail off naturally.

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 13:19

Hello. We're sorry you feel like that. Obviously, we beg to differ, though.

We don't think we're deleting any more posts/threads, as a proportion of all posts/threads, than we ever have. In fact, last time we analysed this, (in response to another Site Stuff thread!), we were making fewer deletions, proportionally.

But, obviously, the site has grown so much, there are many many more posts and many many more threads than there used to be - so, there will be more deletions, as a total, than there used to be.

With reference to the scruffs thread in particular, it was started by a poster we had banned previously who specialised in deliberately starting threads to cause a ruck. We're sorry to those who said there were enjoying it but we do have a rule about not starting threads to inflame and frankly we'd had enough of that particular PBP

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 13:25

[quote girliefriend]That was my reaction Boggler! And why pull it after so many pages, surely if there are concerns about the op they should pull it straight away not wait until everyone has commented on it or just leave it alone to tail off naturally.

Original poster
KevinFoley · 16/05/2013 13:26

Thank you for responding but I do think the sensitivity button for pulling threads has been too low in some cases recently. Obviously you must delete the awful stuff I appreciate that, and until recently I pretty much always agreed with deletions but it's quite tedious when fairly innocuous stuff keeps being pulled.

OP posts:
MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 13:37

@KevinFoley

Thank you for responding but I do think the sensitivity button for pulling threads has been too low in some cases recently. Obviously you must delete the awful stuff I appreciate that, and until recently I pretty much always agreed with deletions but it's quite tedious when fairly innocuous stuff keeps being pulled.

We do quite often leave innocuous threads that we know have been started by a PBP, KevinFoley.

We even occasionally leave threads started by an obvious troll (see the "Claire for a boy?" thread in Baby Names and Yoni threads passim) just because they're really funny.

But when we can see that a thread is rapidly heading into bunfight territory - and we KNOW that was the OP's intention - it really does seem to more sensible to delete.

By the way, trolls/wind-uppy threads/posters tend to arrive in clumps - often when Mumsnet has been in the news for something or others - so there are quite often little spikes of deletions every now and then. But normal service usually resumes in a couple of days.

girliefriend · 16/05/2013 13:38

Thanks Helen, out of interest if a poster has been previously banned how do they then start a thread? Confused

Wouldn't go as far as to say I was enjoying that thread but was puzzled as to why it got pulled as it seemed like something that a group of mums would chat about iyswim.

Hey ho.

Original poster
KevinFoley · 16/05/2013 13:42

Yes but normal service is becoming 'what's for tea' and 'can I wear white to a wedding'. Boring. Please don't censor the arguing too much- people with ridiculous views just show themselves up really.

OP posts:
MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 13:45

@girliefriend

Thanks Helen, out of interest if a poster has been previously banned how do they then start a thread? Confused

Wouldn't go as far as to say I was enjoying that thread but was puzzled as to why it got pulled as it seemed like something that a group of mums would chat about iyswim.

Hey ho.

Sadly, there are ways of playing with IPs and stuff and re-regging if you're really that sad

We do take your point about that thread and are quite happy to say we might have made the wrong call. These things are always a matter of judgement and context - which means it's never easy to get things 100% right all the time - but we think, on balance, that's better than having hard-and-fast inflexible rules (eg Every thread started by a troll must be deleted etc etc) that often stamp down too hard on our collective spontaneity.

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 13:52

But what IS for tea, KevinFoley? Grin

Original poster
KevinFoley · 16/05/2013 13:59

Well it's bangers and mash since you ask...

OP posts:
limitedperiodonly · 16/05/2013 14:08

But when we can see that a thread is rapidly heading into bunfight territory - and we KNOW that was the OP's intention - it really does seem to more sensible to delete.

So you think the scruffy thread was started by someone who used trigger words to get certain posters to respond knowing other other posters would respond to them, and then the OP sat back and enjoyed it?

Probably, you know more than I do. But I see what kevin means. Wouldn't you be deleting threads all over the shop that weren't trolling but were on commonplace things people feel strongly about like smoking around children or grammar schools.

If someone started a thread about what a lovely person Denise Van Cunten was I might feel moved to disagree for example. They might be trolling for me, but I agreed to bite...

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 14:13

@limitedperiodonly

But when we can see that a thread is rapidly heading into bunfight territory - and we KNOW that was the OP's intention - it really does seem to more sensible to delete.

So you think the scruffy thread was started by someone who used trigger words to get certain posters to respond knowing other other posters would respond to them, and then the OP sat back and enjoyed it?

Probably, you know more than I do. But I see what kevin means. Wouldn't you be deleting threads all over the shop that weren't trolling but were on commonplace things people feel strongly about like smoking around children or grammar schools.

If someone started a thread about what a lovely person Denise Van Cunten was I might feel moved to disagree for example. They might be trolling for me, but I agreed to bite...

No, we definitely don't mind robust debate about things folk feel strongly about. That's what makes Mumsnet tick.

But if we can see the OP is a poster we've previously banned - maybe many many many times - and whose speciality was bunfight-creation, we may take an altogether different view.

As we said earlier in the thread, it's all a matter of judgement and context (some of which, it's true, only we can see), and we won't always get it right. But we do do our best - and we do very much tend to err on the side of keeping a thread, rather than deleting it.

lisaro · 16/05/2013 14:17

Hi Helen, maybe I missed something but what happened to the 'running over my daughter so yours can go to a party on time'or similar title thread?

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 14:18

@lisaro

Hi Helen, maybe I missed something but what happened to the 'running over my daughter so yours can go to a party on time'or similar title thread?

Not the foggiest! Must have missed that one. Sounds, erm, interesting. I'll see if I can find out.

ItsallisnowaFeegle · 16/05/2013 14:19

I always miss the action Hmm

Boy named Claire was downright boring as an OP. The Johnny Cash post, along with others, were the only redeeming feature.

Why can't the under-bridge brigade shake it up a notch? Give us something 'proper' to get our claws and fangs teeth into? Meh!

lisaro · 16/05/2013 14:24

Thanks Helen - it just disappeared from my 'you're on' list.

limitedperiodonly · 16/05/2013 14:25

Running over my daughter, as in with a car? Confused

That probably should be deleted.

lisaro · 16/05/2013 14:30

It was a woman whose daughter had been pushed over by a car whose driver was trying to park to pick up her child in a rush to get to a party.n

limitedperiodonly · 16/05/2013 14:35

Oh it really was about being run over? Shock I thought it might be about someone who was running late and left the poor kid behind, which would be bad enough...

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 14:42

@lisaro

Thanks Helen - it just disappeared from my 'you're on' list.

It was a (different) PBP, lisaro. We basically had reason to believe it was all hairy-handed tosh...

lisaro · 16/05/2013 14:46

Thanks Helen. I see loads of threads on here I think are made up, but that one just never seemed it. Blush

LadyBeagleEyes · 16/05/2013 15:43

Am I the only one who is dying to know who that PBP is?
Is it Mitmoo?

MNHQ
HelenMumsnet · 16/05/2013 16:03

@LadyBeagleEyes

Am I the only one who is dying to know who that PBP is? Is it Mitmoo?

It's always Mitmoo... Wink