Outing another poster's RL identity should always be a banning offence. Discuss.

[FamiliesShareGerms]

I genuinely cannot think of a legitimate reason to out someone else on MN. Therefore any posters who put up material or links which have the effect of allowing readers to put a real life identity to another MNer should be banned unless the identified MNer explicitly confirms that they do not mind.

Anyone think of any reasons why this policy shouldn't be adopted immediately?

Safety, perhaps? For example someone threatens suicide and then in the news someone with a similar story is reported missing and the thread holds some vital clues?

Generally, a good idea though.

Well,it döesn't happen very often so I am not sure we need a big fat rule do we?

Can't see it in the Talk Guidelines, Beer, unless it is covered by the van on posting malicious content.

Maybe, GotMyGoat, though not sure what circumstances would warrant a public outing on MN as a way of getting help for a poster rather than eg contacting the police or going through MNHQ.

Or, to put in words...why bother?

GodRest, because I think on an anonymous website that is open to the whole world to view, deliberately outing another poster is despicable and inexcusable. Do you not?

It would be good to get confirmation from MMHQ that it would indeed fall foul of existing guidelines.

Well, I don't think MN is actually an anonymous website, since it is open for the whole world to view, so really, it's closing the door after Jesus has flung the water through it, isn't it now?

You want to be anonymous, not post on the internet. Anywhere.

Why add yet another rule?

Hmm.

But if a poster puts enough identifying info about her job in the circus working with wild animals that many people can guess who she is and then later posts "I don't know why you all think I'm a lion tamer, I never said I was", whose "fault" is it?

I think it might be bannable but it would be case by case rather than blanket.

I don't think it needs a specific rule.

If it's done with malicious intent then it's a banning offence anyway.

If it's done accidentally or for a "good reason" then it isn't and shouldn't be.

Yes, what trills and Doctrine said.

People give stuff away. Of course someone is going to notice.

I believe, in the exact same circumstances that you are describing, it should engender a life time ban

I think it should be considered a personal attack of fairly malicious proportions tbh. I'm talking about a deliberate 'outing' because you happen to have come across something that identifies them, not available to just anyone on MN. It is deliberate. It is malicious

Definitely. It's just beyond the pale.

No matter what scrappy arguments people get in to on here, outing somebody is just dreadful.

This has happened to me. A poster (who was subsequently banned, though not for 'outing' me) took exception to something I said. She was a FB friend of mine, and therefore knew my name, and she put my MN nickname and my real name on her blog.

It freaked me out at the time, and I contacted MNHQ - and I have to give them huge credit for being really supportive. They said I could name-change, and they would do some Tech jiggery pokery, to ensure that all my posts, from the moment I joined the site, were in that new nickname.

In the end, I decided to wait and see if anything negative happened, or if there was any fall-out from her naming me, and when there wasn't, I let it lie.

But it is a horrible thing to do to someone, and I do think MNHQ should consider banning someone who does it deliberately and maliciously.

SDT, that is truly horrible and no one deserves that

Vile behaviour

I recently worked out that another pretty regular poster lived in the same smallish town as me. But I didn't splatter that all over the thread she'd mentioned all the coincidental information on, I used a p.m. We're going to meet for a coffee soon!

carpe

don't worry - I can't out you any further than MP John Hemming already did!

for anyone that missed it there has (sort of already been a debate on this recently www.mumsnet.com/Talk/site_stuff/1945638-Did-you-ban-John-Hemming-the-MP-for-outing-me?

Did someone out someone else recently or is this a general conversation?

What has brought this on - you sound very angry.

... and yes, anyone putting 'Discuss' in the title or at the end of their post should be shot.