Can you stop the Daily Mail doing stories about MN????

[Letmehaveausername]

I know it's great publicity, and I know it probably brings new users to the site and makes money etc.

But they are massively overstepping the mark making users so identifiable to whoever reads that trashy rag. MN is supposed to be anonymous, and there's a big difference between posting something on the forums you know is unlikely to ever be read by the people you know, and the daily mail advertising it to the wider world.

A lot of people post for advice, support and to get things off their chest; they don't post for a newspaper to make a mockery out of a support forum and that's exactly what they're doing.

You have to double check everything you say now in case they copy it, and change your username regularly to make sure anything they publish can't be linked back to you personally. It's ridiculous.

[KateMumsnet]

Letme, we’re sorry the current rash of threads being quoted in the DM is upsetting you. As many posters have pointed out, unfortunately there’s not a huge amount we can do about it - they'd likely claim Fair Use and that would be difficult to challenge. It’s one of the downsides of Mumsnet being an open site, and as always, we remind everyone that this is a public forum, searchable by Google, legally linkable to - and quotable by - all and sundry.

On the upside, this openness means volume of users and volume of users means Mumsnet is available for free to anyone who needs advice 24-7. It also means fresh faces, a variety of points of view, and the wisdom that comes from a very sizeable crowd (which, as an aside, tends to mean that wrong or misguided advice doesn't stand unchallenged).

Only you can decide whether the upsides outweigh the downsides; we hope you’ll stick with us, of course - and making use of the name-change facility with reasonable regularity (perhaps with only a small tweak) makes it a lot less likely that your anonymity will be compromised.

[notamummy10]

Nope you can't, MN is a public forum so anything you write on here is in the public domain. This is why people need to be more careful in what they put on here just in case the Daily Mail write an article on the post!

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Good lord! no wonder you have no real life friends if that's how you react to someone being friendly

[QueenOfNowt]

She needs to step away from mumsnet for being touchy? Fuck me, y'all best scarper then.

[DonkeyOaty]

Ah. I have upset you, and for that I apologise. I am very sorry.

[Just5minswithDacre]

That was a weird attack on Donkey, OP.

Have you considered adopting one of these lovely DM or Paul Dacre related NNs?

Most are much swearier or ruder than mine

[mineofuselessinformation]

OP, if you want to post something that is sensitive, but don't want it linked to your usual username, all you have to do is namechange.
I'm not suggesting you need to do that, but just putting the point that is it an option for anyone who posts, especially as the DM (and Chris Evans) might pick up on it.
It's lazy journalism, but seems to be more common now.
It's shitty, but a fact of life now.

[CatherineDeB]

gutting, gutter press, gutted - get the drift , didn't realise I had done that!

[glenthebattleostrich]

You alluded to having troubles and received a nice supportiver response. To attack a poster for offering support says more about you as a person than them.

[CatherineDeB]

Me too weebarra , I remember posting quite personal stuff on a particularly emotive thread where the OP was decided to be a troll which was gutting but then mnet were proved wrong and it wasn't a troll. That poor woman - if that had ended up in the gutter press I would have been gutted.

[PaulDacresMicroPenis]

weebarra in your shoes I would also be upset to think of my online support being served up as click-bait for DM readers and I hope it never happens,

[CatherineDeB]

Back to the OP, I think Mnet love it, there is no publicity like bad publicity, it is a business making the shareholders rich not a charity.

Makes me likely to post less, only on benign topics and less likely to share experiences of personal stuff that someone might find helpful when they are going through something similar.

[Sparklingbrook]

People always have a choice about whether to post on an online forum.

When DonkeyOaty said 'troubles' I would imagine it was in response to-

Donkey if I was to never reveal anything identifying I would never be able to post asking for support, which I have a few times in my lowest, and sometimes drunk blush , moments.

[ilovesooty]

You referred to little RL support and lowest and drunk moments. I think DonkeyOaty was trying to help, and you are being over sensitive and touchy.

[DustyBustle]

OP in all fairness you talked of posting for support in lowest moments, I'm sure Donkey - as I would - just took that to mean you have had troubled times. I really don't see anything at all patronising about that.

[Highway61]

Unfortunately mumsnet is not private, and it is a business which survives on advertising.
I'm afraid it's not the place to be allowing too much of your personal life to be examined. All you can do is frequent name changes, and slightly change details...
Perhaps is you are upset about something, and it seems you are, you could pm someone? I would be happy to listen if you need support.

[Letmehaveausername]

Sparkling it's not supportive to suggest someone has troubles when they don't.

Some people don't have a choice but to post on a public forum when they have no real life support Oly5

I've not seen those threads but changing your username to something like that just means they're not going to show your username even if they show your post too Sparkling.

[SeemsLegit]

Woah you're pretty touchy...donkeyoaty was trying to be supportive

[BishopBrennansArse]

You have to realise that ANYONE can read anything written here. It may 'feel' private but in reality it's anything but.

[Oly5]

Don't post on a public forum if you don't want it in the Fail

[Sparklingbrook]

I think what DonkeyOaty said was very supportive.

The fact is that whatever is posted on MN could end up anywhere. On The Wright Stuff/Loose Women or any newspaper.

There were quite a few threads like this a while back and people started changing their usernames to 'FuckyouDailyMail' etc...

[Bestthingever]

I hate it too but I don't see how it can be stopped. It's such lazy journalism.

[LolBeansandSalad]

It's crap, but ultimately you have to accept that it's a risk you take when you post on a public forum nowadays.

[weebarra]

I had breast cancer. I posted a lot of the tamoxigang threads. I would be so upset if anything from those ended up in the Fail. It's unlikely as its a bunch of women supporting each other. I know it's not a "real" safe space, but it really helped me at a point where not many others could.